Design – really really good design – is more affordable than ever for consumers.

It is spooky.
Selling “good” or selling value is a problem these days because it seems like the bar is being raised by the quality of mass consumer solutions. The consumer cost of high value, as it has been classically defined in terms of functionality & aesthetics, has plummeted. Think of the ipod, when it first came out, it was revolutionary, but in terms of performance it was actually ho hum (I have one, I know). But for half of the price at which I bought my 20 gigabyte and now non-functional one for in 2000, you can get one now that is better, smarter, and more beautiful to boot. Look at the brief-history-of-the-ipod page to see more.

Fon instance: all of these dog dishes are under $10 bucks.






The cost of great design for the consumer has dropped to the point where people are considering buying a Michael Graves dog dish. This is Michael Graves we are talking about, known for having touched up the Washington Monument, some various Cathedrals, adding to the Library of Congress and such. Guess which dog dish above is his (I will tell you at the end of the post - but you should be able to guess).

I know some cars today are icky (think of the Aztek) , but aren't all of them better than they were in the seventies and eighties - more stylish, more comfortable, better all around - at a better price (adjusted for inflation)? Think of the MINI Cooper circa 1960s (designed by Alec Issigonis) and the MINI Cooper of today (history here). The old MINI was a great stripped down housewife vehicle that formed a cult following. The new MINI is a quasi-luxury vehicle; it is fantastic, affordable, and lives up to all that the 60's MINI promised with great handling and powerful sports car engine plus comfortable interior and super safe creash-tested design.

DWR catalogs put high modernist chairs within the price range of college students. Every store in downtown Baltimore - you know that megapolis of high consumer fashion - offers first-rate goods. What is a designer to do among all this affordable quality? Scandalous!

If you walk into Target you are getting increasingly great design for a very fixed, and I would say cheap, price. Similarly, and to the dismay of furniture retailers everywhere, IKEA can dominate the low end of furniture sales because their creative work is superb and so is their price. Apple itself delivers gorgeous objects that people 20 years ago couldn't even imagine for less than $1,000. We are watching design improve everywhere while prices are falling, and it is hard to convince clients that great design typically costs companies unimaginable sums (think of the Gillette razor or, for that matter, Motorola's RAZR) and it is the miracle of mass production that defrays the cost to the consumer.

I know that the design and development market has changed dramatically in the last ten years – the customers are more sophisticated, and there is a sense that even customized and personalized design is more affordable/available. Since websites and interactive displays are so prevalent, people are stunned to find out how much money it costs to do something really well.

But as far as I can tell, despite the fact that prices are falling to buy all this great stuff, the prices are actually going up to make it. That is, Target pays MORE than ever to get a Michael Graves toilet bowl cleaner (no I don't have proof, please someone find it for me!), and that is as it should be.

Websites – and I am sorry to be the one to tell you this guys – are MORE expensive in 2006 than in 1999. They are better, too.

The disconnect we are seeing with people’s jaws dropping when they hear how much good original design costs is a simple matter of being at the end of the value chain versus being at the front – if you wander into a Wal-Mart you will in all likelihood walk out with something halfway decent with compelling design for an affordable price. But it isn’t original and wasn’t made for you. You are the end consumer for this product and there are many many like you, who collectively defray the price for everyone else.

At the beginning of the value chain there is only 1 client who demands an individual brand-enhancing design that has broad appeal. A good design can save, turn around or dramatically improve a company. It has been proven time and time again. Broad appeal comes at a high price, and it is why the price of original design can go up while consumer prices plummet.

Oh, and the $7.99 teal dog dish is by Graves. Get yours today.

Labels: Design