The Importance of Product Design and Its Role in Innovation, Marketing and Consumers’ Preferences of Product

1 | Indonesian Journal of Entrepreneurship & Technopreneur, 1 (2022) 1-12 Indonesian Journal of Entrepreneurship & Technopreneur 1 (2022) 1-12 International Journal of Entrepreneurship & Technopreneur Journal homepage: https://ojs.unikom.ac.id/index.php/injetech The Importance of Product Design and Its Role in Innovation, Marketing and Consumers’ Preferences of Product Mahmad Hasan H Institute of Applied Arts, Middle Technical University, Baghdad, Iraq E-mail: */ ABSTRACTS Nowadays, there have been significant and considerable increments in the employment of product design in many companies, societies and fields. Product design has become an important tool for the growing of the image of the brand or trademark. The effective role of product design in the development of new product has been established. Product design has an influential effect on the marketing of any products. Also, product design has critical role in the judgment and decision making of consumers toward any product. In addition, innovation of designs has significant and positive effects on the performance of manufacturing. Thus, the aim of this paper is to review and evaluate the design importance, innovation, marketing and the factors that affecting the consumers’ preferences toward the design. ARTICLE INFO Article History: Received 16 Aug 2018 Revised 20 Aug 2018 Accepted 25 Aug 2018 Available online 09 Sep 2018 ___________________ Keywords: Product Design, Design, Design Inovation, Marketing, Consumers’ Preferences Mahmad Hasan H The Importance of Product Design...|2 I. INTRODUCTION Nowadays, with the rapid increment of the economy, companies have become under great pressures and competition to make higher quality products in reasonable prices and in a short time (Naseer, 2017: Li, et al., 2006: Bocken, et al., 2016). Similarly, designers started to face higher competition as this competition will open the door for more opportunities to show their skills and talents and to develop it as well. However, this important competition increased rapidly with the recent development and implementation of new design methods using computers technology. This competition increment has forced researchers, managers, and lawmaker to become more interested in the methods and approaches that produce novel innovative products that increase the reputation, and customer satisfaction and win this competition (Bocken, et al., 2016: Saeidi et al., 2015: Nieto & Santamariam, 2006). Many results showed that design has a great role in the development process of a new product (Perks, et al., 2005). Historically, the word design was originated from Italian word (disengnare) and it means drawing or shows initial plan, while others proposed that the meaning of design came from the industrial revolution and mass manufacturing as a modern manifestation or trend. Subsequently, design attracted the manufacturers’ attention due to customers’ interest and demand for elegant and aesthetic products such as durables refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, and cars (Perks, et al., 2005). Design was also defined as a way to shape and make something different than standard or normal in order to show human capacity and meet their desires and give meaning to it (John Heskett, 2002). Thus, many manufacturers sought design as a way to make their product better and more efficient in improving the quality of people’s lives, as well as create economic value for their businesses. This has expanded to reach a larger variety of people such as lawmakers and governments in many countries to put third-generation design policies that highlight the use of design as an important tool for establishing innovation and meeting shared challenges (Marino, et al., 2018: Hayakawa & Venieris, 2016). Therefore, this paper is highlighting the importance, innovation, marketing of product design, and some of the influential factors that affecting the consumers’ preferences towards product design. 2. IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCT DESIGN DEVELOPMENT The product design has become one of the most and mandatory factors to the success of any business or firms. The product design can lead to the increment of the income of the firm by increasing their marketing share and prices (Ulrich & Pearson, 1998). Product designs have great importance in the global market due to its strategic advantage of new product design in gaining the customers’ loyalty and that product design was the most important contributing factor of sales success (Bloch, 1995). The product design is like the main of communicating tool between the customers and the manufacturers (Matzler, & Hinterhuber, 1998). Therefore, designers should aim to change and develop the product design constantly in order to gain the big competition and stand among the crowd. Product design can be developed by; rearranging the elements, color, scheme, form, texture, and graphics of the 3 | Indonesian Journal of Entrepreneurship & Technopreneur, 1 (2022) 1-12 product to increase its attraction and value (Ulrich & Pearson, 1998). Furthermore, it has been suggested that designers and design of product has a significant contribution to the successful of new product development. Additionally, the attractive product design is highly linked to the company performance increment due to its potential effects throughout the process (Roper et al., 2016). Apart from that, it has been found that the design of the product is of great benefit to the company performance and also in the product development process as it can amplify the competitive position and the income of company in the market (Hertenstein et al., 2005: Gemser & Leenders, 2001). They also advised the managers to consider the developing strategies that include the use of industrial design in the development of new product, taking into account the changing competition throughout the industrial growth. However, Alegre & Chiva (2008) stated that there are some organizational factors that can affect the performance of the product design origination such as experiment, risk-taking, interaction with the environment, communication and decision making. They also highlighted the significance of identifying and using these factors in the performance of product design development. Other research highlighted the essential importance of interaction between consumers and manufacturers for the development of the product design (Gunasekaran, 1998). This communication is of great importance for the designers so that they can react appropriately to the new market conditions by creating a design product that satisfy the market demand. In fact, the relationship between the manufacturer and the customers plays a key role in the design of any product. A brilliant designer must be capable of understanding the customers and the market needs and implement it in the essence of an idea and turn it into commercial design to produce an innovative product. 3. CONSUMER PREFERENCES AND IT RELATION TO PRODUCT DESIGN C (...truncated)