The influence and effect of business and the economy on design - Essay Example

School: Topic: The influence and effect of business and the economy on design Lecturer: The influence and effect of business and the economy on design Introduction For a very long time, concepts of design have been used to shape the way business is conducted and how the economies of individuals and corporate organizations are ran (Sundseth, Hines and Swinker, 2009). As Holston (2011) notes, the reason for this life long trend is perhaps due to the unique qualities of design, wrapped in the common philosophy of creativity.

For example through creativity, designers are able to bring into fore, a piece of art work that was otherwise nothing else than the imagination of the artist. In the same vein, entrepreneurs create business ideas and basing on contemporary principles of design such as complexity, collaboration and accountability (Christmann and Taylor, 2001) try to turn their plans into tangible corporate businesses. In modern era however, there continues to be an advocacy for designers to now be at the receptive end, trying to learn from businesses and the economy as a whole (Sundseth, Hines and Swinker, 2009).

It is against this backdrop that the current essay is being written to critically analyze the influence and effect of business and economy on design as an academic and professional discipline. Thinking global, acting local For designers to become co-creators with clients and audiences as Holston (2011) posits, they must rightly identify the needs of consumers and produce according to client needs. In business, globalization is said to be a very useful and important catalyst for achieving growth and development.

Globalization refers to the use of information and communication technology to break the barriers of trade borders by ensuring that businesses are able to have their representation and influences across several countries without the need for any physical movement of personnel to take place (Foney and Arnold, 1996). But to make this possible, businesses are often advised to think global and act local. What this means is that the corporate person initiating the global move must have a sense of producing goods and services that meet the taste and specification of all targeted market.

While doing this, the need to emphasize of local satisfaction of the goods and services must not be forgotten. In effect, as Holston (2011) seeks to address the issue of designers dealing with the increasing complexity of design problems, the effect of globalization and for that matter the influence of thinking global and acting local may just be appropriate in giving the needed remedy for designers. For example when faced with multiple or increase complexity of design, a designer should rightly distribute each of these complexities to different and varying consumer base; according to specification that meet consumer demand.

Creation of Competitive Advantage One other important issue that Holston (2011) raises in his article has to do with the skills needed by designers to be competitive. Interestingly, in both business and economic cycles, the need for competitiveness is very important to remain successful. In economics, people are expected to be efficient by making good use of scarce resources into producing valuable commodities (Christmann and Taylor, 2001). They are also expected to have value for money if they can compete in a global market that has limited purchasing power (Foney and Arnold, 1996).

In doing business also, various marketing mix are used for the creation of competitive advantage over existing competitors. For example when two companies are producing the same line product of about the same quality, one may choose to reduce its prices as a way of attracting customers. For designers to prove their value to business and become competitive in the future, such skills and strategies are needed to be implemented (Holston, 2011). In today’s competitive designing market, there is no doubt that a designer who uses strategic business principles for the creation of competitive advantage would become forces to reckon with.

Conclusion From this discussions so far, it is now very clear that as much as businesses and economists had key design principles to learn from designers for the growth and development of their businesses, designers also have a lot to learn from businesses and the economy in terms of principles and value. Having noted the need to be specific in the identification of a market audience before introducing a new product unto the market, the lesson that designers may learn would be the need to embrace consumer specification in the production of works of design.

What is more, designers have been urged through the paper to have an attitude of squeezing resources to create an atmosphere of sufficiency. As designers do this however, it is important for them to appreciate the fact that making use of scarcity should not be confused with the production of mediocre arts and design. Finally, the paper has clearly outlined the need for designers to be distinct in their production by ensuring that they possess that spice of competitiveness that would always make customers opt for their products and services.

Cited Works Christmann, Patrick & Taylor, Gabriel. “Globalization and the environment: Determinants of firm self-regulation in china.” Journal of International Business Studies, 2001. 32(3), 439-459. Foney, Joseph & Arnold, Ernest. “Perceptions of NAFTA benefit and risks by Texas Textile and Apparel business personnel.” Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 1996. 88(3), 7-22. Holston, David. The Strategic Designer: Tools and Techniques for Managing the Design Process. New York: North Light Books. 2011. Print.

Sundseth, Mason, Hines, Jones and Swinker, Martin. “Understanding global trade; An instructional tool” Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 2009. 91(4), 49-52.