Excellent article by Mark Delaney, the design manager of Samsung Design Europe, about something we’ve said time and time again: that aesthetics are becoming increasingly important when it comes to gadget and consumer electronics design:
Most consumer electronics brands are so focused on studying their competitors’ products (benchmarking) that they forget about where their products are going to end up; as part of the customer’s life, part of their homes. This is changing. The customer is fighting back and demanding products that are better designed and more in tune with the way they want to live.
With new technologies becoming commoditized more quickly than ever (i.e. $40 DVD players), good design is just about the only way left for manufacturers to differentiate their products from those of their competitors. Besides, who wants something ugly sitting in their living room?
