My OperaMarketing Prospect of Product Design & Development in Bangladesh
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 7:53:32 AM
Product Design & Development
Product design can be defined as the idea generation, concept development, testing and manufacturing or implementation of a physical object or service. Product Designers conceptualize and evaluate ideas, making them tangible through products in a more systematic approach. The role of a product designer encompasses many characteristics of the marketing manager, product manager, industrial designer and design engineer.
The term is sometimes confused with industrial design, which defines the field of a broader spectrum of design activities, such as service design, systems design, interaction design as well as product design. The role of the product designer combines art, science and technology to create tangible three-dimensional goods. This evolving role has been facilitated by digital tools that allow designers to communicate, visualize and analyze ideas in a way that would have taken greater manpower in the past.
Product designers are equipped with the skills needed to bring products from conception to market. They should have the ability to manage design projects, and subcontract areas to other sectors of the design industry. Aesthetics is considered important in Product Design but designers also deal with important aspects including technology, ergonomics, usability, stress analysis and materials engineering.
As with most of the design fields the idea for the design of a product arises from a need and has a use. It follows a certain method and can sometimes be attributed to more complex factors such as association and telesis. Also used to describe a technically competent product designer or industrial designer is the term Industrial Design Engineer. The Cyclone vacuum cleaner inventor James Dyson for example could be considered to be in this category (see his autobiography Against The Odds, Pub Thomson 2002).
Some companies or individuals have particularly strong feel for developing new products than others. In the modern world these include especially technological companies like iRobot, Google or Nokia. Many product designers are strategic assets to companies that need to maintain a competitive edge in innovation.
Product Design & Development comprises the set of complementary activities and disciplines which start with the identification of a market opportunity followed by the development of initial concepts and culminate in the manufacture, sale and delivery of an end product to the customer.
Product development scientists work with research scientists to develop new ideas and scientific discoveries, which are generated into new materials and/or products for manufacture. They also develop and improve existing products.
Typical work activities for product development scientists include:
investigating problems and areas of desirable product development, and producing product prototypes;
formulating and establishing product design and performance objectives, normally in consultation with other functions, including research, marketing and production, as well as contractors, suppliers, and customers;
responding to customer requirements, liaising with suppliers of raw materials, and resolving production problems;
conducting test protocols and procedures, and product evaluation;
transferring new technologies across a range of product categories;
writing technical reports and cost estimates, documenting development work, and implementing profit improvement programmes;
providing product claims and substantiation to ensure efficacy and safety of new and existing products (this applies particularly to the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector);
overseeing the integration of new products with other commercial areas, including brand development, sales strategy, quality assurance, legal, marketing and manufacturing.
Career Prospects
Product Design & Development specialization is increasingly in demand by industrial employers, especially with the increase of presences of Multi-National Companies (MNCs), large scale Mobile Operators, Pharmaceuticals, and local and international banks, media promoters, who requires innovative products as souvenir to promote their new products, services and identities in the market besides various types of direct product manufacturing companies for furniture, fancy stationary items, computer, electric and electronic items, households, lights, fittings, fixtures and different types of interior decoration items for residence, kitchen, bathroom and offices.
For two or three decades, U.S. and European companies had a good deal going with the rest of the world. They had kept all of the high-pay technical jobs such as product design and development, and ship the low-pay unpleasant work off to China, Mexico, and Eastern Europe. It was a net gain for the U.S., since a good portion of aging blue collar workers encouraged their kids to get a college education and become the engineers and managers who ran the outsourced manufacturing from here.
But with the growing domestic market in emerging economies such as China, Korea, India and Bangladesh eventually U.S. and European companies will need to use designers who are close to the swelling markets. "The Asian market is very different from the U.S., due to its cultural diversity and various consumer tastes," says Raymond Tsang, president of Avnet Electronics Marketing Asia. "A lack of breadth of the product offering in the U.S. will be a drawback."
Prospect of Undergraduate Program in Product Design & Development in Bangladesh
With the absence of specific graduates in the discipline of Product Design & Development in Bangladesh graduates in Graphic Design & Multimedia, Interior Architecture, Fine Arts and other similar discipline are expected to find employment in a variety of disciplines relating to the function. Therefore it has become a necessity to introduce such a program in undergraduate level in any of our public or private universities to meet the increasing industrial demand and thus fill the great vacuum.
New products are the lifeblood of organizations. Therefore the program for innovative product design should have the philosophy to educate contemporary designers to meet current industry needs.
