Design Management for the Fashion Industries - Essay Example

? Design Management for the Fashion Industries Table of Contents Introduction: Design and commercial value of investments 3 Arguments: Design can prove its commercial value 3 Return on Investment (ROI) for design 4 Fashion Case Studies on design management 5 Conclusion 6 References 7 Introduction: Design and commercial value of investments The expansion of markets and rise in competition in commercial businesses has led to the emergence of fashion industries in order to create a competitive advantage for the players. The design management has played a key role in adding value to the existing products and services. The implementation of design technologies or changes in the design of a product may increase the acceptance level of the product to the customers. The business on the other hand enjoys the benefits of investing in design management which helps them to achieve their goals. Design management of products and services may lead to increase in sales and profitability for the business. Arguments: Design can prove its commercial value Over the last fifteen years, an increasing trend of investment in design areas by the business emphasizes the fact that design management adds to the value of the products and services. By this process, design established itself as a commercial business in the field of marketing communications and in the process proved its own commercial value. The investments of a business are not confined to one area. The various areas of investment for a business include the investment on procurement of raw materials, plant and machineries for manufacturing, advertising expenses, various investments on promotion of its products. The investment in design is one such area considered by businesses which supports the desire of achieving business goals. The designers play a crucial role to make their clients understand that the design of the business products are not only for the purpose of beautification but also has wide commercial value that helps in achieving growth of the business. The business should understand the relative importance and contribution of design in the future growth of business (Best, 2010, p.174). The allocation of funds into design management is facilitated by the assessment of relative importance of design management as compared to other areas of investment. Thus the measurement of return on investment (ROI) for design management is extremely crucial for the business houses. Return on Investment (ROI) for design The measurement of return on investment in the field of design management is not a simple calculation. The return on investments in design management cannot, however, be guaranteed as it depends on the acceptance of the product by the users after the design is changed or a new design is introduced. The return on investment for a business depends on various factors of which design is one among them. Thus the return on investment is an integration of the returns obtained from the effective implementation of all the factors. The factors may be investment on raw materials for the product, manufacturing, packaging and design, logistics, advertisements and other channels for marketing communication. Also there is a correlation between the areas of investments. The ROI on design is thus dependent on performance of other investment avenues. For example a lack of performance in the advertising of the designed product may hamper the sale of products and thus it would impact the return on investment. However, the overall return on investment is measured by the increase in revenue, profitability as an impact of design. The other areas of return on investment are changes in the perception of the customers due to rebranding of the product, change in the footfall of the number of customers, development of research and innovative activities in operation, increase of market share, etc. Thus the return on investments in design is considered as an area of priority investment in the best interest of the business. Fashion Case Studies on design management The importance of design management in business could be explained with the help of fashion case studies as described below. These two case studies would help to prove its commercial value through an analysis of the quantitative aspects of financial performance. The work of Seymourpowell, a design management company with Aqualisa, a shower company could be shown as an example to establish the worth of design management in business. The design management company was the first to introduce digital technology in washroom appliances. This was a design, the first of its kind that was gracefully accepted by the customers. The digital technologies incorporated products of Quartz and Axis which are considered to be of the best international standards. Due to this design, the sale of the washroom appliances of Aqualisa recorded revenue earning of more than ?30m in a span of four years since 2005. The use of digital technology also reduced the time of delivery and installation. This helped to reduce the cost of the suppliers and installers which helped the company to reduce its cost of goods. The supermarket chain Morrison earmarked a budget of ?100000 for rebranding its identity in 2007. The design group Landor Associates designed a visual identity for Morrison that saw its falling market share to reverse after the launch of the visual identity. The introduction of the visual identity led to increase in footfall of the number of the customers in the supermarkets of Morrison. This resulted in increase of sales volume of the goods. The market share of Morrison rose from 11.1% to 11.6% as an effect of the rebranding of its identity. Morrison registered an increase in the amount of total sales by ?350m. This showed the effectiveness of design and the importance of design management for business. Conclusion The design management has been able to establish itself its commercial value in business operations in the last fifteen years through effective implementation of new designs and also through rebranding of products as tools of design management. The designers have the flexibility of resorting to innovative designs. The value of the creative designs could be evaluated by the comparing the returns of investment post design with the returns on investment of older designs. The investment on design is, however, one of the priority areas of investment for the business. The return on investment depends on the aggregate performance of other areas of the business as well. The various investment areas include the expenses on raw materials, manufacturing, packaging and advertising. The return is measured broadly by the sales turnover and profitability of the business organizations. The other areas of return include changes in perception of the company among its consumers, development of research and innovation capabilities, increase in market share, etc. These facts on the design management in fashion industries have been established with the help of case studies in the business field of washroom appliances and retail supermarket chains. References Best, K. 2010. The Fundamentals of Design Management. AVA Publishing; USA. Read More