Source: Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers
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“I think more and more people are learning that what they get for free is not actually free.”
–Helm Founder Giri Sreenivas
The Joy of the Creative Process
There’s incredible pressure on hardware startups to work efficiently toward a marketable product and firm financial goals. But a delightful new account by a maker pro named Steve August (@SteveAugust) shows how taking the time to experiment and find something genuinely artisanal and magical about hardware can carve out a different path that’s rewarding in an entirely distinct way.
Writing for Predictable Designs (@JohnTeelEE), August describes how he took some time after he sold his startup in 2014 to hang around with makers and play with creative hardware tools. He become intrigued by what MIT (@MIT) lecturer David Rose (@davidrose) calls “enchanted objects” — everyday items that respond to signals from the internet in subtle ways.
After a series of experiments, August arrived at a concept he calls “The Market” — a fusion between art and technology that uses an ornate seesaw, with a bear on one end and a bull on the other, to show the trajectory of the stock market. He’s selling it under a new company he created called August & Wonder (@AugustAndWonder).
August’s entire journey is remarkable, and it touches on every phase of the maker pro process, from prototyping to marketing. Its central message: if you periodically allow yourself some real creative leeway, there’s a possibility that you’ll dream up a product that would never come about during a…
The post Maker Pro News: How Embracing Creativity Can Kickstart Your Startup appeared first on FeedBox.