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Design strategies for global products

Design Management Journal, Fall 2001 by Cai, Yang

The design of a global product is often "refined" as a response to the unique dimensions of a particular international market. Yang Cai defines three broad options for dealing with these subtle changes. In adaptive design, product elements are modified. In configurable design, components are rearranged. In interface design, a layer of software is introduced as the vehicle for translating information into locally meaningful content.

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By now, it's a fact: The market for products and services doesn't end at the national border. For a product to be able to survive in various environments, we need to develop strategies and technologies that bridge cultures, languages, standards, and living environments. We hear a lot about "design for other cultures," but think about it: Even cultures change over time, so individuals may not always follow the traditions associated with their culture. According to Chinese tradition, for instance, the color black is an "unhappy" color. But that hasn't stopped Chinese consumers from buying VCRs and DVDs with that typical matte-- black finish.

It's true that communication lowers the barriers between cultures. However, the variations in local environments and laws still exist. The major challenge is how to balance these variables within a general design-to cultivate product experiences that can work in several cultures and adapt themselves to local living conditions and regulations.

I have found three interface design strategies to be helpful in this regard: adaptive design, configurable design, and interface design. Many of the examples I'll be offering are from the world of electronic products, but I believe there is much here that can be applied to the design of any product or service that is destined for marketing beyond national borders. Similarly, because my work is chiefly with Chinese markets, most of the examples will be Chinese, but the strategies they illustrate will certainly work in designing for other countries.

Adaptive design

Adaptive design can be defined as design that takes an existing product and modifies it to suit other cultures. Bear in mind, though, that over-- adapted products may lose their unique identities and become less competitive in the local market. There was, for instance, a vendor in Shanghai who tried to sell a drink that mixed Pepsi with herbs. That enterprise ended up as a business failure because the concoction was seen as a medicinal remedy.

The youth market

As one might expect, electronic products

can especially benefit from packaging and design that is pitched to younger consumers. Local talents can identify consumer groups to target and provide input toward the design of packaging and presentation. Take as example a VCD (video CD) player-a system that can play compressed video on a TV or computer. One of the significant features of a VCD is that it offers random-access playback, making it ideal for karaoke-a popular form of entertainment among young folks in Asia. Designers and publishers in Asia perceived this niche and developed karaoke discs for VCD players. This adaptive design was a success: To date, more VCD players have been sold in Asia than in America.

Another example of adaptive design can be seen in Motorola China's new cellular phone product, T2988 (figure 1), which targeted college students and other young and energetic consumers. The product, which launched in 2000, was promoted as a "cool" experience. The phone offered typical cellular features, as well as Chinese input and storage of short messages, but it also employed a yin and yang design on its panel in coordinating colors such as white and light blue or white and light green. The high contrast and nonconventional appearance made for a product that was well received on the local market.

Local R&D

Localization of product interfaces can make an impact on the competitive global market, especially for products that have been only marginally profitable. Cellular phones, for instance, that offer text display and input function designed to accommodate the Chinese language, as well as Chinese communication circuits, will of course, be preferable to those designed for European use. But more-minor improvements can also make a difference: Nokia marketed its cellular phones for the Chinese market with features that appealed to local tastes, such as greeting cards with popular Chinese astrological symbols (figure 2).

Developing technologies that are rooted in other cultures can prove to be an insightful business strategy-and where better to develop those technologies than within the cultures they are intended to serve? Attracted by the huge market opportunities and world-class local talents in China, some large companies have set up R&D centers there for mid- and long-term development. For example, Microsoft Research, China (MRC) was founded in 1998 with 50 researchers and an ambition to become the dominant computer-science laboratory in Asia. Since its founding, MRC has initiated research efforts in culturally related technologies, such as machine translation, multi-modal user interface using speech, handwriting, face, and gestures, and a next-generation Chinese PC.

Business Services Industry

Design strategies for global products

Design Management Journal, Fall 2001 by Cai, Yang

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