Product Development

Great product design starts with great insights, and great insights are powered by a broad perspective. Gensler’s Product Development practice harnesses the knowledge of the world’s leading A&D firm to ignite innovation.
Arper Mixu Chairs.
Arper | Mixu
As product designers, we’re always challenging ourselves to go ‘beyond code’ to deliver an inclusive experience for the greatest number of users. Everyone should feel like they’re being treated equally.
—Scott Star, Product Development leader
Client Services
As strategists and designers working with manufacturers, we boost a product’s commercial appeal and optimize end user experience.
INSIGHTS
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TRENDS TO WATCH

Flexibility, reconfigurability, and adaptability will be table stakes for successful product design.

Workers are looking for offices that offer a mix of experiences, as well as products that support different work modes. Given this desire for choice and variety, and a measure of inherent unpredictability, the one common denominator that can help ensure a product’s success is flexibility. Flexible, reconfigurable, and adaptable products will excel in the market.

 

New product sustainability standards and “circular products” will be game changers for climate goals.

Purchasers and end users are interested in products designed and manufactured with safe ingredients, recycled content, and low emissions. At the same time, manufacturers are seeking a common set of sustainability standards that provide clear, concise performance criteria. Together, these objectives will work to improve the sustainability profile of interiors products and drive down embodied carbon across the building industry.

 

Products designed for equity and accessibility will have an edge.

Inclusive product design not only creates a better experience; it can also help employers meet DEI goals, which work to ensure equity, accessibility, and productivity for the greatest number of people, regardless of their abilities or limitations. Products that address and ideally go beyond ADA standards without singling anyone out will earn a competitive edge.

A group of people standing in a room with a stage and lights.
Design Forecast 2024
Design Forecast identifies the trends and design strategies that are shaping the future of the human experience and the built environment. We provide strategic advice, research, and projects from all 33 of Gensler’s practices to help clients prepare for transformational times.
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PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT LEADERSHIP
NEWS