Product Design
Business: Cambridge International GCSE (2027 Exams), topic 3.3.2
Product Design
Product design is the process of creating new products or services for firms to sell. Firms that are good at product design will be good at researching new products, good at developing them and good at coming up with new and innovative ideas that customers will buy.
Market-driven approach
- The market-driven approach is one that listens and responds to the needs and wants of customers.
- Firms that use a market-driven approach don’t just design a product that a couple of people in the company think is a good idea.
- They will do lots of market research into what customers want.
- A market-driven approach is much more effective in developing successful new products.
Product differentiation
- Product differentiation is making your product different to competitors' products. A product’s unique selling point (USP) is the part of the product or service that is different to anything else in the market.
- Tesla’s USP is that their cars run on electricity rather than petrol or diesel.
- Dyson's USP is that it produces fans that are bladeless. However, other businesses, like Samsung, have since imitated this feature, and so it is no longer unique.
The Design Mix
A product is usually produced with the three following aspects in mind: function, cost and aesthetics.
Function
- Function is the way that a product works (including all of the different aspects of how it works).
- For example, when designing a speaker you need to think about whether or not it will be Bluetooth, will it be wireless and if so, how will it be charged.
- Beats by Dre offer wired and wireless versions but making the wireless headphones is usually more expensive, so Apple (which owns Beats) usually charges a higher price for these.
Cost
- The product design and its features affects how much the product will cost to make, and so price is an important consideration when designing a product.
Aesthetics
- Product image (or the way a product looks) can make a product stand out from competition, but it also has important impact on the overall brand image of the business.
- For example, Monzo is an app that offers banking services. Its functionality is not very different to other big banks like Barclays but the aesthetics of its products are very pleasing.
- Brand image is important because it is essentially the reputation of the firm. This is not just important for selling the product but also for selling the firms other products and services.
Packaging
- Packaging is an important element of the design mix because it protects the product, makes it easy to transport, and can attract customers.
- For example, Apple products are well known for their sleek packaging, which reinforces the premium image of the brand.
Test yourself on Product Design
Why is product differentiation important?
What do we call the part of the product or service that is different to anything else in the market?
What is the USP of Dyson Airblade hand dryers?
How is brand image or product image important to a business?
What are the 3 aspects of the design mix?