Caracterización de los roles

Startup companies in this study have interesting and inspiring stories behind them and their unique products. Why their products look like they do, is a sum of a complex phenomenon involving intentional and unintentional strategies, practices and decisions, hard research and – not that rarely – pure luck. This chapter aims at pointing out the most influential things that were found when seeking answers to the question: Why the product looks like it does?

All the interviewees in this study thought product’s appearance was important or very important. Still the interviews gave a colorful set of thoughts about the importance and meaning of strategic potential of visual product design. The approaches in managing visual product identity varied in the definition of strategic intentions and how the product development process forms the final visual identity of the product.

All the companies had put efforts on the visual aspects of their products in product development. This was evident through the use of professional designers, and the intentional visual identity development. However, having a clear idea about the core company- or brand values was not that common within startups. Therefore manifestation of these values in the visual design in a way the literature suggests was found to be somewhat problematic. How the product should look like was often given more brain work, and what the brand is representing was thought as something that becomes clear in time.

The study focused at examining three aspects that were seen potential to influence visual identity of a product: 1) company background, 2) strategies the startups had in their product offering, and 3) practices they carried out in the product development process. Analyzing

product strategy started from the type of product companies were developing, and went deeper

into the strategic intentions they had towards the visual design of the product. Strategic management of visual identity was found to be quite undefined in the startup companies, in some cases without clear intentions. How the strategic intentions were actually put into the product design, and what unintentional things influenced the product’s visual identity, were analyzed through the practices the companies had in the product development process. The capabilities of benefitting from a strategy in visual design in these processes were also found to vary. Some reasons for different approaches in the strategic intentions in visual design, and how the visual design developed in practice, could be found in the backgrounds of the companies. Figure 23 illustrates the scope of the findings.

52

Figure 23 Main areas of research findings forming visual identity of a product.

In this study, the practices forming visual product identity were taken into closer examination, because they were found to have a high influence in the capability to formalize the strategic intentions in product’s visual identity. Often the product development practices were also the main influence in visual product identity, as the strategic intentions were not that clear. The most influential of these practices were:

1. The type of product development process

2. How the professional industrial designers were used 3. How the decisions on visual design were made

From the findings of the case study interview, three types of product development models were noticed. Although all the product development processes of different cases were unique, the models were defined in order to understand the meanings of the choices made in the practical level of product development process. The generated models are based on characteristic examples that were noticed in the study. From the three types of product development models, a continuing cycle of ideating/research, prototyping and testing the ideas, was found to constantly create the most distinct and unique visual identities in this sample, in terms of differentiating from an existing product genre. The other two product development models were found to possibly have challenges in the management of visual product identity. Within these processes, the key questions in strategic management of visual product identity were found in: how the professional designers are used in shaping the appearance of the product, and

how the decisions on the visual design are made. The following sections aim to clarify the broad

area of the findings in this study, starting from the company background in chapter 5.1. Chapter 5.2 discusses the strategies towards product’s visual identity, that came up in the interview study. Chapter 5.3 gives an overall look at the practices found influencing visual product identity on its way in product development. The following chapters go deeper in examining the three aspects that were found the most influential in formation of visual product identity: the type of product development process (5.4), how and when industrial designers were used during the process (5.5) and how decisions on visual product design were made (5.6). The problems and challenges interviewees described in their visual product design efforts are presented in chapter 5.7, and finally, chapter 5.8 aims at making a meaning for the important findings of this study.

53

5.1

COMPANY BACKGROUND

All startup companies have the human personalities behind them. The personal backgrounds and experience of company founders are the basis determining the way a company is functioning and how it is being managed. Therefore this is the first thing defining the way design and visual identity of a product is developed and managed.

With thirteen companies participating in this research, there were thirteen different and interesting stories behind founding the companies, and many more passionate people creating those stories. The characteristic things in the company backgrounds that were seen potential to influence the management methods of visual product identity in the companies are summarized in table 1. CATCHBOX BEIB AMBOO FUTU DE NT FRAMGO ZETA D ESIG N UPLOUD AUDIO

JOLLA BEDDIT POWE

RK ISS FILMME MIR AG EBIKES CIEGUS SONOLU X COMPANY FOUNDERS

Designer founder/inhouse designer from start

• • • • • • •

• • • • •

• • • • • • •

• • • • •