Design your success

When talking about business success, one thing that does not pop into most peoples’ mind in the first place is product design. But let’s take a look at some best practice examples: everyone knows the Coca Cola bottle that merges with the brand just like its taste. The round edges of the i-phone and its big touch screen have become famous worldwide too. And the smart cars did not without reason play a main role in the movie Italian Job.

A good design matches its product like a second skin and helps creating an image since it can be recognized quite easily. But also it is the key to the processes of innovation and continuous improvement and thus helps you to maximize your profitability. To reach this goal, you have to keep in mind two important principles that smart designs have in common: It is crucial to meet the needs of the marketplace first and the production process second. Despite that designers usually work in isolation, the needs of the end users should be at first identified carefully. The aim is to create products people want, instead of trying to persuade people to want products you have created. That means the design process should be market driven, with the designer focused on creating products that marketing identified as the customers wants. Design and production teams should thus be brought together as early as possible.

In conclusion the design process has to be planned ahead and thoroughly coordinated with other departments such as the marketing. It should not be seen as a separate task but as a part of the business process!