Online DESIGN CALCULATOR – An Idea Originating at TBU
29. April 2021Jan Kramoliš and his research team from the Faculty of Management and Economics (FaME) of our University came up with the original idea of an online design value index calculator. It is a free online tool which can be used for free to evaluate whether it pays off for a company to invest in modifications and changes in product design. For example, in packaging, logos, or a website.
“The original idea emerged due to the companies’ distrust in design. A manager always needs numbers and a quantitative evaluation at hand to have something to lean on when making decisions. Therefore, he needs a tool able to provide him with such data. A management’s decision to invest in design is risky without previous quantitative justification,” says Jan Kramoliš, the author of the idea.
The task of the online calculator is to show that a right investment in design can activate a potential in the company that has so far only been a subject of controversy. Or to point out that, on the contrary, investing in design would not pay off for the company.
“It should be mentioned that it is precisely a high-quality design that can significantly help a company to increase the number of outputs sold, thanks to the pull effect. As a result, the company does not have to put so much pressure on its sales representatives, and the products are sold following an increased demand from customers, often allowing companies to sell products even at a higher price,” adds Jan Kramoliš.
“The model used for the calculation of the design value index contains 14 components of an economic nature. These include, for example, the number of years of experience in design, type of products produced, level of maturity of the market, strength of competition and the level of unemployment in the location where the company resides,” says Associate Professor David Tuček, Dean of the FaME. The calculator then shows the extent to which the potential of the investment in design will be reflected in the company’s economic results.
Before the online design calculator was created, researchers from the Zlín-based University carried out extensive research in companies. And that in such a manner as to produce a calculator offering the users results as accurate as possible, thanks to the real data evaluated.
The new application has been designed especially for small and medium-sized companies with up to 250 employees. You can find it at www.dvi.utb.cz.