Product design is an umbrella term for an efficient and effective way of solving problems and developing ideas or concepts. Design can help in transforming the way we look at things and can also result in new economic benefits and a better quality of life. A design studio such as Future Factory can identify numerous problems and provide numerous solutions, this provides an idea about the future of product design in India.
Product design and design research
Product design is the process of identifying a market opportunity, clearly defining the problem, developing a proper solution for that problem and validating the solution with real users. Whereas, Design research refers to a compilation of knowledge assembled through a process of stakeholder interviews, domain research, user interviews, and more to guide the creation of a product. Design research is more holistic and is pursued even outside specific product development. It focuses more on producing frameworks and generically applicable principles.
Design research is foundational to creating products, services, and systems that respond to human needs. Design research plays a crucial role in supporting the strategic design and development of products, services, and programs.
Design research companies in India
Design research is a broad term for the process that designers use to better understand the underlying and sometimes hidden desires, needs, and challenges of end-users, also known as the target audience. Design research companies such as Future Factory not only endeavour to understand the individual but also aim to explore the world around them and their experiences of it. Understanding how their work fits within their target audience’s universe is crucial to creating useful, usable, and desired products and services.
Future Factory is a data-driven consulting firm with decades of experience identifying unmet consumer needs for designers, product developers, and marketers; and testing new designs to assess how well they will perform in the marketplace.
Future of Product Design in India
Design is becoming more and more important as the “builder of interfaces” between the real world and the digital. The future is here already with co-design, collaborative design, creative economy, and sharing economy. Refer to the future not only in terms of technology but in terms of the changes, the design will bring to society as a whole creating more positive impacts and awareness.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) reports that demand for product designers in India has increased over the years and is currently growing at an annual rate of 10%. The need for qualified designers has increased with a dearth of skilled product designers in India. CII also claims that the design industry in India was worth Rs 18,832 crore in 2020, which further increases considerably in 2022.
The current tech scenario in India is driven by the vision of a truly Digital India and an Atma Nirbhar Bharat. The possibilities of indigenous development of products and services specifically those sourced from other countries have now been unlocked. The product design industry experienced a convulsion of changes due to the pandemic from the design industry’s rise. As a result, the product design industry suddenly becomes livelier to revolve in innovative and updated ways.
Conclusion :
The product design industry has a bright future in the advanced digital world. As long as there are problems, there will be a need and demand for the solution. The problem can be related to any domain, social, manufacturing, business, utility, usability, experience, system, transportation an ergonomic problem. All these problems can be solved by design (by applying principles of design, designing products, designing systems, designing tools, designing machines, designing interfaces, designing processes, designing systems etc). Every problem is an opportunity in itself.
