Design & Applied Technology Study Notes: Entrepreneurship and Enterprise
Hey everyone! Welcome to your study notes on Entrepreneurship and Enterprise. You might be thinking, "I'm a designer, not a business person!" But guess what? The best designers are also smart thinkers who understand how to turn a great idea into a successful product that people love and want to buy. This chapter is all about that exciting link between creativity and business. We'll learn how to think like an entrepreneur to make our designs successful in the real world. Let's get started!
1. The Hong Kong Context: SMEs and Their Competitive Edge
In Hong Kong, most businesses are not giant corporations. They are Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). These are businesses that are smaller in scale, but they form the backbone of our economy.
What are SMEs?
• Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are businesses that have fewer employees and less revenue than large corporations. Think of a local design studio, a family-run electronics shop in Sham Shui Po, or a cool new bubble tea brand.
What is their "Competitive Edge"?
A competitive edge is what makes a business special and able to succeed against its rivals. Since SMEs can't compete with big companies on price alone, they need to be clever. Their edge often comes from:
• Flexibility: They can make decisions and change directions much faster than a huge company.
• Niche Markets: They can focus on serving a very specific group of customers with unique needs that big companies might ignore.
• Innovation: They are often very creative and can come up with unique products or services.
• Customer Service: They can offer a more personal and dedicated service to their customers.
Example: A small local company creating stylish, high-quality protective cases specifically for artists' tablets. This is a niche market that a giant like Apple might not focus on as heavily.
Did you know?
Over 98% of businesses in Hong Kong are SMEs! This means that understanding how they work is super relevant, especially if you want to start your own design studio one day.
Key Takeaway
Hong Kong's economy is powered by adaptable and creative SMEs. Their competitiveness comes from being fast, focused on specific customer needs (niche markets), and innovative.
2. The Game Plan: Corporate, Business, and Design Strategies
To succeed, a business needs a plan, or a strategy. In DAT, we focus on how design fits into this plan. It's not just about making things look good; it's about making smart choices to help the business win.
Essentials of Corporate and Business Strategy
Don't worry, this is simpler than it sounds!
• Corporate Strategy: This is the big picture. It asks, "What businesses should we be in?" For example, should a company like Sony just make electronics, or also movies and music?
• Business Strategy: This is more focused. It asks, "How should we compete in this specific market?" For example, how can our new headphones beat the competition? This is where design becomes crucial!
Crucial Design Strategies
This is a super important concept. There are three main design strategies a company can adopt.
1. Design-leader Strategy
This is about being the first and the best. These companies are trendsetters and innovators. They invest heavily in research and development (R&D) to create something brand new.
• Goal: Create a new market or revolutionise an existing one.
• Characteristics: High risk, high potential reward, strong brand identity.
• Example: Apple releasing the first iPhone. It completely changed what people expected from a mobile phone.
2. Quick-follower Strategy
This strategy is about being smart and fast, not necessarily first. These companies watch the design leaders, see what works, and then quickly release their own improved or slightly different version.
• Goal: Learn from the leader's mistakes and successes to capture a large part of the market.
• Characteristics: Less risk than a leader, focuses on adding features or lowering costs.
• Example: After the first iPhone, other companies like Samsung quickly launched their own smartphones with different features, like bigger screens or a stylus, to compete.
3. 'Me-too' Strategy
This is a low-cost imitation strategy. These companies create products that are very similar to successful products already on the market, but they compete mainly on price.
• Goal: Sell a proven product concept to price-sensitive customers.
• Characteristics: Very low innovation, minimal design effort, often lower quality.
• Example: The many generic, unbranded wireless earbuds you can find online that look almost identical to Apple's AirPods but are much cheaper.
In-house vs. Outsourcing Design
Companies also need to decide WHO will do the design work.
• In-house design teams: The designers are employees of the company. They deeply understand the company's brand and goals. (e.g., Apple's legendary design team).
• Outsourcing design consultants: The company hires an external design firm for a specific project. This brings fresh ideas and specialised skills. (e.g., A small furniture company hiring a famous designer to create a new chair).
Key Takeaway
A strategy is a plan for success. In design, companies can be a design-leader (innovator), a quick-follower (fast adapter), or a 'me-too' (imitator). This strategic choice shapes the entire design process.
3. Finding Your Opportunity: Market Aspirations & Design Gaps
So, how do entrepreneurs and designers come up with great product ideas? They look for opportunities! This means understanding what people want (market aspirations) and finding problems to solve (design gaps).
