Gadi Amit: The Designer Behind the Fitbit

Meet Gadi Amit. He is the Israeli designer behind the Fitbit, the Palm Zire, and multiple products for Dell and Netgear and the owner of the design firm NewDealDesign. In my opinion, Amit is the epitome of creativity: he blends art with functionality and technology, creating products that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are useful.

Amit, 51, who is originally from a small suburb in Tel Aviv, seemed destined for a creative career. His parents were both architects and LEGO blocks were Amit’s favorite toys, just like his father’s. It is no doubt his parents influenced Amit’s creativity at a young age, encouraging him to appreciate art and technology equally. In high school, he studied technology and science and later enrolled in the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. Post education, Amit worked as an industrial designer with various design and manufacturing companies.

At his small firm NewDealDesign—which only employs about 30 people—collaboration between the designers is responsible for much of the firm’s success. There are different “collaboration rooms” that mimic the different stages of a product’s design. The rooms provide space where the designers can draw colorful sketches on the walls, in an attempt to draw (literally) inspiration for the general structure and color of a product. The next stage is construction, which Amit says is the most important. This is where he encourages his staff to work with all sorts of materials (wood, foam, paper) before they move the design to the computer. He believes computers “kill the serendipity of exploration” and believes in the importance of “play” to create a strong product and company.

Amit appears equally motivated by intrinsic and extrinsic factors, as discussed in Collins & Amabile’s article on different forms of motivation. His main goal is to create products that interact with people in multiple ways, allowing for an aesthetic, practical, and sophisticated experience. He is always aiming to think in new, innovative ways. He also seems to be motivated by the demand for his designs, but he is careful not to get too carried away; projects can take up to one and a half years to complete. Overall, Amit is a fantastic example of a creative and if you are interested in his/his firm’s work, you can check out NewDealDesign’s website here.