Embrace change in the Year of the Goat as AEC approaches fruition
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THE YEAR of the Wood Goat arrives joyously this Sunday, bringing fresh hope to everyone who is expecting many wonderful things in store for them. As we all hope to see the economy and businesses expand and grow despite numerous uncertainties facing us at
The first and largest change for us is the Asean Economic Community, which will definitely come to fruition this year. This will cause some shifts in the centres of business power as more organisations are forced to pay increasing attention to this massive regional market.
Therefore the way products and services are designed will have to shift to cater to common themes in the region.
One example is to find ways to penetrate markets that have many senior citizens.
If we take an in-depth assessment of any social structure, we can see that most of them have changed to one where the burden of the welfare of the elderly rests on a younger labour force in an environment with a dearth of sufficient caretakers.
This unmet need means that designers should increasingly dream up ways to incorporate various technological innovations that make their designs easier to use.
We may also be experiencing increasing rural-to-urban migration. Therefore, we have to consider all the ways of maintaining all the conveniences and relatively high quality of life even though living spaces are considerably smaller.
These factors are elements that all designers and marketers have to consider when developing new products and services.
In the face of limited and dwindling natural resources and rising populations, designers are forced to find ways of harnessing technology to make the most of these resources or develop and manufacture substitutes like renewable energy or engineered wood.
The greatest challenge in these circumstances is finding ways to make people accept these new ideas.
The speed at which these innovations are accepted will depend on how fast people can be convinced that these options will become standard in the future.
From these examples, we can see how these changes around the world can have wide-ranging effects on our thoughts and the way we lead our lives.
The longevity of these changes will depend on how well we understand the root of the issues and our ability to access the hidden value that influences consumer behaviour linked to our collective human sub-consciousness.
Therefore those thinkers and designers who are able to tap into that commonality will be able to influence our behaviour and create new consumer demand.
The clearest examples include the rise of touch phones where a flat screen replaced physical buttons, or the transition of accommodation from houses to small units in high-rises replete with all the conveniences required by urban dwellers.
We also have to begin to examine ourselves and find ways to lead a more meaningful and truthful life.
We can learn to develop our minds and emotions through meditation, choose to take care of our own health by exercising and choosing quality food and cooking methods, or even seek out products that are socially responsible.
We can see that these global tendencies are not fast-changing movements that emerged within a short time and will fade away quickly.
If more designers realise that these positive notions lie at the root of consumer consciousness, they can more easily adapt and apply these subconscious needs to make a difference by making outstanding products and services that will ensure that their businesses survive for the long term.
