PRINCIPLE-BASED DESIGN: Let intelligence guide your decisions
Do you know my definition of hell?
Hell is a bunch of smart people sitting around a conference table trying to make critical decisions based on subjective perceptions and unsupported assumptions.
Those that talk the loudest, give the most passionate argument or have the highest rank tend to control the outcome.
This group has an irrational willingness to accept significant risk and make huge investment decisions when options exist to dramatically reduce that risk and increase the potential ROI. They are willfully ignorant.
- Thomas Tessmer
I want to save as many people as I can from this hell.
And I know it can be done through providing data-driven principle-based guidance.
I BELIEVE IN INTELLIGENT DESIGN
In many categories, new products can start with a blank sheet of paper (or new AutoCAD or Photoshop file). New products or packaging or labels don’t need to look like existing ones.
Over time, categories often develop certain unwritten rules that all companies follow without understanding why. They operate within unnecessary constraints. Breaking from this status quo takes more work, but is a great way to outsmart the competition.
The challenge with breaking these rules (and the related status quo) is to establish the right guidelines that narrow a near-infinite number of options or ideas down to a winning formula that focuses on the right elements.
Product development needs guidelines to determine what features are included and which are not. They need to know where costs can be cut and where a little bit of extra investment can make a big difference.
The packaging department should know if I product needs to come in the same box or tube or clamshell that other items in the category do. Or they need to realize that a resealable pouch or reusable storage container could cause disruption while driving minimal additional product cost. They should also know how important it is for shoppers to see and feel the actual product or if it can hidden away until after the purchase decision is made.
The graphic designer needs to know what the visual anchors should be on the label, what information or claims or benefits to include and how to create magnetic packaging that stops, holds and closes shoppers at the shelf. They should know if particular materials or colors can be used to standout and further the product’s equity.
The sales department should know if it is critical to gain distribution on an assortment of colors or flavors or scents to satisfy diverse preferences. They should understand the relative potential of selling in another version of already popular variants versus focusing on a completely new and different variant not available today.
Through a systematic study of existing category dynamics and projected desires, each of these departments can have a checklist of principles to guide their work. They can enjoy the freedom to be creative and original while operating within clear criteria.
Have you been living in hell and just not realized it? Does principle-based design sound like something closer to heaven? Contact us if your past decisions haven’t delivered the results you anticipated and you are reading this helps you begin to understand why.