In December the innovation forum was held by Bayer MaterialScience. Dirk Hagen Zimmermann from marktunddesign gave a presentation to 700 guests, detailing the future possibilities of Product Design as a Marketing Factor.

Market and design

Increasingly dynamic global markets, structural changes in distribution practices, and changing consumer behaviour are some of the challenges we face. Moreover, from the market point of view, products and their functions are becoming more and more identical in many sectors.
In the hope of gaining a short-term lead, a lower price is frequently the only message to which the market responds. On the other hand, the appearance of a brand and in particular the products/ product design have a huge influence on buying decisions.

Future and design

Be it shoes, cars or televisions: all consumer goods, and increasingly also capital goods, are being designed. Thus, the question posed in the future is not whether or not a product should be designed, but rather if the design is good or bad. Businesses that previously viewed design as a luxury or as unnecessary styling are beginning to recognise this trend and are giving design a higher priority in the marketing mix, as confirmed by the fact that sales of product designers have risen in the last ten years by over 1,000% in Europe, and 1,400% in North America.

Material and Design

Design naturally includes the fulfilment of all technical requirements, ergonomics, and production and optimization of earnings. However, it also encompasses emotions, visual impressions, colours, haptics, surfaces and materials, and that means plastics and BMS.
Designers, architects and engineers are starting to explore new technologies and materials. Knowledge of intelligent material applications must evolve into a key discipline in order to develop the products of the future, optimally fulfil the functional and emotional needs of the market, and make products more successful.
These challenges demand new and creative strategies.
It’s our job to design the future!