The imperative of experience and strategies for designing experiences at scale

Abstract

In recent years, intense competition, fueled in large part by globalization and digitalization, has been accelerating the process of commoditization of products and services. Even when design is deployed to shape the product and distinguish it from competitors, the design often remains product-centric and easy to replicate. These dynamics have created an abundance of material wealth in developed economies, and people are often choosing to devote discretionary income to paying for fulfilling, unique experiences. In response, more companies are beginning to offer experiences to their customers as a way of differentiating themselves. Experiences, first recognized as a distinct economic offering in the late 1990s, are more holistic and subjective than products or services, appeal to higher order needs than the purely functional, and facilitate the development of customer-company relationships in place of transactional exchanges. The imperative of offering experiences presents significant challenges for nearly all companies, as they will be required to shift from being product-centric to being customer-centric. Recognizing that experiences reflect many technology products in their complexity, this thesis seeks to combine the fields of human-centered design and systems design to make experience design more accessible to all companies. Then, based on analysis of design systems and transmedia, it presents the concept of creating a design platform that permits extension and further development of the experience. This strategy balances consistency with the ability to respond to customer needs and adoption of new technology platforms. Finally, ideas for future research into this nascent field are presented.