THE PERCEIVED VALUE OF DESIGN FOR NEW PRODUCTS AT MICRO AND SMALL COMPANIES

The research aims to identify and promote improvements in the planning and development processes of new products with the insertion of the design. The study was developed in three micro and small furniture companies, which are located in the city of Santa Maria-RS. This market segment was chosen because it has changes in the execution of its productive processes and by the constant search of new products in order to meet the requirements of its customers. Based on the evaluations of the final consumers and the control of the information provided by the managers of the planning and production sectors, it was sought to qualify the products based on the design. A multiple case study was used in order to identify the main differences between visions in the generation of new products. Based on this, the quality evaluation matrix, Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was used to identify and quantify procedures that have a greater impact between the planning and execution of new tailored furniture. It was possible to detect difficulties in the insertion of the design in the Furniture Industries. It is necessary to overcome some obstacles to change the company’s culture regarding the management of new product

DESIGN VERSUS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT?

Design or product development? The questioning in relation to the employment of such terminology dates back to possible misconceptions regarding interpretation and approach them. Therefore, it can be stated that there are differences between these two terms? In this context, we highlight two views concerning the origin of the design. The first character creative and based on pre-industrial revolution, based on projective and methodologies directed towards the practice of designing products. And second, where design is understood as an industrial process: the development of new products includes, besides a creative procedure are developed, and symbolic formal solutions for products, but also a technical procedure based on the definition of the requirements concerning the product engineering. Is this the most widely accepted interpretation? theoretical studies were conducted from interpretations of the concept of the design proposed by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design – ICSDI (2012), and for the characterization of the process of product development, we sought to develop an analogy between these two terminologies and can be proved that the use of one of terminology will not cause deviations of interpretation, since both deal with the life cycle of the product. The main results obtained until now the definition of design proposed by the ICSID where it is characterized as a creative activity focused on the complete life cycle of products is the more approaches of the concept of product development.</p