by Vladymir Rogov

Using the skills of an artist to say things which cannot be said in words, the industrial designer speaks an enticing language of suggestion, a language that provides a silent, yet dynamic link between products and people.

Mysterious and profound, style is an intermediary between products and the mind of the consumers. A successful style is the product of a series of carefully defined steps.

As products become functionally similar, their distinctiveness and value are increasingly established by style. The combination of elusive, aesthetic elements communicate at a glance that a product is state-of-the-art, a top performer, finely crafted, a joy to behold and an excellent value. Part of surviving in this world is our ability to make quick judgments based on immediate visual evidence. This reflex action also works automatically when viewing a product. The re-emergence of design as a significant asset in our country's battle against trade deficits is appropriate.

Industrial design was invented here in the United States some 60 years ago to merge the aesthetic qualities of a product with the practical requirements of mass-production assembly.

Today, industrial design is a mature profession and plays a major role in providing for consumers and manufacturers that pivotal link between technology and human needs. The prolific development and accessibility of sophisticated technologies has resulted in products that are so similar in functions, components and performance that style may be the most significant element distinguishing a product in the marketplace.

What is style ?

Style has been described as "easy to recognize, hard to define". It strikes a harmonious chord within an individual or group. It is in tune with the person who identifies with it, often more unconsciously than consciously. It is easy to recognize intuitively and hard to define rationally.

Style awareness comes from observing the world around us. As a reflection of the needs and dreams of the times, style is the visual reference point by which we understand life in progress. Our own era is composing, day by day, its own array of styles.

Through the sorcery of style, we fashion our lives in a myriad of everyday details. Style is the medium in which we establish ourselves in relation to others. Style is also the vehicle by which products establish their relationship to other products in the mind of the consumer. By visual impact, the hierarchy of quality is communicated which we then measure against the benchmark of our desires.

How do you define product style?

A product's style is its messenger. A good industrial designer sees to it that the messages sent out from the product elicit the appropriate response in the mind of the buyer.

Contrary to popular belief, style is not superficial. There are superficially or deceptively-styled products which do not live up to their visual claims by promising too much or, worse yet, too little. A well-styled product has eye appeal, which invites further investigation, and lives up to its visual claims under close scrutiny.

What are the considerations in styling a product?

Good design invests products with appropriate meaning, so there are more than you may realize. A designer who thinks about style should consider these elements:

Emotion -- Does the product's appearance evoke the mood that the user may desire when using it?

Novelty -- Is the product's distinctive look still familiar enough to be readily accepted and how long should the novelty last? Some products have a novelty span of a few minutes, while others make a pleasing contribution to our lives forever.

Ergonomics -- Does the product look as safe, convenient and comfortable to the user as it actually is? Does it feel like it has that "right scale" and accessibility?

Function -- Does the product's appearance express its purpose and operation so as to suggest that it does its job well. Is it irresistibly enticing to use? We just can't be stopped from touching some things. Is it like that or is it mundane?

Forces -- Does the product look as if it can resist the various forces acting upon it, internally and externally?

Materials and processes -- Does the form of the product make economic and sympathetic use of the materials and processes used in its construction? Do the materials appear to be what they really are? Are they used to their full potential? Is the manufacturing process the most appropriate? What level of care is considered in the production of the product. For example, in an injection molded part, are there tooling marks, parting lines, knit lines, eject drag lines, shrink marks, flow marks and so on. Every product tells a story about its creators as much as about its customers.

Aesthetics -- How do the visual elements of the product take advantage of the principles of aesthetics to make the product more pleasing to the eye?

Acoustics -- How does the product sound when it is being used? Does its sound support the visual and other claims about quality and performance?

Time -- Does the product's style hold the attention of the viewer long enough to cast its spell? When the spell is broken, do people find themselves snapping out of a pleasant experience, somewhat off guard? Is the product a treat to have and use for a few minutes or for years and years?

Balance -- Is the weight distribution balanced so as to give the product and the user an emotional feeling of stability and kinesthetic satisfaction?

Kinesthetic -- Does the product style communicate the appropriate sense of motion and/or articulation of time and space?

Olfactory -- Does the product's smell enhance its other attributes, not only today, but as it ages?

Images -- Volumes can be written about this as well. Are the referential, associative, metaphoric, symbolic and fantasy images evoked by the style appropriate? Remember,everything is a referential reflection of something else.

When should the style factor be taken into account?

It should begin at the product planning stage, which is any time a company wants to evaluate its existing products and identify future product development opportunities based on changing cultural needs and user preferences.

Today, design brings many levels of an organization into the process and brings them in at an early stage of the product development cycle. The seeds of most future costs are buried within the first 20% of the product design cycle. The team approach ensures that the trade-offs are made when there is still flexibility, in the early design cycle.

Effective industrial design management will keep a product development team focused on a customer's physical needs and psychological expectations. Industrial design leaders, the tenacious ones anyway, know how to create a mission attitude in a team and elicit information that is not on the page so to speak; to weigh what is observed; to be skilled enough to suspend one's disbelief and evaluate it from different perspectives. Especially through the eyes of the final user, be it an infant or a very fixed mind. And then, to imbue a form, shape, or whatever, with meaning and value so that it is reflected in the product that a particular person desires.

