My idea has “Visual Value” literally! Give me a call and I will tell you about it, Mark.

I think I’ve experienced a few things that make a product appealing to my eyes.

When I first saw mini jam jars…awwwww, those are so cute! So I bought them. Silly purchase for a family of 6, they didn’t last long.

I like the curlzMT font…it catches my eyes and says fun:-)

A dewalt drill because I liked the color…who cared how it performed.

Things do have to be pretty, fun and happy looking to get me buying, especially if it’s just a spur of the moment purchase.

Needed items can look however they like, but I would pick the pretty needed item over the boring one.

I say it’s really important to have the visual value.I’m sure the visual value might be different to a man than a woman.

I do try to put this into my ideas.

I agree visual appeal is one of the first things that sells me.
Cute does sell. Even though smaller size items such as mini cans of soda are functional for someone who cannot finish a whole full size can. My mother in law buys them because they are cute little baby soda cans. LOL!!!
Color always sparks an interest in products too. Cell phones now come in a variety of colors because it makes people feel like they are expressing their own style and tastes in a utilitarian object.
Of course men and women don’t have the same view, men I think(my opinion only) are looking for strong, sleek, manly men looking products. Big trucks, big strong shiny chrome things.
But the end result is how the product looks to your target consumer.

that’s IT! Sally…I bought baby jams! hahaha…I knew I was baby crazy ;-)

Tania, Ha-ha-ha,
I bought them too, first because they were cute, but then I realized when I made jams they were a good size to give as gifts. Cute baby size is really a good seller , but like you say it isn’t always practical.

I like pretty things too, but when they jack up the price it makes me think…hmmm is it really worth it to buy the Happy Birthday gift bags at Target or should I just go with the plan colored gift bags and save some money?

This sounds bad, but I think it depends on who the gift is for too! If it’s someone who would notice, then I’d spring for the fancy bag…otherwise plain jane all the way :)

It sounds like Visual Value is a very real aspect of developing a product…or at least purchasing one :)

Do you think it’s the same as intrinsic value in a product?

I don’t know. I wouldn’t really pay more for a pretty thing, like Patrice says. Same price but prettier…I’ll take it!

hmmm..okay, maybe a tad bit more I’d pay lol…but not much.

I think the visual value of the product could be viewed as intrinsic value of the product, sure. I think that with clothing, certain colors are considered “cheap looking” and in reality it’s just a color isn’t it?

But the value of the clothing just went down because the color has a stigma with it. Same thing with stylish trends. If society says it’s out – so does the consumer and the retailer knows this and lowers the price to help push the product.

I don’t really know if it costs more money to make one color vs the next. Possibly if it involves a special technique to achieve a certain look which would drive the price up.

In the case with the Birthday Gift bag, the writing and the designs do cost more money to make so the price should be higher for those bags so I don’t think that’s intrinsic value – it’s real value because you’re getting something out of it , clearly.

I think it might be a play on words because intrinsic value is anything that builds value into a product but doesn’t really change the product itself.

When you alter the product visually, you really are adding value to it because you are changing the product – assuming it’s for the better and not an eye sore.

But then again, what might be visually valuable to one person may seem gaudy or too flashy or whatever to the next. It’s a matter of taste also.

I guess the goal of the manufacturer is to nail down the visual preferences of the majority of it’s target market.

If you’re selling to tweens – pinks and flashy colors are in like flin.

If you’re selling to senior citizens – pinks and flashy colors may give them a heart attack.

Know your target market and adjust your product’s visual value accordingly, thank you!

Intrinsic value would normally be that value that is added in terms of design and utility of the product.

Although there are some crossovers in the two, intrinsic value is normally things like thickness of a plastic, size of a product, an extra cap …or free refill…things like that.

Where as….

Visual value would be value added to the consumer that is realized at “First Notice” of the product.

Maybe it’s the color, or the thing that got you to walk across the aisle to take a look, or the size, or even the fact that you didn’t know what it was and you wanted to investigate it….all aspects of visual value in a product.

Oh, I guess I got that definition wrong then. I knew intrinsic value was added perceived value not necessarily added cost to make the product.

I believe these are the 4 scenarios we are talking about?

1) Intrinsic value could add visual value.
2) Visual value could add intrinsic value.
3) Intrinsic value could offer no “outstanding” visual value at all.
4) “Outstanding” visual value could offer no intrinsic value at all.

I have had to choose before between a product that had more uses than the one beside it on the shelf that was clearly prettier.

I chose the prettier one.So I sacrificed function for looks.It was a cell phone case. Those multi colored sparkly stones had me at hello there!

So if one could have better function and better looks..That would be a slam dunk of a product :-)

Yeah but Tania, I’m sure the functions that the phone offered you really could of cared less about right?

I think if those functions were something you really wanted you would have opted for them?

Say the not so good looking phone made you breakfast in the morning, did your house work, and did your bills for you and the prettier phone did none of those things…

Which would you choose now???

Hey! I’ll take one of those phones :-)

It was just the case Patrice. The boring phone case definitely protected the phone better.

I just really liked the sparkly one. So I decided I’d have to be extra cautious with the not so great working case to have the pretty one.

as far as phones go…I have chosen pretty looking cheap phones over boring looking expensive ones before.You’re right, I never cared about their features or options…I purely went for looks on those things.

I’m not a fanatic on options either.

I like the razors. The phones that slide out and have a texting panel don’t impress me. I’m not a huge texter anyway. I have a few friends that love it but most don’t.

My 9yr old is embarrased of the phone that we bought her! Her friend in class has this ultra texting phone with all the flashy gizmos and gadgets.

