# 190: Ethnocentric Design for Your Invention

- Show: [Product Startup](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup)
- Published: 2023-08-24
- Length: 18m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-08-24-190-ethnocentric-design-for-your-invention
- Listen: https://productstartup.com/

## Summary

Thomas Ask, a Professor of Industrial Design at Penn College, explains ethnocentric design, which prioritizes understanding the specific cultural and demographic needs of end-users over the inventor's ego. He outlines a process involving empathy, formal ethnographic techniques like cultural consensus questionnaires, and dynamic feedback loops using physical models to ensure products are intuitive and culturally appropriate. Ask illustrates these concepts with examples ranging from fishing boats in Malaysia to medical devices for quadriplegics, emphasizing that successful commercialization requires deep user insight rather than just technical innovation.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-08-24-190-ethnocentric-design-for-your-invention#t=0) Introduction: Thomas Ask and Ethnocentric Design
- [2:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-08-24-190-ethnocentric-design-for-your-invention#t=134) Defining Ethnocentric Design and Overcoming Ego
- [5:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-08-24-190-ethnocentric-design-for-your-invention#t=317) The Design Process: Empathy, Ideation, and Feedback
- [8:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-08-24-190-ethnocentric-design-for-your-invention#t=497) Cultural Consensus Questionnaires and User Validation
- [10:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-08-24-190-ethnocentric-design-for-your-invention#t=622) Case Study: Fishing Boat Design and Cultural Misinterpretation
- [12:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-08-24-190-ethnocentric-design-for-your-invention#t=770) Targeting Niche Markets and Human Factors
- [15:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-08-24-190-ethnocentric-design-for-your-invention#t=920) Designing for Dignity and Specific Demographics

## Topics

- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Penn College (company)
- Penn State (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [390: It’s Like a Headline Waiting to Happen](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2023-03-03-390-its-like-a-headline-waiting-to-happen) (Making It)
- [#004: Why We Need to Be Tinkering More: Industrial Designer Jorge Paricio - Open-Ended Exploration, Sketching and Ideation, Material Knowledge, Confirmation Bias, and Getting Out To Talk With End Users.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/designing-in-the-wild/2022-01-24-004-why-we-need-to-be-tinkering-more-industrial-designer-jorge-paricio-open-ende) (Designing in the Wild)
- [Bringing Medical Devices into the Home](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2022-05-18-bringing-medical-devices-into-the-home) (Global Medical Device Podcast)
- [Embracing a Consumer-Centric Approach to Product Development](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2021-06-08-embracing-a-consumer-centric-approach-to-product-development) (Over the Air)
- [Milan Cerovic | Strategies for Succeeding at New Product Development](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-04-07-milan-cerovic-strategies-for-succeeding-at-new-product-development) (Being an Engineer)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-08-24-190-ethnocentric-design-for-your-invention. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Product Startup.