A company "style strategy", one that looks ahead five to ten years, is a prerequisite to long-term product planning. As an integral part of a corporation's technology strategy and market presence, it makes product planning and positioning proactive instead of just a last-minute, cosmetic touch-up.

What kind of companies actually have a style strategy?

Well, to lighten up a little, let me describe to you a typical company that does not have a visible product design plan. This company often changes styles like one changes a shirt. Typically sales are down and there is a call for "a little sex appeal" to entice the consumer. A designer is selected based on locality and cash outlay. They are asked to produce some sketches with instructions to hurry - times are desperate. Style here is often referred to as adding a little sex appeal and trivia forced upon them by competitive pressures. The designer (considered an exotic menial) hands over his sketch suggestions and the engineers take over. But at this stage, there isn't adequate background about the concept or enough detailed information to complete the idea. By the time the product is released, meaningful details have fallen through the cracks and little is gained by anyone. Then, before the user has time to identify with this company's philosophy through its look and feel semantics, they throw out the look and put out another with no sense of continuity in the offering. The consumer never gets to bond with the product or company. Even if the product works really well, little value in brand recognition and loyalty is created in the mind of the customer. If they don't recognize, they don't remember. Or like some of our politicians, companies change their visual story so often, the audience can't recognize them through the babble and switch off from lack of interest. Today trying is for losers, the winners get it right over and over again.

How can we recognize companies that don't have a product styling strategy?

Just look at their product lines. They usually look like a bunch of orphans. There is no common thread of quality in appearance in their design evolution. Some look great, and others are a mess. You wonder who could possibly be awake and not notice this. They have to be schizophrenic companies who just react to the punches coming at them. On the other hand some company's products look and feel harmoniously old and out of date, behind the times.

So how do you begin the process of developing a product styling strategy?

Product styling is a process of discovery. We must define the context in which the product will exist. We must consider what it will replace, how the new product will be used and what will be the value proposition. Who will use it, and where? Is it introduced to a new user, an experienced one or even a cynical one in an existing market ? Or is it a new user in a completely new market? As a designer I have to work the philosophical concept until I believe the proposition. By then, I have put myself into the place of the customer. I become as much the customer as any person can. Initial product selection is based on product magnetism. For instance, in a situation of competitive analysis, where all of the products and/or product literature are gathered together and compared, I notice which one I am drawn toward. In my mind's eye, I have bought the one I like there and then. Now I will begin to justify my emotional purchase by considering the features, performance and price. The critical point here is, if a product's style does not have the eye appeal of its competitors, it will be passed by and never be given the chance to prove itself.

Where we emotionally decide to own a product is often a place other than where it is actually bought. It is the setting in which a product is used. That is where the true meaning is found. You can't read that in a graph or a chart, it must be visited and experienced in great depth to be able to make a meaningful contribution.

I look for distinctive interests in the potential user of the product. Does its style meet the needs of the user's life-style? The product has to connect with other products that the potential buyer owns (or aspires to own). We must accept the concept that most people live in a world of harmony, and people live among things that pretty much fit together in look, feel and the value that is added to them. Therefor, when he/she moves from place to place, there is a carryover of style.

I must observe the design elements, manufacturing methods, components and materials of the other products the potential user owns. The possibilities of incorporating some of those properties cannot be ignored. They hold many clues to the referential, associative, metaphoric, symbolic and fantasy images that have value to that person. Most people do not design and build their own products, they make a selection from what is offered to them. Careful observation and analysis helps me anticipate what may be on their mind.

How do you know that a couple of years from now, when the product you are presently designing is introduced, will be styled better than the competition?

The politics of style is a moving target. Politics it is nevertheless. This work is not done in a vacuum. As I said previously, it's all a matter of observation. The body of information is available to those who are informed and those who stay in practice. And that's the key - to stay in practice. In collaboration with my client's and my own company's information network, we are able to observe innovations and directions in which technology, applications, materials, processes, communication and its form semantics flow.

We are constantly monitoring changes that could allow a product to be perceived to look and perform better. Without getting too philosophical, we are not all living in the same world. So, what may be dated for me may be new and exciting to someone else.

Design always was a constant balance of metaphors and it is not unreasonable to think that I may be living a few years in the future, changing perceptions. A lot of serendipitous cross pollination is occurring all the time and once recognized, can be directed to make products in a new light. I do this all the time and one becomes much like a pianist; you stop looking at the notes and keys and worrying whether they are correct in theory, and you start focusing on the dynamics that influence people to select the good from the bad and the ugly.

Rogov is an internationally recognized industrial design consultancy that helps companies create successful ideas, designs and experiences that consumers love. With over 35 years of innovative, award winning; market making industrial designs, ROGOV is a respected company of industrial designers, social scientists and product engineers. We colaborate with the world’s most esteemed institutions, to meet the most challenging real world experiences, for the exclusive purpose of creating industrial design with soul and satisfaction.