It’s surprising (and intriguing) to hear Gadi Amit say that his multi-disciplinary teams work together “quite chaotically.” Amit is the soft spoken founder and principal designer of New Deal Design studio, which has designed such award-winning technology products as Fitbit, the Lytro camera, and Google's (GOOG) Ara phone. Not the kind of profile one would associate with a lack of discipline.
The calm, productive mood at his studio, located near Levi’s Park, belies this on the day I pay him a visit. And yet—is that a rousing game of ping pong I hear coming from the back of the studio, near the kitchen (which has a bar, complete with a Kegerator)? Indeed it is.
There’s a marked contrast between the common spaces and the private rooms. The spine of the studio houses teams of designers and engineers lined up in zen-like concentration at their computers, and small groups in quiet discourse. “Private” rooms like the workshops, are piled up high with stacks of colorful materials and 3D printers, and the “war rooms” encourage designers to work “until theres a pile of drawings a foot deep.” Most of the walls are made of materials which can drawn on and erased.
Amit’s work method is almost subversive in its adherence to tradition: “I’ve pushed back against the current trend of working solely on computers. I’ve kept my staff working in the traditional method—by hand," he says. "In many cases, its faster working by hand because typically, with a computer it takes a few hours to reflect what you’ve created, whereas with the hands, its an instant connection, it takes minutes. People think with their hands, especially when they sketch. There’s a dialogue between the mind and the hand, it’s an instant connection.”
This is an interesting ideology, especially when one considers that New Deal Design Studio is responsible for some of the most innovative and cutting edge products on the market today. Amit says his company has, in total, launched twelve new products this year.
"There's always the fear that someone else will come out with a similar product, so the work has to be quick. Most people think this type of schedule is very stressful," says Amit. “I find it thrilling."
