CANNES, FRANCE, September 30, 2010
/24-7PressRelease/ -- Susan Perkins, a speaker at the marcus evans Industrial Design Summit 2010, discusses her strategies for designing products that are culturally sensitive and successful.
Interview with: Susan Perkins, Vice President - Global Design, Tupperware
Loyalty can be achieved if you care about the people who buy your products and strive to make their life a little bit easier, says Susan Perkins, Vice President - Global Design at Tupperware. Products that are relevant, serviceable and lasting are able to cross borders, but to ensure global success, cultural awareness needs to be injected into the product design process. The recipient of the 2009 Design Team of the Year Award and a speaker at the marcus evans Industrial Design Summit 2010, taking place in Cannes, France, 22 - 24 November, Perkins shares her vision of culturally sensitive and diverse teams who create products that serve a purpose, have an emotional impact on people and create brand loyalty.
Why is cultural awareness in the design process important and how can it be incorporated?
Susan Perkins: Cultural awareness is required to create products that solve real problems and add value to people's lives. Different cultures share different values, behaviours and approaches to life. It is not a world where one size fits all. Designers who are culturally sensitive to these differences will be able to create solutions to problems. At Tupperware we have offices in almost 100 different countries, with food customs and cultures varying within their borders.
To incorporate cultural awareness into the design process, first you have to realise or believe that it is important. We continue to focus on building a design team with diverse backgrounds, and see value in designers experiencing different cultures through regular travel, thus getting exposed to the real differences in the way people live. It is one thing to talk or read about it, but the real way to understand it is to be immersed in it.
What makes a product a global phenomenon?
Susan Perkins: For Tupperware, a product that is a global phenomenon is relevant, serviceable and lasting. Relevant products affect people; they have an emotional or cognitive impact on them. A serviceable product is able to serve a purpose. Finally a lasting product should do just that last without change; it should have the ability to stand up to the test of time. If you can do all three consecutively and successfully, the product will be able to cross borders.
How can one achieve product or brand loyalty?
Susan Perkins: A brand needs to engage people, not just sell to them. Loyalty comes when you really care about the people that buy your products and you strive to create something that makes their life a little bit better. People are loyal to brands that are loyal to them.
What are some of the upcoming developments that product design and development executives should prepare for?
Susan Perkins: The world, how we view one another and the perception of what really defines happiness are shifting. Humanity has long viewed the pursuit of progress as going hand in hand with the pursuit of happiness, but people are now beginning to question this connection. Bhutan does not measure GNP but rather gross national happiness. Positive psychology is the most popular course at Harvard. As people explore the pursuit of happiness they will look to build relationships with brands that connect, engage and care about them and the planet.
People will look for those corporations that are interested in providing goods and services that truly do assist them. They want people to really understand who they are, how they live, what they need and what makes them happy, and integrate what they are offering into their lives. I think this is a different way of approaching product development.
Contact: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division
Tel: + 357 22 849 313
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com
About the Industrial Design Summit 2010
This unique forum will take place at the Majestic Barrière Hotel, Cannes, France, 22 - 24 November 2010. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The summit includes presentations on engineering consumer experiences, successful product development, the eco-design revolution and heightening brand loyalty.
For more information please send an email to info@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website at http://www.industrialdesignsummit.com/SusanPerkinsInterview
Please note that the summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.
About marcus evans Summits
marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world's leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, think tanks, seminars and one-to-one business meetings. For more information, please visit http://www.marcusevans.com
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