Innovative product design should aim to educate hybrid designers who have the ability to evaluate and creatively use technology in a design context. Through sensitively and critically assessing the needs of people we hope our graduates can design products that have a positive impact on our
changing society.
The range of skills taught on the course should greatly enhance employment opportunities, particularly when coupled with placement experience.
The aim of this programme of study should provide students with a select group of modules, which address the product design, development and supply life-cycle by bringing together the core disciplines of marketing, design (industrial and engineering) and manufacture. In addition, strong emphasis should be placed on product quality and cost, as well as on the key aspects of the design and development phase, namely project management, cost and time-to- market. Since the product design and development activity within a company is inter-disciplinary by nature, group and team-working skills should also be also emphasized.
During Years 1, 2 and 3, academic study may be supplemented by periods of paid work experience gained within industry. There should be a flexibility in the duration of the placement undertaken.
Course Contents
Year 1
Students should be introduced to Computer-Aided Design through design software commonly used in industry. Parallel studies develop an understanding of engineering mechanics, materials and other related areas important to Product Design.
Students should have the opportunity to participate in a period of sandwich training (optional) where they can take up a period of paid placement at the end of the academic year.
Year 2
The theme of Computer-Aided Design should continue moving into more advanced areas of 3-D modeling. The processes of product design should be developed and a range of information technology skills should be enhanced to complement this. Management issues important to Product Design should also be explored. Students should have the opportunity to participate in a period of sandwich training (optional) where they can take up a period of paid placement at the end of the academic year.
Year 3
Analysis and simulation techniques should be applied during Year 3. These techniques enable the capabilities of a product to be assessed before it is made. The relationship between design and manufacture should be investigated and issues such as marketing principles and product testing can be presented. Students should also broaden their knowledge in new areas such as manufacturing systems and design animation. Students again should have the opportunity to participate in a period of sandwich training (optional) where they can take up a period of paid placement at the end of the academic year. At this stage in their programme some students can opt for a one-year, or thick sandwich placement.
Year 4
(Honours)
A significant part of fourth year should be taken up with individual and group projects in the area of Product Design. Automation and intelligent systems are explored and the use of computer-aided manufacture. Product Design is developed along with other important issues such as product quality.[/FONT][/ALIGN][/SIZE][/FONT]
Product design can be defined as the idea generation, concept development, testing and manufacturing or implementation of a physical object or service. Product Designers conceptualize and evaluate ideas, making them tangible through products in a more systematic approach. The role of a product designer encompasses many characteristics of the marketing manager, product manager, industrial designer and design engineer.
The term is sometimes confused with industrial design, which defines the field of a broader spectrum of design activities, such as service design, systems design, interaction design as well as product design. The role of the product designer combines art, science and technology to create tangible three-dimensional goods. This evolving role has been facilitated by digital tools that allow designers to communicate, visualize and analyze ideas in a way that would have taken greater manpower in the past.
Product designers are equipped with the skills needed to bring products from conception to market. They should have the ability to manage design projects, and subcontract areas to other sectors of the design industry. Aesthetics is considered important in Product Design but designers also deal with important aspects including technology, ergonomics, usability, stress analysis and materials engineering.
As with most of the design fields the idea for the design of a product arises from a need and has a use. It follows a certain method and can sometimes be attributed to more complex factors such as association and telesis. Also used to describe a technically competent product designer or industrial designer is the term Industrial Design Engineer. The Cyclone vacuum cleaner inventor James Dyson for example could be considered to be in this category (see his autobiography Against The Odds, Pub Thomson 2002).
Some companies or individuals have particularly strong feel for developing new products than others. In the modern world these include especially technological companies like iRobot, Google or Nokia. Many product designers are strategic assets to companies that need to maintain a competitive edge in innovation.
Product Design & Development comprises the set of complementary activities and disciplines which start with the identification of a market opportunity followed by the development of initial concepts and culminate in the manufacture, sale and delivery of an end product to the customer.
Product development scientists work with research scientists to develop new ideas and scientific discoveries, which are generated into new materials and/or products for manufacture. They also develop and improve existing products.
