Minimalism is becoming the new design feature. Thanks for that Apple. I couldn’t agree more. Every new product feature should be considered “guilty until proven innocent” in its quest to join the list of features that now make small electronic pamphlets into hundred page guide books. Fun. This is a well established conversation with some interesting opinions, but what I would rather talk about is innovation through the lens of frugality, which is quite different.

Start Connecting these two, because they're already hanging out.

My recent long-term trip through Asia granted me many little discoveries, but one that continued to amaze me was technology proliferation. Technology that I considered “out of reach” for rural parts of Vietnam and Laos were putting smiles on locals’ faces. Before a tour through some rice patties in SaPa, a local Hmong girl was searching YouTube for ancient Hmong chants, and found them, and shared them with her friends. This was brilliant to see. While we were hiking the hills, she got a text message which she giggled and quickly replied to, “It’s my boyfriend.”

I have tons of these little stories, and they’re all brought about by frugal innovation. These areas of the world do not have a problem using technology, but rather technology is typically expensive and scarce. With companies expanding their markets and design thinking to include more places like India and China, product lines of  cheap netbooks and mobile phones have expanded into these markets allowing Zi, our guide, to do what we do. And over time, I’m sure we will see creative usage that we didn’t think was possible.