Semiotic Analysis

1132 Words3 Pages

The Mythology of Product Upgrade Need How Design Makes Consumers To Continually Buy the Same Product I. INTRODUCTION Electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets and even laptops have a one year update cycle. Do corporation launch these products so frequently to keep people abreast of the latest technologies that are beneficial to them or are these just an attempt to drive up needless consumerism and generate more profit? Often, the production of new devices doesn’t’t necessarily bridges any technological gap nor offers new advantages that are actually useful to consumers. Consumers don’t really need to upgrade their devices every time a new iteration comes by. However, corporations are creating the illusion of newness on their latest products through product design. Consumers get messages that drive them to buy products that they don’t need. They get said messages trough posters, commercials and ads. However, the biggest selling messages reach the audiences through the devices themselves. The use of different materials, colors, and the changes in form suggest a necessity to obtain a new product that's doesn't actually offers anything new. II. THE MYTHOLOGY OF PRODUCT UPGRADE NEED The use of signs and messages in product design is nothing new; on the contrary, these play a very important role when it comes in design. The most common example of the use of signs in product designed can be seen in the user interface. User interface is defined as “the space where interaction between machines and humans occurs.” One example of this is when someone uses a product for the first time and s/he can work the product properly right away without previous experience. For example, the controls and levers in a Xerox machine are designed... ... middle of paper ... ...consumers into believing that a product is new and innovative without having to actually make any innovation or improvement to said product. Slight changes in shape, color, building materials, slapping a new name only serves to create an illusion. The illusion that a product is new and that the consumers must get in order to be up to date in the latest of technology advances. The truth is that more often than not the consumer is being forced to spend hundreds of dollars in products that have marginally changed. They get minimum benefits while the manufacturers get full profit from realizing the same product all over again. REFERENCES CID, Centre for User Oriented IT Design. (2002). Semiotics in Product Design. Stockhom, Sweden: Author Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, LLC. (2013). Women Buy Silver iPhone 5S, Men Buy White ipHone 5C. Chicago, IL: Author

More about Semiotic Analysis

Open Document