Editorial

Creating strategic value for our clients

Rasmus Holscher

“Strategic Product Design is our credo: it means looking beyond the product itself. It means a wider and deeper understanding of our customers, their clients, and end users.”

Globalization has opened up for huge markets, but it has also widened the load of products offered, so the competition is enormous. With this overload of products, the first-hand communication with the customers is of growing importance. Differentiation through storytelling, extra focus on user-friendliness, sustainable decisions when it comes to the choice of materials, production, transport, etc. – and of course the aesthetic qualities – are essential.

 

A human revolution of industry and technology

Understanding human needs in a creative perspective will be of even more importance in the 4th industrial revolution and beyond. Products should surprise and provide their users with a positive human interaction. We see a growing number of smart products that are able to learn and communicate with each other, both nearby and over great distances. Therefore, we have to create intelligent products that make life easier and safer for mankind without increasing alienation between end users and technology. Playful, intuitive user interfaces are crucial here. Technology must serve human needs and never be a purpose in itself!

 

360° value creation

Well-designed products create value for both our customers and the end user. Well-designed products are simply the ones that make their owners happy and proud, and that fulfill their purpose and make life easier. Today, this isn’t enough, though. A well-designed product is also a product, that is well thought out in relation to our eco-system: how, where, of what, and by whom is it made, and what does its lifecycle look like? The demand for eco valuation has grown rapidly in recent years. Both legislation and end users put a lot of pressure on manufacturers. We as designers have to be prepared to help our customers make the right choices. 

 
Strategic Product Design

Strategic Product Design is our credo: it means looking beyond the product itself. It means a wider and deeper understanding of our customers, their clients, and end users. Only with the whole picture in mind and in-depth knowledge of our customers strengths and pains, we can advise and challenge them – and ultimately create significant value. As close partners, we want to be involved in the strategic considerations of our customers and constantly support them. The transformation from the linear into a circular economy is without doubt one of the greatest challenges for product designers. We have an enormous influence and responsibility on how products are planned, and where, how, of which materials, and under which conditions they are manufactured. In the future, designers not only come up with concepts and ideas, but we get more and more involved in our customers’ strategies. The pressure on manufacturers is growing, but they lack experience, and they are nervous to fail. Designers have to guide and suggest materials, productions methods, etc. That requires a lot of knowledge in a wide span of areas. In addition to the actual product development, we have to take the entire lifespan of the products into account – disposal, replacement, recycling, reuse, etc. An eco-friendly, emission neutral/plus carbon footprint production will be the new normal as far as I see it – and hope for.

Rasmus Holscher

Partner

Reach out to Rasmus to learn more about
Holscher Design and how we can help you.

+45 27 11 95 25
rh@holscherdesign.com