The New Design Entrepreneurs

Abstract

This chapter examines the evolving role of the design entrepreneur within our current society. The contemporary design marketplace has reached unprecedented levels of abundance. This is altering society's relationship with design. Consumers’ basic needs are being over-met and have moved well beyond the material realm; consumers are increasingly driven by their search for meaning and emotional fulfillment through design. The result of this process is the shifting of their perception of design “value” from the tangible to the intangible. While the traditional values of aesthetics and function remain essential components to design, design's ability to deliver emotional value to the user must increasingly become the focus for designers. This requires traditional creative processes to transform. Rather than creating designs that arise from personal biases, future designers must begin their design process by researching their consumers’ psychographics and emotional needs to “design emotion.” The new role of the designer—the “Designer-As-Social Scientist”—takes a much broader view of consumers’ needs. The evolution of the design process will result in products having greater emotional value for consumers, designers standing out in the over-saturated market, and businesses increasing consumer loyalty and resultant sales by offering only those products that are truly desired by their target audience.