Product and service design: the design mix and social trends

The design mix

The design mix is the balance of three elements a designer must consider:

• Function: does it work well, is it reliable, safe, durable and easy to use?
• Aesthetics: how it looks, feels, sounds, smells or tastes; its appeal to the senses and style.
• Cost / economic manufacture: can it be made cheaply enough to sell at a price customers will pay and still make a profit?

Firms emphasise different elements depending on the market: a budget airline stresses cost; a luxury perfume, aesthetics; a surgical instrument, function. Improving one element usually costs another (better materials improve function and aesthetics but raise cost), so the design mix involves trade-offs.

Social trends: resource depletion

Concern over resource depletion (using up finite resources such as oil, metals, water) is changing design. Firms design for:

• Waste minimisation: less packaging, fewer materials, longer-lasting products.
• Re-use: refillable containers, repairable products, modular parts.
• Recycling: using recycled materials and making products easy to recycle at the end of their life.

Benefits: appeals to environmentally aware customers, can cut material costs, builds brand image and prepares for regulation. Costs: redesign, new suppliers and recycled materials may be more expensive at first.

Social trends: ethical sourcing

Ethical sourcing means obtaining materials and products from suppliers who treat workers fairly (fair pay, safe conditions, no child labour) and protect the environment. Examples include Fairtrade-certified ingredients and audited factories.

Benefits: brand reputation, customer loyalty, ability to charge a premium, reduced risk of scandals. Drawbacks: higher costs, monitoring suppliers abroad is difficult, and claims must be honest or the brand is damaged. The January 2022 WBS11 paper asked whether there is a trade-off between an ethical stance and profit; the scheme accepted that ethical practices raise costs but also attract socially aware customers and create a USP.

Worked example

A phone maker redesigns its handset so the battery can be replaced by the user and the case uses recycled aluminium. Analyse the effect on its design mix.

1. Function: longer product life and easier repair improve function for customers.
2. Aesthetics: a replaceable battery may make the phone thicker, reducing visual appeal.
3. Cost: recycled aluminium and new tooling may raise costs at first.
4. Social trend: appeals to customers concerned about waste, supporting the brand.

Answer: The redesign improves function and fits social trends but may cost more and limit aesthetics: a trade-off within the design mix.

Check yourself

1. Which is NOT one of the three elements of the design mix?
   • Function
   • Aesthetics
   • Cost of manufacture
   • Distribution
   Show answer

   Distribution. The design mix is function, aesthetics and cost.

2. A perfume company spends heavily on the look of its bottle. Which design mix element is it emphasising?
   • Function
   • Aesthetics
   • Economic manufacture
   • Distribution
   Show answer

   Aesthetics. Appearance and appeal to the senses.

3. Which is an example of ethical sourcing?
   • Buying the cheapest cotton available anywhere
   • Moving production to the lowest-cost country
   • Using less packaging
   • Buying cocoa only from farms that pay fair wages and ban child labour
   Show answer

   Buying cocoa only from farms that pay fair wages and ban child labour. Ethical sourcing concerns how suppliers treat people and the environment.

4. Explain why there is often a trade-off between the elements of the design mix.
   Show answer

   Improving function or aesthetics, for example with better materials, usually raises the cost of manufacture, so the firm must balance quality against keeping the price affordable.. Better function or looks usually costs more.

5. Explain one benefit to a business of designing products for waste minimisation.
   Show answer

   Using fewer materials and less packaging cuts costs and appeals to environmentally aware customers, improving the brand image.. Lower material costs and a greener brand.

6. For a supermarket's value-range kettle, which design mix element is likely to be the priority?
   • Economic manufacture (low cost)
   • Aesthetics
   • Advanced function
   • Luxury packaging
   Show answer

   Economic manufacture (low cost). Value customers buy mainly on price.

7. What is a drawback of ethical sourcing for a business?
   • Customers always refuse to pay more
   • It is banned in most countries
   • Supplies may cost more and suppliers are hard to monitor
   • It reduces brand reputation
   Show answer

   Supplies may cost more and suppliers are hard to monitor. Fair wages and auditing raise costs.

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Sources

• Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Subsidiary/Advanced Level in Business specification (2018)
• Pearson WBS11/01 mark scheme, January 2022

Last updated 8 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.