Product Development

What role does design play in marketing my new product/service and who should I speak to about it?

You can use design to improve your business through the products and services you offer, and you can double its effectiveness by planning for and using design strategically. By thinking the big design picture, rather than focussing on one single product, you can link all of the parts of your company that benefit from design - especially marketing - and create a powerful business response that is irresistible to your customers.

Communicate clearly

The marketing of your new product/service must communicate its benefits to your target market and this inevitably leads back to the design of consistent communication materials. The benefits that you wish to draw attention to could be related to the image rather than the function of your product/service, and may rely heavily on the successful communication of your brand values.

Your design brief will already have made clear how your product/service differs from the competition and what business objectives it should meet. This now needs to be translated into an effective marketing message via your communication materials. See our factsheet on Briefing a Designer.

Take control

The design of your communication materials (eg your advertising, online presence, sales promotion, direct marketing, point of sale material, logo, vehicle livery, stationery, uniforms) says a lot about your company. It therefore should be controlled to ensure it consistently delivers the right message about your company's values as well as its products.

Be complementary

If you have already used a designer to help create or develop your product/service, talk to them about whether they can develop your communication materials, or know of a company with these skills that they work with. But, ideally, your marketing should be planned at the same time as the development process, to ensure the two are completely complementary.

For design advice in your region contact your local Business Link operator and visit the Design Council web site. Also, check out the Government design tool.