Product design

Product design as a verb is to create a new product to be sold by a business to its customers.[1] A very broad concept, it is essentially the efficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products.[2]

Due to the absence of a consensually accepted definition that reflects the breadth of the topic sufficiently, two discrete, yet interdependent, definitions are needed: one that explicitly defines product design in reference to the artifact, the other that defines the product design process in relation to this artifact.

Product design as a noun: the set of properties of an artifact, consisting of the discrete properties of the form (i.e., the aesthetics of the tangible good and/or service) and the function (i.e., its capabilities) together with the holistic properties of the integrated form and function.[3]

Product design process: the set of strategic and tactical activities, from idea generation to commercialization, used to create a product design. In a systematic approach, product designers conceptualize and evaluate ideas, turning them into tangible inventions and products. The product designer's role is to combine art, science, and technology to create new products that people can use. Their evolving role has been facilitated by digital tools that now allow designers to communicate, visualize, analyze and actually produce tangible ideas in a way that would have taken greater manpower in the past.

Product design is sometimes confused with (and certainly overlaps with) industrial design, and has recently become a broad term inclusive of service, software, and physical product design. Industrial design is concerned with bringing artistic form and usability, usually associated with craft design and ergonomics, together in order to mass-produce goods.[4] Other aspects of product design include engineering design, particularly when matters of functionality or utility (e.g. problem-solving) are at issue, though such boundaries are not always clear.[5]

Product design process

There are various product design processes and many focus on different aspects. The process shown below, for example, is "The Seven Universal Stages of Creative Problem-Solving," outlined by Don Koberg and Jim Bagnell. It helps designers formulate their product from ideas. This process is usually completed by a group of people, i.e. industrial designers, field experts (e.g. prospective users), engineers, etc. depending upon the products involved. The process focuses on figuring out what is required, brainstorming possible ideas, creating mock prototypes, and then generating the product. However, that is not the end of the process. At this point, product designers would still need to execute the idea, making it into an actual product and then evaluate its success by seeing if any improvements are necessary.

The product design process has experienced huge leaps in evolution over the last few years with the rise and adoption of 3D printing. New consumer-friendly 3D printers can produce dimensional objects and print upwards with a plastic like substance opposed to traditional printers that spread ink across a page.

The design process follows a guideline involving three main sections:[6]

The latter two sections are often revisited, depending on how often the design needs touch-ups, to improve or to better fit the criteria. This is a continuous loop, where feedback is the main component.[6] To break it down even more, the seven stages specify how the process works. Analysis consists of two stages, concept is only one stage, and synthesis encompasses the other four.

Analysis

Concept

Synthesis

Demand-pull innovation and invention-push innovation

Most product designs fall under one of two categories: demand-pull innovation or invention-push innovation.[7]

Demand-pull happens when there is an opportunity in the market to be explored by the design of a product.[7] This product design attempts to solve a design problem. The design solution may be the development of a new product or developing a product that's already on the market, such as developing an existing invention for another purpose.[7]

Invention-push innovation happens when there is an advancement in intelligence. This can occur through research or it can occur when the product designer comes up with a new product design idea.[7]

Product design expression

Design expression comes from the combined effect of all elements in a product. Colour tone, shape and size should direct a person's thoughts towards buying the product.[8] Therefore, it is in the product designer's best interest to consider the audiences who are most likely to be the product's end consumers. Keeping in mind how consumers will perceive the product during the design process will direct towards the product’s success in the market.[9] However, even within a specific audience, it is challenging to cater to each possible personality within that group.

