By the end of this course you'll be able to:

● Design in a product design process

Offer basic knowledge of using design in a product design process with the purpose of entrepreneurship.

● Main design methods

Develop an understanding of the main design methods in a product development process of start-up.

● Integrate design into product development

Build the capability of managing and integrating design in the whole process.

● Seek business opportunity

Facilitate the open-mind of business opportunity through user journey and stakeholder.

● Plan product cost and profit

Know the method and stage to consider product cost and profit management in the process

● Intelligent Property management

Know the basic strategy and practical operations of protecting the IP of concept and design

Week 1: Introduction (Sylvia)

Why is product design important to entrepreneurship? Design, business & management, and technology are well accepted as core knowledge for all the start-up teams. However, in practice, business & management and technology are applied as hardcore in a start-up business, and design is only employed at the final stage to prepare for launching the product. In most cases, it is advertisement design, packaging design and multimedia design applied.

Week 2: Journey map (Scott)

This module will introduce the tools and process of gathering customer insights for identifying and developing new product opportunities. Through this hands-on, workshop-type exercise, the participant will discover and learn how to use customer journey mapping to understand and optimize customer behaviors, mindsets, and emotional motivations across interactions with the product or services.

Week 3: Stakeholder analysis (Sylvia)

In this mode, the basic concepts of stakeholder will be introduced. Based on it, the process of searching, defining and analyzing stakeholders will be taught as a basic guideline. Finally, the value flow model is introduced to define the types of value and relationship between the stakeholders. As the result, the value proposition of new business could be confirmed based on identified value gaps and opportunities.

Week 4: Design process (Yi-Teng)

The meaning of value and the process of value creation is swiftly changing from a company-centric perspective to a personalized consumer experience. This is a very complex and unpredictable form of the consumer market. It is not easy to predict market trends as usual. For the factory, what is their strategy to solve this problem? How do they face complicated consumer patterns and a more competitive market environment? Therefore, this course will introduce designer-led approaches to bring a unique experience for consumers.

Week 5: Financial Management for product design (Kevin)

When designing and preparing to deliver a product to market, it is essential to understand finance principles. There are many finance principles; some apply to product design, and some do not. We will focus on the Five Principles of Finance that are generally applicable. When you design and deliver a product, the goal is to sell it for more than it costs to produce. If you sell something for less than the cost to make, you will not have a profit to show.

The five:

• Cash Flow Time
• Value of Money
• Risk and Return
• Market Price
• Conflicts of Interest

Week 6: Intellectual Property (Kevin)

As a designer, you create intellectual property any time you make something new and original. IP exists in various forms, including inventions, product logos, books, photographs, new designs or artistic creations. IP is a precious asset, and different types of IP protect different kinds of outcomes.

The four types of IP designers use most often are:

• Patents
• Design rights
• Trademarks
• Copyright

Topics covered:

Consider IP early. Understand the relationship between copyright and design rights. Identify who owns the IP. If your product has a short lifespan, alternative strategies do not include registering your IP. Learn how different IP rights can work together to protect your work. Plan in advance what steps you will take if you find someone copying your design or using it without your permission. When you register your IP, it will be published online. IP rights do not give you protection outside of single countries. Design rights and patents need to be a secret until you apply.