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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
Meaning corporations purposely make products that won’t last or will be otherwise social unacceptable to own in the near future. This is all a trick to cause the consumer to buy more of a product and spend more money. According to Annie Leonard, author of The Story of Stuff, “[designers] discussed how fast they can make stuff break and still leave the consumer with enough faith in the product to go buy another one” (11). This fuels consumption further than necessary and most importantly at an alarmingly wasteful way. Nothing shows more obsolescence than the technology market with computers and phones. Giles Salde wrote an award winning book about technology obsolescence and explains “a century of advertising has conditioned us to want more, better, and faster from any consumer good we purchase, in 2004 about 315 million working PCs were retired in North America” (Planned Obsolescence viewpoint). This shows the affect caused by corporations to increase profits at the cost of resources. They use new software and products being incompatible with previous versions of electronics to force consumers to buy more. You see this commonly with televisions, gaming systems, computers, and many other electronic
More new products need to be introduced and research needs to be done to find out which products will be most popular and profitable.
Hammerslough argues, “To keep up with such speedy changes, we’re forced to give material objects more thought. Solving problems we never knew about in the past has now become a pressing necessity (314)”. The consistent developing of technology makes American consumers endure purchasing the most recent products, otherwise ones place in society may fall behind. Staying up-to-date is required in today’s society because having the latest version of technology is understood as a requirement because without it, one may be excluded. Lasn states, “Do you feel as if you’re in a cult? Probably not. The atmosphere is quite un-Moonielike. We’re free to roam and recreate. No one seems to be forcing us to do anything we don’t want to do. (378)”. American consumers feel free to do as they please, but not really. They buy products and keep up with changes because one does not want to fail to keep up with society. Technology is helpful and convenient; however it has its drawbacks with the constant updates, and making consumers feel obligated to always buy the most recent version of technology. Hammerslough’s concerns about technology is factual because of consumers believe they are choosing whether or not to buy items, however, it is society who
It is understood that the product must be different from competitors on one or more dimensions that are meaningful to customers in the target market. (Darden Business Publishing).
Apple is a highly regarded American company and is known for their advancements in the technology world. Products such as the Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad attract consumers across the country. Like most companies, Apple creates advertisements, to showcase their products to the world. These advertisements, provide satirist with the opportunity to satirize Apple. Matthias is a online youtuber who has created a video that targets Apple’s marketing towards the Apple Watch. This video is effective in demonstrating how Apple puts too much emphasis to their product.
makes diamonds valuable, and why do we revere them so much? “…diamonds have meant different things to different societies. Until the 15th century, they were seen by leaders as symbols of supreme strength. The name itself comes from the Greek word "adamas", meaning indestructible. The Greeks were a romantic sort, and for them the dancing sparkle of the diamond was the sign of the extinguishable flame of love” add (Savage, 2008). Diamonds are now easily accessible to us and all we have to do is visit the nearest jewelry store with deep pockets. However, we have no knowledge about where those diamonds came from.
Technology has evolved over the years. It was first the pager that was a crucial device, then the PDA and lastly the Smartphone. The core product is the main idea of why a phone or Blackberry will be bought and its technology, connectivity and mere ownership of the device gives the owner the feeling of superiority. People cannot fathom existing without their cell phones these days. The ability to connect in case of an emergency, tardiness, chatting with friends and other similar situations is an important point. Everyone wants to “keep up with the Joneses” by having the latest devices.
Since the Apple Watch is not a necessity and relatively expensive for even its lower end models, the economic environment could certainly negatively impact Watch sales in present and future markets. One thing Apple has on its side with the release of the Watch, is “the constant thrill that will make the Apple Watch compelling” (Elgan, 2015). To reach another market segment, Apple has succeeded in marketing the Watch as a fashion piece that caters to the “makers that are high achievers who eat, dress, and live well” (Kotler & Keller, 2012, p. 79).
Saussure developed a powerful approach called semiotics, this approach unpacks how there is meaning in signs. It allows us to interpret meaning through representation. To elaborate further the approach argues that meaning is either representative of something or in affiliation to it only then is the sign meaningful.
Graphic Design has evolved over the years from an early form of printmaking, to the 21st century method of using programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, and more. Graphic Design has been used in marketing and advertisement, logos and branding, web design, motion graphics, etc. Graphic Designers from the 1920s and 30s have a unique style where shapes, sans serifs, and photos are utilized in a design. This paper will focus on how Jan Tschichold has been a prominent Graphic Designer in typography as well as how he has influenced packaging design from the 1920s and forward. The discourse of this paper will also reflect how I,
In today’s world an individual is bombarded with brands from companies all around the world. These companies start with an idea and most of those ideas develop into a brand. Brands rely on the use of semiotics, “the science of signs” (Ryan and Conover 25), to relate to consumers or interpreters. They also relay on the connotation and denotation of the signs as well as the colors being used. When it comes to the entire package of a marketing plan and branding a company or product, graphic designers need to look at how to create the brand from a visually and culturally pleasing aspect. A brand is mostly based on a semiotic design that uses a trademark image and colors that relate to a group in a cultural setting.
In this world, creating a new product, as good as it may be, is not enough. The success of any product, in this day and age, depends grandly on the way it is presented to the market. Marketing is responsible in assuring a successful launch of a product, new or reinvented, and to assure its sustainability in this competitive world. For those reasons, billions of dollars are spent each year on tools and strategies to improve marketing research and predict the success of a product: many marketing firms form focus groups, do trials and conduct many tests just to end up with a fairly high percentage of failures.
As the world revolves, there are a lot of changes that happens in the world. For example, in terms of technology, there are a lot of improvements already. Back then, for example, features of mobile phones were only call and text. But more ideas have been developed and people have started to think about how to improve some things so that they can attract more consumers. The result is there are now more, in this case, high-tech phones with carious incredible features such as access to social media, hi-quality camera’s ability to upload to and download from the Internet, e-readers, and video calls for quicker and easier communication.
Signs are everywhere. Signs are all around you and you may not even notice it. Signs can be big as a bus or small as a loose-leaf paper. There are signs that tell you that you are going the right direction, signs that show you where something is located, example a restroom sign, or a handicap sign, signs that explain things like a cigarette with a red circle and a line threw it mean no smoking. What people do not think about signs are signs are a type of marketing
The year is 2014, the markets are changing constantly, and they always have to meet the needs of new consumers as well as old consumers. Mobile telephones have been in the retail and wholesale business for quite some time, and are only evolving from here on out. There are things that these cell phones can bring us that are major benefits in our everyday lives. Cell phones bring us maps, radios, address books, and even flashlights now. Cell phones have taken shape from a huge portable device to a more convenient thin device that can fit in your pocket. With time in any consumer market, the consumer adapts to the technology that makes their life easier. The constant innovation of cell phones has led us to smart phones, and these smart phones are capable of putting certain businesses out of the market. Businesses that engineered PDAs in the past were met with challenges because smart phones are able to match their productivity. Land lines have become useless since everyone can afford a mobile device now. Listening to music has also switched from a traditional CD Player/MP3 Player to an everyday smart phone.