Before a
‘’standard’’ design emerges, many companies try to innovate and develop a
design for novel products - this is the pre-dominant design phase.
At this stage,
companies are investing in R&D and risk their design not being adopted.
Then, a dominant
design emerges (hint: it doesn’t need to be the most optimal one, it’s just the
one the market loves and adopts).
At this stage, the
dominant design becomes the standard ‘’de facto’’ design that all companies
adhere to. The company that invented it will win big time with their IP!
Other companies
would follow and might lose on their pre-dominant design investment; however,
the reward of being the ‘’first mover’’ is worth the risk for many!
Multiple factors
lead to the emergence of a dominant design:
👉 Pressure from market
forces or government regulations leads industries to select a dominant design.
👉 A dominant design
indicates that a product is stable, so customers are more likely to purchase
it.
👉 The emergence of a
dominant design marks a technology’s transition into its growth phase.
A great example of a dominant design is
*drum rolls*
the QWERTY Design!
💡 In 1874, American
inventor Christopher Sholes released the typewriter Remington with its keyboard
layout almost the same as the QWERTY keyboard layout we use today, with a few
minor differences.
💡 The latter was
developed to avoid writing jams, effectively allowing the typist to type faster
rather than slower.
💡 Although many
scientists argue that the QWERTY layout is not the most efficient one, it
gained wide market success and is now used in all modern-day standard
manufactured English letter keyboards.
Can you think of any other dominant
design? Here’s a hint: you are using it right now!
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