NINEIDEA：深圳这座创新之都为工业设计从业者提供了广阔的舞台。然而，如同任何充满机遇的领域一样，其中也暗藏着不少 “坑”。若想在深圳工业设计圈顺利前行，这些陷阱可得绕着走。
忽视市场调研的盲目设计
许多设计师初到深圳，满怀创意激情，迫不及待地投入设计工作，却往往忽略了至关重要的市场调研。深圳的市场需求丰富且瞬息万变，不同消费群体对产品的偏好差异巨大。比如，在智能穿戴设备领域，年轻消费者追求时尚外观、个性化功能以及与移动互联网的深度融合；而老年群体则更注重产品的操作便捷性、健康监测功能的实用性和佩戴舒适度。若设计师仅凭自己的主观臆想进行设计，不深入了解市场需求，很可能设计出的产品无人问津。要知道，在深圳这样竞争激烈的市场环境中，一款产品从设计到生产投入成本颇高，如果前期市场调研缺失，就如同在黑暗中摸索，成功几率渺茫。
供应链把控不足
深圳虽拥有完善的供应链体系，但这并不意味着一切都能顺风顺水。部分设计师在与供应商合作时，没有充分考量供应商的信誉、生产能力和质量把控水平。有些供应商可能在前期沟通时承诺得很好，但在实际生产过程中，却因各种原因无法按时交付产品，或者产品质量达不到设计要求。比如，曾经有设计师为一款电子产品设计了独特外观，选用了特殊材质。然而，供应商在生产过程中，因对该材质加工工艺掌握不足，导致产品出现严重的外观瑕疵，不仅延误了产品上市时间，还造成了巨大的经济损失。所以，在深圳做工业设计，一定要对供应链进行严格筛选和全程监控，与可靠的供应商建立长期稳定的合作关系。
知识产权保护意识淡薄
深圳是一个创新成果辈出的地方，知识产权保护尤为重要。然而，仍有不少设计师在这方面掉以轻心。有的设计师在设计过程中，可能会无意识地借鉴一些已有的设计元素，却未经过合法授权，从而陷入侵权纠纷。还有的设计师在与客户合作时，没有提前明确知识产权归属问题，导致后期出现利益纷争。例如，一位设计师为某企业设计了一款产品，在设计完成后，企业却以各种理由拒绝支付尾款，并声称产品的知识产权归企业所有，设计师因事先未签订详细的合同，导致自己的权益得不到保障。在深圳，知识产权就是设计师的生命线，必须时刻保持警惕，加强自我保护意识。
团队协作与沟通不畅
工业设计往往需要跨部门、跨专业的团队协作。从产品概念的提出，到外观设计、结构设计，再到生产制造，每个环节都需要紧密配合。在深圳的一些设计公司中，由于团队成员来自不同背景，专业领域和思维方式存在差异，如果沟通不畅，就容易出现设计方向偏差、工作重复等问题。比如，设计团队为一款智能家电设计外观时，没有充分与工程团队沟通产品内部结构限制，导致设计出的外观无法实现量产，不得不重新设计，浪费了大量的时间和精力。所以，建立良好的沟通机制，加强团队协作，是提高设计效率和质量的关键。
在深圳做工业设计，只有避开这些常见的 “坑”，才能在这片充满机遇的土地上茁壮成长，将创意转化为具有市场竞争力的优秀产品。
@NINEIDEA九号创新 www.nineidea.com
Shenzhen Industrial Design Circle “Lightning Protection” Guide, Don’t Step on These Pits!
NINEIDEA: Shenzhen, the city of innovation, provides a broad stage for industrial design practitioners. However, like any field full of opportunities, there are also many hidden pitfalls. If you want to smoothly move forward in the Shenzhen industrial design circle, you have to go around these traps.
Blind design that ignores market research
Many designers who arrive in Shenzhen are full of creative passion and eager to engage in design work, but often overlook the crucial market research. The market demand in Shenzhen is rich and constantly changing, with significant differences in product preferences among different consumer groups. For example, in the field of intelligent wearable devices, young consumers pursue fashionable appearance, personalized functions and deep integration with mobile Internet;
The elderly population, on the other hand, places more emphasis on the convenience of product operation, the practicality of health monitoring functions, and the comfort of wearing. If designers rely solely on their subjective imagination to design without a deep understanding of market demand, it is likely that the products they design will go unnoticed. You should know that in a fiercely competitive market environment like Shenzhen, the investment cost from design to production of a product is quite high. If there is a lack of market research in the early stage, it is like exploring in the dark, and the chances of success are slim.
Insufficient supply chain control
Although Shenzhen has a well-established supply chain system, it does not mean that everything can go smoothly. Some designers did not fully consider the supplier’s reputation, production capacity, and quality control level when collaborating with them. Some suppliers may have made good promises during early communication, but in the actual production process, they may not be able to deliver products on time or the product quality may not meet the design requirements due to various reasons. For example, a designer once designed a unique appearance and used special materials for an electronic product.
However, due to insufficient mastery of the material processing technology by the supplier during the production process, serious appearance defects occurred in the product, which not only delayed the product’s launch time but also caused huge economic losses. So, when doing industrial design in Shenzhen, it is necessary to strictly screen and monitor the supply chain throughout the process, and establish long-term stable cooperative relationships with reliable suppliers.
Weak awareness of intellectual property protection
Shenzhen is a place where innovative achievements emerge, and intellectual property protection is particularly important. However, there are still many designers who take this lightly. Some designers may unconsciously borrow some existing design elements during the design process without legal authorization, leading to infringement disputes. Some designers did not clarify the ownership of intellectual property rights in advance when working with clients, resulting in conflicts of interest in the later stages.
For example, a designer designed a product for a certain company, but after the design was completed, the company refused to pay the final payment for various reasons and claimed that the intellectual property of the product belonged to the company. The designer’s rights were not protected because they did not sign a detailed contract beforehand. In Shenzhen, intellectual property is the lifeline of designers, and they must always remain vigilant and strengthen their self-protection awareness.
Poor teamwork and communication
Industrial design often requires cross departmental and cross disciplinary team collaboration. From the proposal of product concept, to appearance design, structural design, to production and manufacturing, every link requires close coordination. In some design companies in Shenzhen, due to team members coming from different backgrounds, professional fields, and different ways of thinking, if communication is not smooth, it is easy to encounter problems such as design direction deviation and work duplication.
For example, when the design team was designing the appearance of a smart home appliance, they did not fully communicate with the engineering team about the internal structural limitations of the product, resulting in the inability to achieve mass production of the designed appearance and having to redesign it, wasting a lot of time and energy. Therefore, establishing a good communication mechanism and strengthening team collaboration are key to improving design efficiency and quality.
To do industrial design in Shenzhen, only by avoiding these common “pitfalls” can one thrive in this land full of opportunities and transform creativity into excellent products with market competitiveness.
@NINEIDEA九号创新 www.nineidea.com
