Welcome to a new creative space at Yanko Design, where we explore the minds behind the products that shape our world. We are thrilled to introduce our new podcast, Design Mindset, your weekly dive into the philosophies and frameworks that drive modern innovation. Every Friday, host Radhika Seth sits down with leaders, creators, and thinkers who are redefining their industries. In our ninth episode, we explore a fascinating concept: the invisible grid. These are the seamless systems and technologies that, when designed perfectly, fade into the background, allowing pure creativity to flourish without constraint.
Our guest for this exploration is Edward Mao, a product design lead and the head of the integrated design department at Insta360. Edward brings a global perspective to his work, having studied and lived across the US, Sweden, and Schengen. He leads teams that build the very systems millions of creators depend on daily. Insta360 is known for its groundbreaking 360-degree cameras and action cameras, particularly its “invisible selfie stick” technology, which serves as a perfect metaphor for our conversation. The best systems, like the best tools, should empower the user to the point where they are no longer thinking about the tool itself, but only about what they want to create.
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The Innovator’s Mindset: Redefining the Rules of the Game
What truly separates an innovator from a follower? According to Edward, it transcends simple risk-taking and digs deep into one’s fundamental mindset. An innovator is driven by a desire to establish entirely new rules, to create categories that never existed before, and to set the benchmarks that will define the market for years to come. Their focus is on impact and purpose, a relentless pursuit of a unique vision that pushes the entire industry forward. Edward explains that this path is inherently harder, but the reward is a profound sense of satisfaction that cannot be replicated. As he puts it, “innovating makes you unique… the payoff, you can get the sense of purpose, the sense of satisfaction, right? It’s way bigger than the comfort of staying safe.” It’s a conscious choice to author the next chapter rather than simply editing a page in someone else’s book.
Conversely, the follower’s path is often a strategic one, focused on efficiency and execution. They excel at optimizing proven formulas and competing on established metrics like price and features, a strategy that allows them to catch up quickly and capture market share. However, this approach has a natural limit. Edward notes that many successful creators and companies eventually hit a “growth ceiling,” a point where the old formulas no longer yield the same results. This is the critical juncture where the question shifts from “How can we do this better?” to “What’s next?” This moment of stagnation often becomes the catalyst for a radical shift in thinking, forcing even the most dedicated follower to consider the daunting but necessary leap into the unknown territory of innovation, where the potential for true differentiation lies.
The Disappearing Act: When Great Technology Becomes Invisible
The ultimate goal of great design is to render itself invisible. This is the central philosophy Edward champions, where technology becomes so intuitive and seamless that it dissolves into the background, leaving only the user and their creative vision. The tool ceases to be an object of focus and instead becomes a natural extension of the user’s intent. Insta360’s “invisible selfie stick” is the perfect embodiment of this principle. When a creator uses it, they are not thinking about the pole in their hand or the mechanics of the software erasing it. They are thinking about capturing an impossible, drone-like shot, fully immersed in the act of creation. This is the magic moment Edward strives for, when “the tech basically disappears and the creativity takes over… that’s when you know you have built something truly invisible.” The technology becomes a silent partner, empowering the user without ever demanding their attention.
Achieving this level of invisibility is not a matter of adding more features, but of ruthless simplification and a return to first principles. Instead of asking how to build a better version of an existing product, the innovator asks what the user’s ultimate goal is and what the absolute, unchangeable constraints are. This approach fundamentally reframes the problem, steering the design process away from incremental improvements and toward breakthrough solutions that address the core need. By focusing on the “why” behind the user’s actions, designers can build tools that anticipate needs and remove friction points before they are even noticed. This frees the creator’s mind from the burden of technical problem-solving, allowing them to dedicate all their cognitive energy to what truly matters: storytelling, expression, and bringing their unique vision to life.
Paying the ‘Tuition’: The Unseen Investment of a Pioneer
Embarking on a path of true innovation is an expensive education, and as Edward suggests, the early struggles are the “tuition” paid for a future advantage that cannot be bought. Pioneering is a slow, arduous process, much like pushing a heavy flywheel. The initial effort is immense, with little visible momentum to show for it. These early phases are filled with setbacks, costly mistakes, and the constant feeling of pushing against inertia. However, this upfront investment in learning, testing, and overcoming unforeseen obstacles builds a deep well of experience-based knowledge. This hard-won wisdom becomes a strategic moat, a defensible asset that late-coming competitors cannot easily replicate. They may be able to copy the final product, but they cannot copy the years of struggle and learning that made it possible.
