Interaction - Hamish Patel, Chief Product Officer (CPO), PLAY

PLAY is an Indian start-up that designs consumer products in the field of smart products.  Hamish Patel, Chief Product Officer (CPO), PLAY, tells us about his work.

Are you designing for other companies or are you also manufacturing your designs?

Hamish - Being a startup, all our energies are channelised into making products that lead to consumer delight. With heavy investment in R&D, we are dedicated to bringing the latest technological solutions into all our products.  We have been working on exciting new categories and products which should soon be available for our customers. We like to conceptualise, design, develop, manufacture our products. The whole process of product conceptualised to launch is phased and certain aspects of commercialising the product in India are already complete and balance to be completed shortly

What are the new directions that software design is taking?

Hamish - PLAY today addresses an evolved consumer, our consumers are technologically well aware and privacy concerned too. They are young, opinionated and demanding which propels us to deliver nothing but the best. Given that we are a customer-first company we ensure that our software development is inline with meeting those demands of the customer. It's a consistent effort to keep upgrading and pushing for a better technological solution to delight the customer.

What are the challenges in hardware design?

Hamish - Speed of "conceptualisation to launch a product" is a definitive criteria to define a successful company. For PLAY, a consumer experience driven company, getting it right and getting it right the first time is the design thesis. We are extremely prudent and diligent in ensuring that we not only bring the latest technological solutions but also bring them ahead of time. Project design follows a non-iterative approach to development which makes mistakes very expensive. Thankfully, PLAY boasts of a core team who is well experienced and have worked on multiple research and development consumer projects. Advancement in rapid prototyping technology has also helped us mitigate a lot of risk.

How can Indian design get ahead of international companies' designs?

Hamish - I believe it isn't about being ahead of international company designs or even local competitors, but understanding the pulse of your consumer and marrying it with the global technology enhancement. We invest heavily in R&D to understand the latest technological developments and enhancements. We always strive and evolve to meet customer expectations.  While working on a product range, category, or even a new segment, the focus is always the user expectation, actual experience and hence, the customer delight.