The most familiar image of design is as a

creator of style. In fact despite the many

other meaningful things that design

can do, it could be argued that infusing

products with designer style is the core

competence of design. So we enter a discussion

about beauty and the value of beauty.

The company that decides to use design to

differentiate itself is betting that improving its

style is a way of attracting customers. There’s

an interesting difference in approach to design

between different cultures. The yardstick that

businesses use to measure good design in the USA

is usually improved sales. This is pragmatic and

measurable. In Europe, however weight is given to

abstract elements of design(the kind art students

would talk about; proportion, line, color and so on)

which determine whether a particular design has

been well executed or not. Ordinary Europeans, and

therefore businesspeople more frequently recognize

these elements intuitively and are able to form an

opinion on a design. This is perhaps why European

products have certain characteristic styles that are

easy to identify.

It has been said that other countries like Japan

blend the two approaches. This understanding of

how design style is perceived is important when

deciding when design can be exported across

borders successfully.

In product design, improved style means making

products look stylish and cool. However there are

several layers to this ‘coolness’ as Diego Rodriguez

so eloquently explains. To artists, designers and

all aesthetes, creating beauty is in itself valuable.

Businesses in America sometimes need to be

convinced of that, usually when customers with the

same sensibilities react to the beauty by buying it.

In the world of designers, few are able to marry

the high art of original, iconic style with the depth of

technical and commercial abilities needed to succeed

with complex consumer products. As successful as

Michael Graves has been working together with

Target designing coat hooks and wall clocks, his

range of consumer electronics was a failure. Even

Yves Behar of Fuseproject, who has an apparently

technically competent portfolio, commented in a

revealing interview that the $100 laptop project is

much more difficult for his studio than their regular

work designing slick lifestyle products.

There is a downside to designer style. If style

is the only reason for using design, the gain turns

out to be short term. Style is easy to copy (just ask

Alessi)and the style focus tends to be on one product

at a time because the company is looking for quick

easy successes by applying style. Since the reward

is short lived, it’s prudent to allocate a minimum of

resources to developing style as a differentiating

factor. Hence the company employing design only

for it’s style potential is always either playing catch

up or jumping ahead only to fall quickly behind again.

In this situation, similar to the company which

doesn’t yet use design for style, cost is the major

weapon. Improved style cannot sufficiently

differentiate products and services without highly

competitive costs to attract customers. Attractive or

distinctive style does offer a business a significant

advantage over competitors whose style is less so.

It places the company near the head of the pack and

can sometimes stop commoditization and purely

cost-driven competition.

Fortunately, style is closely followed in the minds

of businesspeople by another attribute of design

which adds benefits which make it harder for

competitors to follow.

Next: Improving Function

The power of

DeSIGNThe power of DeSIGN IS a SerIeS IN 5 parTS lookING aT The DIffereNT wayS IN whIch DeSIGN

caN be uSeD wIThIN a compaNy, cuTTING away hyperbole IN The TypIcal DeSIGN SaleS pITch aND

INveSTIGaTING The real beNefITS of DeSIGN To cuSTomerS, The orGaNIzaTIoN aND ITS reveNue.

The 5 parTS DIScuSS INcremeNTal STepS: No DeSIGN, STyle, form & fuNcTIoN, SolvING buSINeSS

problemS aND achIevING leaDerShIp.

1 Terrestrial article update volume 3 November 2010 November 2010 Terrestrial article update volume 3 2

IMpROvED STYlE cannot sufficiently differentiate

products and services without highly competitive

costs to attract customers. Attractive or distinctive

style does offer a business a significant advantage

over competitors whose style is less so. It places

the company near the head of the pack and can

sometimes stop commoditization and purely

cost-driven competition.

parT 2: STyle

AUTHOR TASOS CAlANTzIS

Tasos calantzis is the ceo of Terrestrial, an international, South african-based strategic design consultancy that deploys their proven expertise and tools to meet the challenges of globalisation in increasingly competitive markets, especially in africa. www.trstrl.com

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