This pioneering journey is fueled by more than just resilience; it is powered by profound empathy. Edward emphasizes that the most insightful innovators are often their own most demanding users. They relentlessly stress-test their own creations in the messy, unpredictable real world, uncovering failure points and latent needs that would never surface in a controlled lab or a market research report. This hands-on process builds an intuitive understanding of the user experience. Furthermore, this journey requires a pragmatic acceptance of imperfection. The goal is not to launch a flawless product from day one. Instead, the strategy is to release a solid, valuable minimum viable product and then iterate relentlessly with the market. As Edward advises, “perfection comes later iteration by iteration i think it’s less scary that way.” In this model, the community of users becomes a collaborative partner in the design process, their feedback shaping the product’s evolution.
Beyond the Product: Why Sustainable Innovation Lives in Ecosystems
In today’s hyper-competitive market, a single breakthrough product is no longer enough to guarantee long-term success. A brilliant feature can be copied, a clever design can be replicated. True, durable advantage, as Edward argues, comes from building a comprehensive ecosystem around the product. This system of interconnected value is far more difficult for competitors to duplicate. For a company like Insta360, this means the camera itself is just the beginning. The real strength lies in the surrounding ecosystem: the intuitive editing software that simplifies complex workflows, the active user communities that provide support and inspiration, the extensive library of tutorials that flatten the learning curve, and the wide array of accessories that expand the product’s capabilities. This holistic approach creates a sticky, high-friction-to-exit experience that compounds the product’s value over time, turning customers into loyal advocates.
This powerful principle of ecosystem thinking is not just for large corporations; it is equally critical for individual creators striving to build a sustainable career. A viral video or a popular design is fleeting, easily lost in the endless stream of digital content. A career built on an ecosystem, however, is enduring. Edward advises creators to think beyond the next piece of content and instead focus on building systems around their work. This could manifest as developing mentorship programs to nurture emerging talent, creating collaborative workflows with other artists to cross-pollinate audiences, or productizing their expertise through workshops and digital assets. By building a network of value around their core creative output, they transform their work from a series of replaceable artifacts into a resilient, interconnected enterprise that can withstand the unpredictable shifts of trends and algorithms.
From Follower to Leader: A Practical Guide to Making the Leap
The transition from a follower to an innovator can feel like a terrifying leap into the abyss, especially when a proven formula is already paying the bills. The fear of abandoning what works is a powerful deterrent. However, Edward’s advice demystifies this process, transforming the reckless gamble into a series of calculated, manageable steps. The core principle is to de-risk innovation by starting small. Instead of betting the entire farm on an unproven idea, he advocates for experimenting on the periphery with “low-stakes side projects.” This approach allows a creator or a company to explore new technologies, test radical ideas, and build new skills without jeopardizing their main source of income or alienating their core audience. As he simply states, “start small always start small.” It’s a strategy of quiet evolution, building the future in the background while continuing to deliver consistency in the foreground.
To guide this process, Edward offers a practical three-part test to determine if an innovative idea is worth pursuing. First, can the concept be explained in a single, simple sentence? This is a test of clarity and focus, ensuring the idea isn’t convoluted. Second, does it create a unique experience that nothing else currently offers? This validates its potential for true market differentiation. And third, does it address common user complaints? This is the most crucial test, as it confirms that the innovation is solving a real, pre-existing problem, signaling a clear and unmet demand. By using this framework, innovation shifts from being a blind bet to a strategic, evidence-based pursuit. It encourages prototyping, running small user tests, and co-creating with the community, allowing the audience to help guide the direction of progress and ensuring that when you do finally push the boundaries, you bring them along with you.
To hear more about Edward’s work and his systematic approach to creativity, you can follow him at “designer mr mao” on red note and tiktok, or go check out how Insta360 is revolutionizing how we capture our world. Be sure to tune in to Design Mindset next Friday for another look into the minds shaping our creative world.
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