Lesson 5: Global Product Design

Global Product Design

Global product design has two sides. The first refers to the efficiency of creating a product, that with little or no adjustment, meets the needs of several global markets. As a company is able to do so, greater efficiency is achieved both in production and in the maintenance of the product. Imagine having 10 different washing machines for 10 different cultural markets. While each market may be viable in and of itself, you would either need 10 different factories or have fewer factories adjust to what they are building to meet market demand. In addition, the stockpile of parts for maintenance and repairs could be staggering. Now imagine a single clothes washer that meets the needs and demand of those same 10 cultural markets. All of the manufacturing could be located in one central factory. If sales in one market were slowing down, the product could be diverted to another. Parts for maintenance and repair would be simplified. In this case greater efficiency occurs in design and production.

The second side refers to adjusting a product to meet the needs of a specific culture. Most people in Japan and Hong Kong live in apartments. Space is limited and many areas of an apartment have a dual purpose. In North America, more people own a home with more space. Many rooms have only a single function. Add to this the culture of these two groups, one that values fresh produce and meat while the other is content to use some frozen produce and meat. Would the same refrigerator work in each culture? Probably not. Refrigerators would need to be adjusted to meet the needs of each culture.

This lesson seeks to explain the term "Global Product Design" by describing how culture influences produce design and success. It will describe a process for designing cross-cultural products as it identifies localized design differences in international products.

NOTE: While this lesson discusses several specific products, it does not encourage or discourage the use of any product. They are only one of numerous examples of cross-culture design. They were chosen to emphasize principles of global product design.