<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is design sometimes unnecessary? The short answer: yes, sometimes it\u2019s better to leave it out.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The longer one: good design enhances almost every product \u2013 its function, its perception and its market potential. Over the past 30 years, I\u2019ve worked on projects ranging from production machinery and vehicles to rescue equipment, capital goods, B2B electronics, consumer electronics, toys and even ice lollies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there are situations where design is not the right solution \u2013 yet. At exactly those points, it\u2019s my responsibility not to push for \u201cmore design\u201d but to give honest advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When is design not worthwhile? \u2013 The STOP criteria:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Profitability<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n If reworking a product isn\u2019t financially viable, even the best design won\u2019t help. In such cases, smaller supporting measures such as product graphics or packaging may be more appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Competition<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have a monopoly, or is your product unrivalled? Congratulations \u2013 you\u2019ve hit the jackpot. Then you don\u2019t need design \u2013 not yet. But markets change. Competitors rarely wait long, and an advantage can quickly be lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Price sensitivity<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n For products where every penny counts, design may initially seem like an added cost. Yet good design can simplify processes, save materials or embed an unremarkable product within the company\u2019s brand world. Still, in extreme cases, restraint is the wiser choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Distrust<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Some customers react with suspicion if something looks \u201ctoo good\u201d \u2013 they assume hidden costs or deception. My approach: design should not put the designer centre stage but strengthen the product itself. Where quality criteria aren\u2019t recognised or valued, design may indeed be out of place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My promise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As a designer, I see opportunities for improvement almost everywhere \u2013 but it\u2019s also my role to give honest advice. Not every project needs comprehensive design. Let\u2019s have an open conversation about whether, and how, design can help you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Is design sometimes unnecessary? The short answer: yes, sometimes it\u2019s better to leave it out.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[132],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsletter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d-tom.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d-tom.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d-tom.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d-tom.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d-tom.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d-tom.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d-tom.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d-tom.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d-tom.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d-tom.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}