The Art of Product Design: Changing How Things Get Made

Praise For The Art of Product Design "Hardi tells two fascinating stories with this book, one about how he founded and grew GrabCAD and the other about how he sees the world of product design changing. Both stories are relevant to anyone seeking to take advantage of new online communities and connections to grow their business." — Dean Kamen, Founder of DEKA Research and Development Corp. "The communications revolution created by the Internet is breaking down barriers between countries, as well as companies, enabling talented individuals everywhere to find opportunities around the globe. The Art of Product Design is a story of how smart, creative people from around the world can find each other, solve problems, old and new, and do amazing things." —Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia "We are fortunate to be living through the most important communications revolution in human history. The ramifications of real-time communications instantly connecting every human on earth with every other human on earth is even more important than the invention of moveable type and the printing press more than 500 years ago. Yet most executives think these changes only relate to their company′s PR and marketing departments. Hardi Meybaum shows us how the digital revolution impacts product design and manufacturing and explains why fortunes will be won and lost in the new world order. You need to know how your organization will thrive in an environment where CAD is in the cloud and engineers in every corner of the world suddenly have access to the sophisticated tools and massive processing power that only the richest companies could once afford." —David Meerman Scott, marketing strategist and international bestselling author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR

Chapter 1: Preface: The digital revolution gets physical Chapter 2: Gearheads get no respect Chapter 3: Since the potter’s wheel the most important tool in history Chapter 5: New culture, new tools converge in the cloud Chapter 6: Design challenge: Break down the monastery doors Chapter 7: Here’s my prototype, please kick the crap out of it Chapter 9: Is this something sketchy, like “open marriage”? Chapter 10: The puzzle pattern emerges

Hardi Meybaum is a mechanical engineer, and the cofounder and CEO of GrabCAD Inc. Hardi's vision of how manufacturers, engineers, designers, and students could work together online led him to create the GrabCAD Community for engineers and designers, bringing together more than one million members who have shared more than 350,000 projects.