Identifying Design Gaps and Options
A design gap is a need in the market that is not currently being met well. Finding a gap is like discovering treasure for a designer!
Example: Before portable power banks were common, there was a huge design gap: "My phone battery always dies when I'm out!"
To find these gaps, we can use a powerful tool called SWOT Analysis.
How to use SWOT Analysis
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It's a simple framework to analyse a situation and make a plan. Let's imagine we are thinking about designing a new school bag.
• Strengths (Internal, Positive): What are we good at? "Our design team is skilled in using lightweight, waterproof materials."
• Weaknesses (Internal, Negative): What are we not so good at? "We don't have a well-known brand name yet."
• Opportunities (External, Positive): What trends or gaps can we take advantage of? "More students are carrying laptops to school, but most bags don't have good protection." <- BINGO! A design gap!
• Threats (External, Negative): Who or what could cause problems for us? "There are many famous bag brands that are very popular with students."
Demand-Pull vs. Technology-Push
Ideas for new products often come from two directions:
1. Demand-Pull Factors (The Market "pulls" the idea out of you)
This is when you design something because people are asking for it. The idea comes from consumer needs and wants.
• Key Drivers: Function ("I need a phone with a better camera!"), aesthetics ("Minimalist designs are popular now"), culture, environment ("People want eco-friendly products"), fashion, and lifestyle.
2. Technology-Push Factors (New technology "pushes" a new idea into the market)
This is when a new invention or discovery makes a new type of product possible, even if nobody was asking for it before.
• Key Drivers: Discovery of new materials ("We've invented Gorilla Glass, which is super strong. Let's use it for phone screens!") or new techniques ("3D printing is now cheap enough to make custom jewellery").
Key Takeaway
Find opportunities by looking for design gaps. Use SWOT Analysis to understand your situation. Ideas can be "pulled" by market demand or "pushed" by new technology.
4. From Idea to Action: The Product Design Project
Once you have an idea and a strategy, you need a process to make it happen. Managing a product design project involves clear steps and a solid action plan.
Key Procedures in a Product Design Project
Think of this as your design roadmap. Following these steps ensures you don't get lost!
Step 1: Design Data Collection (Research!)
This is where you gather all the information you need. You research your target users, look at competing products, and understand the technical requirements. You can't design a great solution if you don't understand the problem first!
Step 2: Product Styling (Defining the Look and Feel)
This is about aesthetics and user experience. What will the product look like? What colours and materials will be used? How will it feel to use it? This step gives the product its personality and appeal.
Step 3: Market Positioning Analysis (Finding Your Place)
Here, you analyse where your product fits in the market. Who is it for (target audience)? How is it different from and better than competitors' products? Will it be a luxury item or an affordable one? This helps you create a clear message for marketing.
Developing an Action Plan
A design strategy is just a dream until you turn it into an action plan. An action plan is a detailed, step-by-step list of tasks to bring your product to life. It should include:
• What needs to be done (e.g., create 3D model, build prototype, user testing).
• Who is responsible for each task.
• When each task needs to be completed (deadlines!).
• The resources needed (e.g., materials, software, budget).
Key Takeaway
A successful design project follows key procedures: data collection (research), product styling (aesthetics), and market positioning (analysis). A strategy is turned into reality with a detailed action plan.
5. The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Enterprising Behaviour
Finally, being an entrepreneur is not just about plans and processes; it's about a mindset. Displaying enterprising behaviour is key, both in business and in your DAT projects!
Here are the key traits. A good way to remember them is with the acronym I-RRRA:
• I - Initiative: Don't wait to be told what to do! Be proactive, start things yourself, and look for problems to solve.
• R - Risk-taking: Be willing to try new, bold ideas, even if they might fail. This is how innovation happens. (This means calculated risks, not careless ones!)
• R - Resourcefulness: Be good at finding clever and creative ways to solve problems, even when you don't have a lot of time or money.
• R - Responsibility: Take ownership of your work. Be accountable for the successes and the failures. See the project through to the end.
• A - Adaptability: Things rarely go exactly as planned. Be flexible and able to change your approach when you face unexpected challenges.
Think about your own DAT School-Based Assessment (SBA). How can you show these qualities? By starting your research early (Initiative), trying a new construction technique (Risk-taking), finding a cheaper way to build a model (Resourcefulness), meeting all your deadlines (Responsibility), and changing your design based on feedback (Adaptability).
Key Takeaway
An entrepreneurial mindset involves displaying enterprising behaviour. Be proactive, brave, clever, accountable, and flexible. Practise these traits in your own projects to become a better designer and problem-solver!