The solution to that is to create a product that, in its designed appearance and function, expresses a personality or tells a story.[8] Products that carry such attributes are more likely to give off a stronger expression that will attract more consumers. On that note it is important to keep in mind that design expression does not only concern the appearance of a product, but also its function.[8] For example, as humans our appearance as well as our actions are subject to people's judgment when they are making a first impression of us. People usually do not appreciate a rude person even if they are good looking. Similarly, a product can have an attractive appearance but if its function does not follow through it will most likely drop in regards to consumer interest. In this sense, designers are like communicators, they use the language of different elements in the product to express something.[10]

Product design considerations

Product design is not an easy task.[11] The stakeholders involved all demand something different from the product designer and from the design process.[11]

Stakeholders' needs vary from one another and it is the product designer's job to incorporate those needs into their design.

Trends in product design

Product designers need to consider all of the details: the ways people use and abuse objects, faulty products, errors made in the design process, and the desirable ways in which people wish they could use objects.[12] Many new designs will fail and many won't even make it to market.[12] Some designs eventually become obsolete. The design process itself can be quite frustrating usually taking 5 or 6 tries to get the product design right.[12] A product that fails in the marketplace the first time may be re-introduced to the market 2 more times.[12] If it continues to fail, the product is then considered to be dead because the market believes it to be a failure.[12] Most new products fail, even if it's a great idea.[12] All types of product design are clearly linked to the economic health of manufacturing sectors. Innovation provides much of the competitive impetus for the development of new products, with new technology often requiring a new design interpretation. It only takes one manufacturer to create a new product paradigm to force the rest of the industry to catch up - fueling further innovation.[13] Products designed to benefit people of all ages and abilities—without penalty to any group—accommodate our swelling aging population by extending independence and supporting the changing physical and sensory needs we all encounter as we grow older.[14]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.rqriley.com/pro-dev.htm
  2. ↑ Morris 2009, p. 22.
  3. ↑ Luchs, M., & Swan, K. S. (2011). Perspective: The Emergence of Product Design as a Field of Marketing Inquiry. Journal Of Product Innovation Management, 28(3), 327-345. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5885.2011.00801.x
  4. ↑ Morris 2009, p. 23.
  5. ↑ http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings.aspx?Id=7824
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Koberg, J., & Bagnell J. (1991). The universal traveler: A soft systems guide to creativity, problem-solving and the process of reaching goals. W. Kaufmann.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Archer, B. (1974). Design awareness and planned creativity in industry. (p. 87). Toronto: Thorn Press Limited.
  8. 1 2 3 Hekkert, P., & Schifferstein, H. (2008). Product experience. (1 ed., p. 335). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.
  9. ↑ Hekkert, P., & Schifferstein, H. (2008). Product experience . (1 ed., pp. 334). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science
  10. ↑ Hekkert, P., & Schifferstein, H. (2008). Product experience. (1 ed., pp. 349). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Norman, D. (2002). The design of everyday things. (p. 28). New York: Basic Books.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Norman, D. (2002). The design of everyday things. (p. 29). New York: Basic Books.
  13. ↑ http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/Types-of-design/Product-design/Future-trends/
  14. ↑ Pirkl, James J. (1994). Transgenerational Design: Products for an Aging Population. New York: Vn Nostrand Reinhold. p. 24. ISBN 0-442-01065-6.

References

  • Archer, B. (1974). Design awareness and planned creativity in industry. Toronto: Thorn Press Limited. ISBN 0-85072-016-8. 
  • Hawker, Chris (2005). The Inventor's Mind: 10 Steps to Making Money From Inventions. Columbus: Trident Design. 
  • Hekkert, P.; Schifferstein, H. (2008). Product experience. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Limited. ISBN 978-0-08-045089-6. 
  • Koberg, J, & Bagnell, J (1991). The universal traveler: A soft systems guide to creativity, problem-solving and the process of reaching goals. W. Kaufmann. ISBN 978-0-913232-05-7. 
  • Morris, R. (2009). The fundamentals of product design. AVA Publishing. ISBN 2-940373-17-5. 
  • Norman, D. (2002). The design of everyday things. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-06710-7. 
  • Pirkl, James J. (1994). Transgenerational Design: Products for an Aging Population. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. p. 24. ISBN 0-442-01065-6. 

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