Typical work activities for product development scientists include:
investigating problems and areas of desirable product development, and producing product prototypes;
formulating and establishing product design and performance objectives, normally in consultation with other functions, including research, marketing and production, as well as contractors, suppliers, and customers;
responding to customer requirements, liaising with suppliers of raw materials, and resolving production problems;
conducting test protocols and procedures, and product evaluation;
transferring new technologies across a range of product categories;
writing technical reports and cost estimates, documenting development work, and implementing profit improvement programmes;
providing product claims and substantiation to ensure efficacy and safety of new and existing products (this applies particularly to the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector);
overseeing the integration of new products with other commercial areas, including brand development, sales strategy, quality assurance, legal, marketing and manufacturing.
Career Prospects
Product Design & Development specialization is increasingly in demand by industrial employers, especially with the increase of presences of Multi-National Companies (MNCs), large scale Mobile Operators, Pharmaceuticals, and local and international banks, media promoters, who requires innovative products as souvenir to promote their new products, services and identities in the market besides various types of direct product manufacturing companies for furniture, fancy stationary items, computer, electric and electronic items, households, lights, fittings, fixtures and different types of interior decoration items for residence, kitchen, bathroom and offices.
For two or three decades, U.S. and European companies had a good deal going with the rest of the world. They had kept all of the high-pay technical jobs such as product design and development, and ship the low-pay unpleasant work off to China, Mexico, and Eastern Europe. It was a net gain for the U.S., since a good portion of aging blue collar workers encouraged their kids to get a college education and become the engineers and managers who ran the outsourced manufacturing from here.
But with the growing domestic market in emerging economies such as China, Korea, India and Bangladesh eventually U.S. and European companies will need to use designers who are close to the swelling markets. "The Asian market is very different from the U.S., due to its cultural diversity and various consumer tastes," says Raymond Tsang, president of Avnet Electronics Marketing Asia. "A lack of breadth of the product offering in the U.S. will be a drawback."
Prospect of Undergraduate Program in Product Design & Development in Bangladesh
With the absence of specific graduates in the discipline of Product Design & Development in Bangladesh graduates in Graphic Design & Multimedia, Interior Architecture, Fine Arts and other similar discipline are expected to find employment in a variety of disciplines relating to the function. Therefore it has become a necessity to introduce such a program in undergraduate level in any of our public or private universities to meet the increasing industrial demand and thus fill the great vacuum.
New products are the lifeblood of organizations. Therefore the program for innovative product design should have the philosophy to educate contemporary designers to meet current industry needs.
Innovative product design should aim to educate hybrid designers who have the ability to evaluate and creatively use technology in a design context. Through sensitively and critically assessing the needs of people we hope our graduates can design products that have a positive impact on our
changing society.
The range of skills taught on the course should greatly enhance employment opportunities, particularly when coupled with placement experience.
The aim of this programme of study should provide students with a select group of modules, which address the product design, development and supply life-cycle by bringing together the core disciplines of marketing, design (industrial and engineering) and manufacture. In addition, strong emphasis should be placed on product quality and cost, as well as on the key aspects of the design and development phase, namely project management, cost and time-to- market. Since the product design and development activity within a company is inter-disciplinary by nature, group and team-working skills should also be also emphasized.
During Years 1, 2 and 3, academic study may be supplemented by periods of paid work experience gained within industry. There should be a flexibility in the duration of the placement undertaken.
Course Contents
Year 1
Students should be introduced to Computer-Aided Design through design software commonly used in industry. Parallel studies develop an understanding of engineering mechanics, materials and other related areas important to Product Design.
Students should have the opportunity to participate in a period of sandwich training (optional) where they can take up a period of paid placement at the end of the academic year.
Year 2
The theme of Computer-Aided Design should continue moving into more advanced areas of 3-D modeling. The processes of product design should be developed and a range of information technology skills should be enhanced to complement this. Management issues important to Product Design should also be explored. Students should have the opportunity to participate in a period of sandwich training (optional) where they can take up a period of paid placement at the end of the academic year.
Year 3
Analysis and simulation techniques should be applied during Year 3. These techniques enable the capabilities of a product to be assessed before it is made. The relationship between design and manufacture should be investigated and issues such as marketing principles and product testing can be presented. Students should also broaden their knowledge in new areas such as manufacturing systems and design animation. Students again should have the opportunity to participate in a period of sandwich training (optional) where they can take up a period of paid placement at the end of the academic year. At this stage in their programme some students can opt for a one-year, or thick sandwich placement.
Year 4
(Honours)
A significant part of fourth year should be taken up with individual and group projects in the area of Product Design. Automation and intelligent systems are explored and the use of computer-aided manufacture. Product Design is developed along with other important issues such as product quality.[/FONT][/ALIGN][/SIZE][/FONT]
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