Designing for Failure, Not Success

Inventing With HartBehind the ScenesPet Innovation
Written By E. Black

Originally written: 06 July 2020

Designing for Failure States in Safety-Critical Products

Most products are designed for when everything goes right.

We’re designing for when it doesn’t — and in a year shaped by COVID, we suddenly have the time and space to do that properly.

At this stage, MyHerculead testing shifts toward failure-state behavior — what happens when two dogs surge, when grip slips, when balance breaks mid-step. Success cases are no longer interesting. Recovery paths are.

This reframes the entire system:

  • Graceful failure over perfect performance.

  • Stability over speed.

  • Predictability over cleverness.

That’s when products stop being objects — and start being tools.

E. Black

E. Black — Inventor & Technical Director

E. Black is a multi-disciplinary inventor and Technical Director at The Hartful Company, specializing in practical, safety-driven product design and lean innovation. With over a decade of hands-on prototyping experience — including 69 iterations of a multiple dog walking lead focused on real-world safety and usability — their work bridges industrial precision with everyday problem-solving.

As webmaster and technical architect for The Hartful Company, E. Black also oversees digital infrastructure, optimization, and systems design, ensuring that every product and platform meets rigorous standards of performance, reliability, and user trust. Their work is guided by one principle: innovation should make life safer, simpler, and better — for humans and animals alike.

https://www.thehartfulcompany.com
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Designing Inside a Stalled World