The dazzling products and services shown in advertisements, along with all the things we commonly encounter and use in everyday life, are created through a stage called design. Because design is so closely woven into our lives, it seems familiar—yet from the standpoint of those who actually make products, it is a field that is not so easy to approach. This is because design, which sits at the very front line of business, is far too important to be defined simply as 'making things beautiful.'
In the past, business placed greater emphasis on a product's functionality and its marketing, but today the influence of design is steadily growing. Design now goes beyond marketing for mass-produced goods to encompass even the planning stage before a product is made. Because consumers' needs and desires are assessed from a design perspective even before a product is created, design cannot help but influence the final consumer's decision-making.
The design this book (비즈니스의 무기가 되는 디자인) speaks of is not an abstract concept but an overall way of thinking that is closely intertwined with business and aimed at generating real revenue. The author argues that the true meaning of design lies not so much in pursuing mere outward beauty as in the process of solving some problem through a product or making users change the way they think. Let's explore the 'design thinking that stimulates consumers' Wants rather than their needs and gets them to open their wallets,' as described by the world-renowned industrial designer Ken Okuyama!