Research
- Diversification, design, strategic planning and new product development. A jewellery industry knowledge transfer partnership.
- Date Published 01/08/2007
The UK jewellery industry is predominantly made up of small businesses that have traditionally sub-contracted production and design processes; they are either unable or unwilling to perform, to a variety of specialist services. Few firms either employ designers, or have a strategic approach to design and new product development. Many of them are under threat from global competition, and survival will depend increasingly on the introduction of new design-led products. The industry is supported by the UK government through a variety of measures. One example is a programme intended to provide extensive and intensive design support with collaborative projects involving knowledge transfer partnerships between Higher Education institutions and companies.
This paper reports on a case study of a completed knowledge transfer project using empirical data drawn from an in-depth case study. This significant research demonstrates how this design intervention resulted in the company introducing new design and production strategies, which led to a total revision of its product range. The project exceeded the expectations of the original brief, and the company directly benefited financially. More importantly they introduced a design strategy and reappraised operations, management, production, products and marketing. The findings have great potential for other design-oriented businesses to benefit from such critical intervention.
Details
Design Journal, Volume 10
Year: 2007 (Summer)
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Design Journal Article Aug 07.pdf
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