NOTES

• People:

  • Understanding the market is one of the most challenging aspects for designers and manufacturers
  • What works for one person, will not necessarily work for another
• New technology:

  • New invention, discovery or technological change drives new product development
  • Research and development (R&D) drives invention and discovery
  • Companies often have their own R&D centres
  • Those companies who are first to market with a new product often have a key advantage over their competitors
• Technology push:

  • New technology is often pushed on to the market, driven by research
  • Often consumers are not aware of the new technology or the advantages it may bring
  • Some products might not be very useful or necessary others may do the job perfectly and not change for decades
• Market pull:

  • Consumer driven pressure causes manufacturers to continuously develop new products or add functionality to existing products
• Spider silk:

  • Spider silk has greater tensile strength than steel yet it is lightweight with high elasticity
  • Synthetic spider silk could be the biggest advance in clothing technology since Nylon
• Philips Lighting:

  • LED lights were first invented in the 1960s, but it was not until the late 1990s that white light was emitted
  • Philips Lighting dedicated its research team to developing LED bulb technology for over 20 years
  • In 2009, they released their first LED lightbulb
  • Philips were subsequently awarded the US Department of Energy L Prize in 2011 establishing them as a market leader in this field
  • The initial retail price of LED bulbs was high
• Cobots:

  • Collaborative robots, or ‘cobots’, are being developed to allow greater human-robot interaction
  • Most industrial robots work separately from humans
  • Cobots can adapt to human operation and vice-versa
  • They will work with humans rather than for them
  • This is expected to significantly improve productivity
• Cultural design:

  • Japanese culture is to sit on the floor at mealtimes
  • Design of tables and chairs in Japan is therefore very different from those in the rest of the world
• The meaning of colour:

  • different colours can mean and symbolise different things in different cultures
  • does red mean stop, danger, wealth, luck happiness or anger?
• The front cover of a book:

  • Not all cultures read from left to right along horizontal lines of text
  • Arabic and Hebrew are read from right to left; some older forms of Chinese are read vertically
• Society:

  • Societies all over the world perceive language, actions and products differently
  • In one country, a product may be very popular, in another, it may not be so well received
  • A French cheese brand "Kiri", was renamed to "Kibi" for the Iranian market because the word "kiri" is used to describe something rotten in Persian
  • 'Traficante' is an Italian brand of mineral water. In Portuguese, it means drug dealer
• Polymer £5 notes:

  • The new UK £5 note contains a small amount of tallow in the polymer pellets used to make the notes
  • Tallow is a substance derived from animal fat
  • This has upset a large community of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, vegetarians and vegans living in the UK
• Design specifically for the disabled:

  • New materials have enabled new designs of prostheses to be developed
  • Body scanners and 3D printing technology can make more comfortable, customised sockets
  • Lightweight and flexible materials can improve shock absorbency and freedom of movement
• Inclusive design:

  • Designs may be developed to be easily used by the elderly or disabled
  • Pedestrian crossings have been designed using audible beeps and bright colours for the partially sighted
  • They are positioned within easy reach of wheelchairs
• Design for different religious groups

  • Textile and fashion design may be judged very differently by those of different religions
  • Some religions require fuller coverage of skin and hair than others
  • Some have particular grooming requirements
  • Some require that certain materials must not be blended