Creative Mind Episode 20: Ravi Sawhney on Advanced Design Thinking
Ravi Sawhney is the CEO of RKS Design & Innovation. Industrial Design students at Academy of Art University had the opportunity to learn some of his professional knowledge, particularly on design thinking.
Highly respected designer, author, entrepreneur and speaker Ravi Sawhney has lead RKS Design to the forefront of product and technical innovation globally. He has written a powerful and compelling book called Predictable Magic.
His proprietary research methodology called Psycho-Aesthetics is highly regarded and is the foundation of thinking that his team uses with their clients. He has created many successful startups along the way, and is also the Founder and CEO of LoanGifting, which addresses how to relieve student debt for Americans.
Sustainable Success for RKS Design
In 2020 RKS Design celebrates 40 years of disrupting the design marketplace. RKS is a design and innovation firm that creates solutions for clients that are relevant to the market, build the brand and create emotional connection.
RKS services the full range of companies from funded startups to multinational corporations. Founder Ravi K. Sawhney cultivated a people-centric approach modeled from his work at Xerox PARC in the 1970’s, where innovative methods using psychology as an essential factor in design resulted in the first-generation touch screen graphic interface as well as many other breakthroughs.
RKS came to national attention shortly after its founding by developing the production design of the animated Teddy Ruxpin, one of the greatest disruptive success stories in the history of the toy industry. Success followed success, with RKS being in on the ground floor of tablets with Alan Kay, Pocket Arcades with Sega and the game-changing dental whitening system for Discus Dental.
Another milestone was the turnaround of MiniMed, developing a discreet personal insulin pump that allowed millions of diabetics to shed the stigma of being seen as “sick.” This inspired design took MiniMed from a declining $40M in revenue to $270M in three years, leading to its acquisition by Medtronic for $3.6B.
For the full talk at the Academy of Art, check out the video below:
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