Design Award Showdown: iPhone v. Philanthropic TOMS Shoes
September 27th, 2007, Petemortensen
The Cooper-Hewitt National People’s Design Award will soon be doled out to what the Internet-using public determines to be the best-designed new product or service. Interestingly, two of the top competitors at the moment are Apple’s incredibly high-tech iPhone and on the other side of it…TOMS Shoes, a company that created a philanthropic business model. They took a traditional South American shoe design, marketed it in the U.S. for a low price and gives a free pair of shoes to a needy child in South America for each pair sold.
Two radically different models of innovation through design. What’s your vote?