By: Lipsum123
According to Heskett (2015) design as a business activity must be judged in terms of contributions to profitability. To measure this one must have a focus on monetary value, in terms of costs, prices, profits and capital. But is really monetary value everything?
How can non-economic values co-exist with design’s need to be profitable? Well when you break down business to smaller pieces it is not all about the money. Business is also a social activity. Both its internal organization and the needs it meets in society depend on social consciousness and functions (Heskett, 2015). This leads us to a broad specter of factors that influence the profitability of a designer – environmental and ethical value, emotional and symbolic value, innovation and creativity, and customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Recently the Danish furniture concept “Alton & Heim” came to Norway. This brand focus on Nordic design and sustainability – at the right price. A huge trend in the world today is sustainability, and we see that people time after time choose more environmentally friendly products – even if it costs more than other options. “Alton & Heim” strives to keep their products as friendly to the planet as possible, through the whole process from production to delivery.
When creating a sustainable product, it often has a lot of extra costs versus just using cheaper options. It all starts in the production, where is it produced? Many companies choose to move their production to Asia because it gives them cheap labor, but the fact is that’s not good for the environment. This is why “Alton & Heim” focus on local production in Europe.
Another big focus for “Alton & Heim” is customer service. When the customers get the help they want, they see the company as more valuable. This leads to customer satisfaction, which leads to loyalty, which again leads to profitability.
If you combine the focus on sustainability, the customer service and the quality of the products you get satisfied customers. Satisfied customers come back and buy more things, which is a huge source of income for the company. Also, these factors make it easier for a company to charge a bit more for the products because people are willing to pay more when they get something they see as valuable back.
This leads me to the conclusion that monetary value isn’t always everything. Sure, a company can charge thousands of dollars for a product, but they won’t sell anything if the customers don’t see a value. There are several non-economic values that play an indirect part in how much a product is worth.
Sources:
Nytt dansk møbelkonsept
https://www.altonheim.com/nb-no/om-oss/design-og-baerekraft
Heskett, J., & Dilnot, C. (2015). Design from the Standpoint of Economics/Economics from the Standpoint of Design. Design issues, 31(3), 88-104
Making sense of art and design industries 