A Brief Review of Computational Product Design: A Brand Identity Approach

Abstract

On the way to designing customized products as one of the core activities of Industry 4.0, the strategy of computational design emerges as a unique design process due to its flexibility and simplicity. More specifically, the aforementioned strategy is concerned with the study of brand identity and its description in the development of commercial industrial products. The proposed design approach is focused on the study of branded product forms following computational design methodologies, i.e., employing textual or/and visual programming languages. The paper presents an overview of in-depth research studies which deal with the systematic way of creation, evolution, and transformation of industrial products with modern digital tools. Through the review, 100 studies have been analyzed over the last 15 years. The background of this research includes definitions from the specific four pillars of the modern theory of industrial design, e.g., product design, digital design, visual representation, and product identity. Furthermore, the current paper combines the use of computational design with specific parameters of visual brand elements in order to develop a methodological tool for the mass customization of industrial products. Moreover, the proposed framework offers a great deal of flexibility in both design and manufacturing, while many design alternatives could become available in a very short time. Finally, the impact of this paper is the correlation between computational design techniques and the theoretical background of brand identity principles (i.e., shapes, geometries, styles, textures, colors, and materials) for inspiring novel ideas among engineers, designers, and marketers.

Digital Customization for Product Design and Manufacturing: A Case Study within the Furniture Industry

“…The computational design methodology can be categorized into three basic strategies: (a) based on text (b), based on a visual programming language, and (c) a combination of the other two [3,4]. The proposed design methodology can be used in a very wide range of products including indoor furniture.…”

Computational Wearables Design: Shoe Sole Modeling and Prototyping

“…Based on various techniques, the designer/programmer is effectively the creator of products that belong to families. All this is implemented using product design algorithms that support not only the geometrical characteristics but their manufacturing and branding identity as well [3]. Nowadays, both researchers and shoe manufacturers deal with the analysis and the use of plantar pressure measurements for customized sole design.…”

Artificial Intelligence in Product Development

“…In this case, the problems with difficult or incomplete definition are selected and in the center of interest is the experience created, when using a product. When these methodologies are applied, the use of words and images play a key role in the creativity development procedure and the AI tools can greatly affect and support this role (Manavis et al, 2023). At the same time, digital manufacturing and Industry 4.0 applications are supported and are made a lot more efficient.…”