This strapline of ours has been an interesting, thought-provoking topic of conversation for some time, with each of ITERATE’S employees having their own interpretation on the message it portrays. Ultimately a powerful strapline should effortlessly convey what we do as a business and help make us stand out from our competitors… Therefore, with that in mind, what does Purpose Driven Product Design mean to you? Before you answer that, let me enlighten you and share how my colleagues responded to the same question!

ITERATE Design and Innovation has been developing new products from a design concept right through to production for near to ten years now. Yet we aim to design things that are going to make a difference to people’s lives, whether they are medical, consumer or industrial based products, we at ITERATE want to feel our products are making someone’s life that little bit easier. That’s the underlying root beneath ‘Purpose Driven’- we are committed to creating products with a reason for their existence. As one of our designer’s said, “You would always rather work on something that is worthy and makes a positive difference in society.”

When Gethin Roberts founded ITERATE, his vision for the business and the ethos he wanted to generate was that it would create new products that enhance the lives of their users and have a positive influence in the world. I think he succeeded. When you look at ITERATE’s extensive list of products that have been designed to date, from a sepsis diagnosis device, a wearable heart monitor, a sustainable shower head, to a sleep apnoea aid and many more, they all have a consistent characteristic, purpose.

Another colleague put a different spin on the strapline and thought about it from the perspective of the client; “understanding what the client’s commercial requirements are and delivering on that, for them to achieve success.” Intriguing! For ultimately yes indeed, we do want our customers to achieve success in the market, that is a large part of what drives our motivation, making the product the best it can be!

This all-important strapline showcases any business in one simple phrase, in which it is making a promise to its clients, outlining what can be achieved on their behalf.

When analysing ours, we realised there is no one correct answer to explain its meaning, just a uniformed ethos felt by all at ITERATE. People indeed have their own interpretations of what Purpose Driven Product Design means to them but thankfully, we are yet to come across a negative connotation!

Now let us know, what are your thoughts?!