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What does having an understanding of the product life cycle allow the designer to do?
Design with obsolescence in mind. Can potentially eliminate the effect of a product on the environment when it is no longer in use.
What is the product life cycle?
A tool for mapping out the four stages of a product’s commercial life: launch, growth, maturity, decline
Define the key stages of the product life cycle
Launch: there are slow sales and little profit as the product is launched on the market
Growth: the market gradually accepts the product, so diffusion starts and sales expand
Maturity: sales peak but remain steady, so maximum profit is achieved
Decline: market saturation is reached and sales start to reduce as well as profit
What is obsolescence?
Where a product or trend becomes out-dated and no longer needed or used
What is planned obsolescence?
A product becomes outdated as a conscious act either to ensure a continuing market or to ensure that safety factors and new technologies can be incorporated into later versions of the product.
What is style (fashion) obsolescence?
Fashions and trends change over time, which can result in a product no longer being desirable. However, as evidenced by the concept of retro styling and the cyclic nature of fashion, products can become desirable again.
What is functional obsolescence?
Over time, products wear out and break down. If parts are no longer available, the product can no longer work in the way it originally did. Also, if a service vital to its functioning is no longer available, it can become obsolete.
What is technological obsolescence?
When a new technology supersedes an existing technology, the existing technology quickly falls out of use and is no longer incorporated into new products. Consumers opt for the newer, efficient technology in their products.
What is product versioning?
A business practice in which a company produces different models of the same product, and then charges different prices for each model.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a company using product versioning?
improved consumer choice: consumers can choose the version and budget that suit them
Maximised profit for company through increased sales
