(book review) A Fine Line

A Fine Line: How Design Strategies are shaping the future of businesses by Hartmut Essligner

Jossey-Bass, SFO-USA, 2009

'A Fine Line' is written by Hartmut Essligner, the man behind the ace design company - Frog. Overall, the book talks about how the company developed, how design is now an important and respected field in the business field, the life-cycles of various products and projects that Frog did and did not. I like Essligner's work - he is the founder of Frog and has worked on some of the world's biggest brands like Apple, Sony, Disney, etc.  But as far as the book is concerned, I wish he went into more detail on the projects he describes. 

I like the way he describes his journey - defending and making successful design solutions. He spends a lot of pages writing about Frog's work with Apple, which is interesting. The book also gives some glimpses into blends of design and businesses. 

This book is a fine read, but I wish there was more written on how the projects were developed and delivered. Rather, the book mainly boasts about Frog's success and they way they got their clients and the way some companies lost on their businesses as a result of rejecting Frog's advise. I hope Essligner writes another book with more emphasis on the actual processes in design, strategy and business.