In my mind I’m thinking she should be lucky to even have a cell phone.

What is up with that girl’s mother buying that kid a $200 cell phone at age 9?

It just makes all the ohter kids feel bad.

So I told her if she gets straight A’s at the end of the year she’ll get one.

Hey, everything is negotiable right?

Tania, that’s exactly what my wife said about me when we got married . No features, purely looks. HaHa

I told my daughter, the fancier the phone the bigger the brain tumor..she didn’t buy it.

Then we decided if she doesn’t lose the one she has for a year then she can have the blackberry we have sitting in a cupboard…but…she has already lost it twice since she got it for Xmas
:-)

wow, 9 is young for an expensive phone…any phone. I see why my daughter was upset when I made her wait until 14 hahaha

and yes, I agree, everything is negotiable.

hahahaha ED! very good!

I tried to show all of the visible value in my product right on the package. I did a lot of imaging of “in use” as well as “product alone”. I show the need for my product the very first time you see the package.

And Mark…It’s Trent not Troy, but no worries…I have been called a lot worse!HA

My 5 year old is asking for a phone. I asked him who he needed to call? Nobody I just want to play games. My wife’s work gave her a blackberry and he plays with it every night.

I got an Iphone because I love the little garbage can. To delete an email you push it and the email has a swirling down a drain effect.

“Oh, I guess I got that definition wrong then. I knew intrinsic value was added perceived value not necessarily added cost to make the product”

Yep muffin head, you got it wrong…and no, not always, it depends on the product.

Enough of the phone thing already….geezzzz

The point is people can decide (at least in part anyway) based on visual value…..and in some cases it trumps real value

Gosh Mark, you are such a party pooper!

What can we use as examples for our visual discussion? NO CELL PHONE EXAMPLES – GOT IT!

no…that’s fine. You can use anything you want…as long as you stay on the topic…Please

Well, it was suppose to be a cell phone CASE lol…but that’s ok.

So can a manufacturer add cost just because it looks nicer than the others?

Or as long as it doesn’t cost more to make,would it be better to look nicer and stay the same cost?Then the manufacturer makes more by the amount of sales having their product chosen over the others?

Mark, devils advocate here. Who cares? The only thing I want is my 5%. The only one I need to impress is the buyer. If they think they need to add the bells and whistles, go for it. The less moving parts the better. They are the pros in the marketing arena. I am afraid if I jazz it up to much they would tell me it’s to expensive to tool. What say you?

No Ed,..I’m fine with the Devil’s advocate thing…really.

Let me explain.

When you develop a product for retail you have to develop it with as broad an appeal as you can – Both in its form and its function. From the moment you think up the idea, you should be training your mind to think of all the benefits of the product and all the “tools” you have to get a consumer to purchase the product. Things such as the utility, the size, the problem it solves, the compeating products, the visual value, and the intrinsic value built into the product.

All these things combine to form the “Value Proposition” of the product itself.

Now, take those items of value to the consumer and balance them against things like the market price, the manufacturing investments, and the packaging costs…and what you have left is a trade-off of value and cost.

When you take an idea to a manufacturer, or a product to a buyer – this process is what they are looking for. They want to see that you have done a similar assessment to find out if the product has market viability.

If you have you will find they respect you far more, they will listen to you …and in the end you will likely get a better deal

Thanks Mark, good information. I need to be able to defend my product and show the buyer/manufacture the value of my idea and list the benefits to the consumer and show I have the base’s covered.

Thanks Mark! If you wrote a book, I would buy it. Very helpful. Very important information that I need to fully understand.

“The point is people can decide (at least in part anyway) based on visual value…..and in some cases it trumps real value”

Here’s an example: SUVs, more specifically, Hummers and pearlescent luxury SUVs.

In my field, Graphic Design, we must first identify our target audience. The final design, be it 2 or 3 dimensional, is a direct reflection of the likes, dislikes, interests, etc. of the target audience.

Thanks JB, I’ll keep that in mind….if I ever right a book.

Or maybe I already have :)…hmmmm….what would be a good pen name?

Cupe :))

Uh, Lemon Drop?

Mark….I think it is all visual value…people don’t read directions or about the product…unfortunately.

Handi-Straps is based on all visual value although I proof the product with explainations of simple physics and an extensive medical report with actual numbers recorded from sensors by a big medical place…no one reads…or not enough.

The thing is to find a balance with visual value. Too much looks like you are hiding something or a straight up scam. I wonder if I display Handi-Straps too much or too “strong” in pictures…but I have no choice.

Ron, The great thing about “Handi-Straps” is that it does not look cumbersome. What really stands out is what is being lifted/supported by “Handi-Straps”.

Thanks Jefferson…Handi-Straps just hangs on the body when not in use and weighs a total of about 2.5 lbs. No bother hanging on the body.

All that is well and good, but right now toilet paper is having a hard time selling. My manufacturer sells products to Georgia-Pacific, one of their toilet paper plants. they are complaining about sales. Either people are buying less or some cheap competitor.

There is another report that dairy farmers in California can’t sell dairy products at prices above cost and are slaughtering cows. this is supposed to become an epidemic nation wide in dairy.

So no matter how good things look these days…us inventors will have to hold our dreams and goals for the future and hopefully near; but this gives us time to refine and “dress up” our inventions to look that much better and build our networks now.

Visual value is important however, just make sure that what ever you invent is highly usable and neded by many some products look good but dont work.

I’ve gotten to where less is better, on/off switch. If its too complicated i find something else to do the job.