design management

this time i want to talk about my dissertation. my dissertation is about design management and how to use design build a brand value. 

usually people feel surprise when they notice my background is design instead of business, i guess because they think there are not much connection between marketing and design. and this always take me a while to explain to them why i am doing this. but sometimes i will ask myself do really i completely understand the connection them? honesty i really can't answer this question. i really want to explore this topic and i believe this would be help in my future too. this is one of the reason i chose design management for my topic.

design is an efficient management tool for developing a more customer focused culture for a brand. in business, relations between design and branding are more complementary than divergent. both work to build a product strategy that differentiates the company from the competition and strengthens its competitive advantage. the designer contributes by creating the differences that are perceived by the consumer as benefits, this can impact on consumer behaviour, no matter from the retail store, a brand or a product.  brand is the most frequently used process of differentiation. 

in theory, design and branding share the same mind-set of develop an understanding of customer needs and the factors that influence those needs in order to establish healthy customer relationships. In practice, the relationship between design and branding poses  problems that spring from a reciprocal ignorance of the other profession. 

the relationship between design and branding are not limited in graphic design (e.g. brand name, logo and advertisement). there are much more for example product design ( product performance), packaging design (out look of product), environment design (the store setting and window display). 

the concept of design management has grown fast in last decade. and branding has become a important part in marketing and marketing strategic. so what happen when design management merge with branding? i hope after this summer, i can explore much more on this topic.

and i hope this will give you an idea what is design management, i guess this is not a popular topic in marketing :)

target market: young adult 21 - 26

it's not easy being on the brink of adulthood. you might have just completed college or have working for a couple of years. you are suddenly responsible for more things than you ever thought possible. perhaps you are just buying your first car, or even buying your first house. maybe you're thinking of getting married. but one thing is for sure - you don't want to give up on fun stuff. some days, you still have the urge to be a kid. some days, you just don't want to be old.

designers and marketers targeting this age group need to be aware of this duality. this age group knows it needs to make certain decisions responsibly. so it's a group that seeks out more information about certain products and services that it used to. 

but at the same time, members of this age group lead incredibly busy lifestyles. so brand names mean something because they are the ultimate time-saver. yet unlike the younger demographic, they no longer use brand names to be a part of the club.

and one other thing to remember - you can't talk to them like they're not still hip. after all, young adults still want to have fun.

sandstorm design needed to talk to this age group with an incredibly challenging project - to get young adults in the stage of Oregon to stop somking. and they have to design the X-Pack Smoking cessation Program. research confirmed the conflicting stresses of this target: they had started smoking in their more carefree days and now were beginning to regret their decision. they needed help, but help came with caveat. it needed to be fun at the same time.

enter the x-pack. a self-help smoking cessation kit, packaged in a way that is attractive to the target audience, with a mix of quick, simple information along with fun things to do instead of smoking.

among the components: a youth-oriented smoking cessation guide complete with a quit plan and quit day checklist; motivational messages; testimonials of successful quit attempts by peers; information on nicotine replacement therapy. and, of course, the fun stuff: various products to keep the hand and mouth busy during the quitting process (gum, cinnamon toothpicks, stress putty); and an incentive for registering the product (a borders books and music gift certificate). all materials were based on the best medical practice, combining insights from both adult and adolescent smoking cessation research.

and everything was packaged in a way that said 'we know you are still hip.'