Examples of Design Factors

Question 1

Example

Answer 1

• One such company or product that failed to consider these factors was the Segway, which its designer, Dean Kamen, understated in “The Segway will hit $1billiondollars in sales faster than any company in history”. Kamen failed to recognise the insufficiencies in his market research, as the product was considered a road vehicle in some countries, but declared illegal in others.
• The Segway might have been a great, innovative product, but a lack of research on aspects of the market gap such as cost and consumer needs, combined with failure to understand legislation relating to transportation devices, contributed to the commercial failure of this product.

Question 2

Available technologies example GPS

Answer 2

An example of a successful design and product is the GPS, which has made its way into the features of many products, including cars, phones, shipping containers or smart watches – illustrating the success of the product in a wide breadth of industries such as fitness, automotive and retail.

Question 3

Legal Factors (Success)

Answer 3

• Legal factors are one of the most integral criteria affecting the success of a design, as failure to adhere to legislation (as aforementioned with the Segway) can lead to the unsuccessful launch and reception of a product.
• An example of agencies that influence the success of innovative designs is Standards Australia, who aim to maintain standards through setting benchmarks requiring the use of products, systems and environments to be operated reliably and safely.
• Innovative designs also need to take in consideration the use of existing designs and the ethicality behind sourcing design ideas, as many have patents, registered design properties, trademarks or copyrights (as legislated by Intellectual Property Australia).
  Therefore, innovative products must adhere to the legality behind designs in order to create
  an original, unique and differentiated product which contributes to its success.

Question 4

Legal Implications Example

Answer 4

• For example, the main feature of the Google Home is the ability to respond to voice- activated commands such as “Ok Google”, however, this relies on audio detection to be switched on – meaning the product would have had to consider the legal repercussions
  of audio recordings because it infringes on personal lives. The product includes a mute button which prevents live audio recording.
• “In some instances, voice commands are preceded by indicator words or phrases, known as hotwords.” The patent demonstrates that Google has taken means to protect its product legally from illicit competitor products, but also to prevent consumer information and privacy from leaks or breaches.