Q: What are the most important skills needed for working innovation?
A great knowledge of product in general, the matter is to observe everything, maybe one day the door handle you’ve just seen will be an inspiration for a project.
Q: What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses regarding innovation?
Our biggest strength is our knowledge in materials, mobility that allowed us to make this project from the brief to prototype in about 3,5 months.
Our weakness about innovation is the ambition we have about a concept and the ambition the client has. Some innovations need to be worked on for a long time to make them work. When a client just starts her/his own company and decides to make her/his own product, the global budget is a bit narrow, so we have to deal with it.
Then, the weakness about the innovation could be the meaning of a project. What the product is made for, is it useful, does someone really need it or is it just a new old product already everyone has. Innovation is about new experiences, new needs.
Q: What was the main idea behind your project? / What inspired you to start working on this project?
We wanted to turn the motocycle design in a new area, with codes from product design. We didn’t need a large chassis for the engine, we didn’t need space to integrate the exhausts. So the main idea was to create a lightweight design that gives you the feeling it’s easy to ride and attracts you.
We were largely inspired by the supermotos which have a high seat position, sleek wheels but with codes coming from the motocross field as visible fork.
Q: What does winning the ePDA “Innovation of the Year” award mean to you?
Winning an award is always a good moment, a great recognition, it means that our peers care about our work and feel that we are tangible with the current trends and further.
Q: If there was just one formula for a design team’s success, what would it be?
The success lies into a great understanding of the brief and the target, and most of all a large culture of product design. Observation is the key.
Q: What were the initial concerns and questions that your team had to practically address when the project first began?
First of all, Dab motors is a young brand, they started with custom motorcycles, so the first concern we had to focus on was the target. Where do we want to orient the brand, who is our final target, what are their needs, where do they ride and when.
Q: Electric vehicle platforms are evolving all the time. What is the current secret to keeping on the cutting edge in this profession, in your opinion?
I think the key is to stay on top of the evolution of technologies. The mobility market is evolving and growing day after day, so we have to design and create the best answer at a given moment.
