Mode Mapping

Mode Mapping

ModeMapping is a proprietary research technique developed by Stuart Karten Design (SKD), a Los Angeles based industrial design firm. It is a method of interpreting standard consumer research to uncover areas of unmet needs, leading to the creation of products that respond to a wider scope of user wants.

It can best be understood as a visualization tool that tracks the state of mind of various consumers over time. Designers can then look for patterns by using a colorcoding system of categorizing these states of mind, or “modes,” that describe activity (“work mode” or “play mode”). The color-coded patterns of consumer behavior allow designers to look for shared experiences and then use these observations to suggest innovative new solutions that will appeal to customers. This also creates a topography of sorts of consumer activities as well as how they are thinking and feeling during those activities.

SKD has used ModeMapping to drive groundbreaking product lines for companies including Johnson Controls and Avery Dennison. For example, for Johnson Controls, SKD found that the drivers they observed all made quick, frequent transitions from role to role (parent at school, friend meeting peers at a restaurant) throughout the day. Seeing this pattern led the designers to suggest products such as a modular storage system that can easily be loaded into a vehicle and a reminder system (using RFID tags) that would alert drivers when important items (say, kids' sports equipment before a game) wasn’t brought into the car.

ModeMapping has been recognized for excellence in research innovation on the international stage, winning a Silver International Design Excellence Award in 2006.

BusinessWeek also featured ModeMapping as an “innovation tool worth trying now.”