Design - A market approach

During final year of University in 2007, news media was stating - “Credit markets go into freefall” and "We suspect the problem in the sub-prime area is just the tip of the iceberg”. It seemed market demand was set to turn on it's head, the consumer bubble of the mid 00s was about to burst, as a global recession was imminent.

The fashion industry produces the idealised identity of a culture (i.e. generally - western capitalist culture, specifically - a youth sub-culture), when a culture has irregular behaviour (e.g. wealthy consumers are no longer guaranteed) one must ask: “What can we be sure of, what can we predict in this market?”. Clothing behaves like many other commodities – controlled by market supply and demand, and consumer's will always want to 'better' themselves and their consumption, based on the knowledge they have. There are basic questions to ask of the market which will answer 'how to develop/produce/market a product?'

The market's demand for your type of product:

What products are currently making your customer's life easier, better, more productive, efficient, more simple, more empowered, more integrated, more knowledgeable, more desirable...?

What are your market's demographics: gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, income, location, spending habits...

What drives your customers to consume?

What are future cultural influences which will shape demand?

What is your target market's idealised culture? Who are the influences and idols?

How does your target market interact with their culture?

What values does your customer have, and how is this manifested in their consumption?

Where is the lucrative gap in the market, where supply is not meeting a demand?

Are the needs, wants and desires (culture) of the target market linked directly with your product, placement, price, and promotion?

The determinants of demand follow:

1. Income
2. Tastes and preferences
3. Prices of related goods and services
4. Consumers' expectations about future prices and incomes that can be checked
5. Number of potential consumers

The market's supply for your type of product:

What can you do to make the consumer's life easier, better, more productive, efficient, more simple, more empowered, more integrated, more knowledgeable, more desirable...?

What are the parameters of your company's: brand, production, existing product. What is the brand culture, vision and mission statement?

How will outside influences - horizontal and vertical supply, secondary markets etc., effect your product?

What are the most popular brand identities and product features supplied by you and your competitors?

What makes your brand and product unique and valuable in your marketplace? How can your product / brand stand out from others?

What will be popular features in future design and production? how can they be appropriated to your product and brand while still keeping them unique?

What forms of marketing are successfully being utilised by you and the competition?

Is the marketing attractive and inclusive with the target market?

Is the product, placement, price, and promotion linked directly with the needs, wants and desires (culture) of the target market?

The determinants of supply follow:

1. Production costs
2. The technology used in production, and/or technological advances
3. A good's own price
4. Firms' expectations about future prices
5. Number of suppliers

To be continued...

See also: Design - A design school approach (pre 2008)