The Team Behind The Innovation Kit: Donata Lesiak

Welcome to the second in our series of blogs where we meet the team behind Newicon's Innovation Kit! In this installment we talk with Donata, a UX designer who was instrumental in the design of the kit and the exercises you'll find in it. Read on to get Donata's unique take on the experience of building this build product alongside the rest of the team.

(And don't forget, if you haven't bought the Innovation Kit yet, you can still get it at a discounted price here.)

Tell us a bit about yourself 

I’m a UI/UX designer and a fresh addition to the Newicon team! Currently finishing my degree in Digital Media at the University of the West of England and looking forward to fully focussing on playing a significant role in the 'new tomorrow' by solving problems through digital innovation.
 

What is Innovation? 

For me, innovation solves problems we face in everyday life, and it's a way to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of existing processes or services. Innovation does not need to necessarily be something new: “you don’t need to reinvent the wheel” in order to innovate, innovation can be done by taking existing ideas and applying them to new sectors.
 

Why is it important for companies to innovate?

From the business perspective, innovation is important because it helps companies to develop and expand their services and to grow in the industry staying on top of competitors. Innovative products can be used internally to help employees to stay up to date with the skills and training necessary to fulfil the company’s needs. Companies should also innovate to make employees’ everyday tasks easier to perform, allowing them to focus on productivity feeding back to general business efficiency.
 

Tell us about your experience while working on the innovation Kit

The process of working on the innovation kit was interesting and I'm glad I got to be a part of it. It was definitely challenging at times, especially to find the right balance between exercises used within the kit. It was essential to make sure they stayed engaging and at the same time useful for the innovation and design process in general. There were also fun parts of course, like getting to know the team during the process or coming up with many interesting product ideas during trial runs, so stay tuned, maybe some of them will come to life under Newicon’s wing!

What is the biggest strength of the Innovation Kit?

In my opinion, the biggest strength of the Innovation Kit is that it is a lightweight version of a design process with a full guide and a flow that makes sense and actually works. 
The design process can be overwhelming, there are many good methodologies out there and it can be difficult to decide on the one to use. We've done it all for you, combining the most useful methods available and adding a sprinkle of Newicon's expertise on top, allowing you to focus on innovating.
 

Name one current innovation you find interesting/amazing?

The one that I have been amazed at for a while now is the Amazon Go automated stores. They use advanced AI and IoT technologies like sensors, computer learning, and geofencing to allow people to shop in the store on a “walk in and out” basis improving the shopping experience. 

Another one is a Polish start-up Staffly founded by one of my friends back in Poland. It is based on a concept of smart recruitment in the sector of the gig economy, using AI algorithms to find perfect job candidates.  Although still under implementation, the Staffly system is going to match candidates not only based on their skills and experience but is also going to analyse individuals' disposition and psychometric factors.

Who is your favourite innovator? 

There are so many innovators that changed the way we live our lives for the better, it is hard to pick one or even a few. I’m going to say Jeff Bezos and founders of Netflix, Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph.
 

Any other question/comments, you would like to add?

I think I would just like to add that no matter how good the innovation is and how many problems it solves, we should always be careful and make sure they don’t create new ones along the way. Amazon Go concept is amazing, but how will automation affect the retail industry and jobs in this sector?