A Luddite friend who’d always sworn by his grandfather’s camera, recently cracked during a sojourn at Zurich airport and bought a digital one. Why that particular brand over all the others? “It felt so comfortable in my hands, the grip was so much more reassuring; it felt light but solid, and the screen is beautifully clear.”

These days, consumers are faced with a bewildering array of choice, and are turning to design as a way of distinguishing between and, deciding on, which products to buy. Not only should they do their jobs, new products must also boast the “Wow!” factor. This means manufacturers, facing fierce global competition, are turning to design for the kind of innovation that will generate new revenue and greater profit margins, while increasing brand awareness. 

Never has strategic design research been more important. Its tools, such as consumer observation and fast prototyping, are now being used to challenge conventional wisdom and promote innovation.

“The first part of the process is to identify product characteristics or attributes that consumers will delight in,” says Mary Beth Lake, head of Synovate’s product design and development practice. “Very early on, we create an experimental design and manipulate ingredients together in a systematic fashion before asking consumers, ‘Do you like this product?  Would you want to buy this product?’ From their responses, we can learn which are the areas or characteristics that are truly appealing, and so advise our clients about the kind of products consumers are looking for. Then their product development team sets about creating prototypes for the consumers to evaluate.”

As well as designing products that will meet consumer preferences and needs, one of the challenges a design research team faces is identifying products with the greatest business potential. Pricing research is critical to consumers and manufacturers, and prototypes are vigorously assessed for marketplace feasibility.

“Because the client has to make products that are going to be reasonably priced in their categories, we might have constraints in terms of how much different characteristics will drive the cost of these products,” Lake explains. “This is more the case with fast-moving consumer goods, such as food and beverages or personal care items, which people buy on a regular basis. There’s a lot of development of new products, particularly in fast-moving consumer goods, because the manufacturers are always trying to differentiate themselves from their competition. For example, how to modify a product or introduce a new product that would meet a consumer need that’s currently not met, or to delight a consumer in some way.”

At the other end of the spectrum are the durable goods, items such as that new camera, PC or car. These are the items a consumer might choose infrequently, not only because of the financial commitment involved, but also because of the commitment and patience needed simply to learn how to use them. Does the research process differ for these higher ticket items?

“Naturally there’s a far greater resource and monetary investment required for the prototype development of these items,” Lake says. “But essentially our research philosophy is the same. We try to understand the emotions that are evoked by different product characteristics, such as feeling luxurious when driving a top-of-the-range automobile. This helps the client understand how to position their product in the marketplace, and the kind of strategy they should implement to get the essence of their product across through marketing and advertising.”

As good design can enhance an image and breathe new life into an existing brand, so manufacturers are using design to reinterpret existing categories and open up new marketplaces for their brands. Design can be used to understand what the brands really stand for in the minds of consumers.

“We do quantitative work in terms of packaging, where we’re looking at the impact that packaging has on the product itself,” Lake continues. “As the package often reflects the brand, it’s critical that we understand what’s driving people to purchase a particular brand and what makes them identify the product. There are several key components and a lot of integration of what we’re doing and so we really try to take that holistic approach.”

Cultural differences also have to be taken into account if a manufacturer is to compete successfully in the global arena, and that requires customised design research for each market. “It’s vital to understand which product satisfies the consumer in which regions, and whether the client is able to design products that would be appealing to consumers in more than one area or country,” Lake says. “It’s interesting to see how consumers behave based on their current marketplace availability.”

Even after a product’s design and launch, the research team’s job is far from over. By aligning product design with marketing, packaging and service, their clients can then deliver a powerful brand image.

“After the product has launched, we bring all the information together in a step we call Concept Product Fit,” explains Lake. “This ensures that the advertising, or the way they’re going to position the product in the marketplace, is effectively communicating the product deliverables and, of course, that the product actually delivers on the concept being communicated. In that sense we bring together the price, the package, and all of the components of a new product, including its branding, to assess how it’s going to fit within the current or existing portfolio. It’s a critical component to make sure that the product is delivering and that there will be no negative impact on the brand.”

As companies are increasingly investing in design as a fundamental way of distinguishing their brands, design is no longer a superficial matter of showy attributes – the design must contain the essential promise of a brand. “What we do ultimately impacts the brand,” Lake concludes. “But a lot of what we’re doing up front happens even before the brand is introduced.”

In the world of brand-name products, design is part of the message, as well as a product. Getting the design in line with a brand is now fundamental to building brand value.