rileyuk.co.uk

I found this article online that is entitled 'Why Apple doesn't do "Concept Products". The title does indicate an apple bias in the article but it makes a good point about the process of designing:

Article wrote:Pretenders don’t quite understand that design is born of constraints. Real-life constraints, be they tangible or cognitive

This is actually a very insightful comment and it in my humble opinion many of the best examples of Architecture, especially relating to the re-use of buildings are born from this idea that real life constraints are important to the design process. If you have five minutes the article is quite interesting, it points out that GM motors, a company that has lost over $50 billion in the last few years and seems unlikely to avoid closure at this point, has spent years designing concept cars that have cost them lots of money but have had no tangible benefit to the company. It also shows that their competitors have were actually designing and building cars that people want to buy!

Finally had time to read it. It is a good article, so I'll cut them some slack for any Apple bias: I think it just so happens that Apple illustrate the "real artists ship" concept fairly well. You can apply this to a lot of fields... although some lend themselves to this sort of procrastination more than others!