Critical Reflective Essay
Critical reflective essay
If asked to describe the Marketing Design and Innovation module in just a short sentence, that would surely be: “ a course that change students’ way to look at everything around themselves”.
More than a combination of theoretical concepts and diagrams, as matter of fact, this course has been a huge help to change our perspective when doing even the simplest daily routines. Today, at the end of the twelve-week-course, when looking at objects around me I don’t just see their colour or nice shape. I understand why they have that colour and that shape, and I wonder what technology or innovative element is hidden inside it.
It is hard for me to say which has been the best part of the course: lots of interesting topics have been touched: function of marketing and design, product licensing, some aspects of marketing communications, open innovation and product design. But the most stimulating for me was the lecture focused on what is design.
When referring to “design” of a product, people always think of it just as aesthetical, tangible aspects of it. I have now learned it is much, much more. Design is the way to enhance the …show more content…
functionality of a product, or to cut costs, or to even solve relevant issues. Designers are not artists or very original people who are able to draw properly. They are a team of marketers, engineers, and people coming from lots of different backgrounds, so that every single aspect of a product or service to introduce in the market can be cured in the best way.
During the module, we have been watching- at home or in class- several videos on very interesting lectures by important designers or tutors, which have been useful and clear and have widened our way to think about design and products development.
One in particular, Timothy Prestero’s “Design for people, not for award”, caught my full attention and showed me a different reason to design: help people fight against diseases. Before that lecture, I had never thought about how much design work there is behind medical machineries. And it is not a design to make them more appealing. It is a design to make them functional and sharp, but more than anything easy to use. Design to create machineries that would help solve problems in the best and easiest possible way. Design so that the only possible use is the correct
one.
I started this postgraduate MA in marketing and innovation after a bachelor degree in Business Economics. I chose it because, at the end of my first degree, I had realised I knew a lot (even more than needed in some cases) about economical and financial theories and concepts, but I still had a lot of doubts and curiosities about the practical job of a marketer.
I can say this module, together with Marketing Communications, have stimulated me and helped me understand which is the path I would like to follow for a future career. I have been fascinated by the discovery of all the processes and the research that have to be carried out, from the project to the positioning of a new product in the market.
Another interesting topic was for me the evaluation of how design and innovation processes work. During that lecture, a very important and yet absolutely new concept has been discussed: Open Innovation.
Having based the whole final dissertation for my bachelor degree on Open Innovation and New Social Medias, I always am fascinated to know more about the new processes to market, and partnerships that can be created to find the best possible solutions for a new product development. I actually think that this part should have had more relevance in the module, as probably one of the most important things for marketers to take into consideration, in order to reduce costs, and share risks and investments of the creation and introduction of a new product in the market.
A part from this, another weak element of the module, in my opinion, was the limited connection with the textbooks and the VLE material: especially when it comes to International students, the possibility to have some additional material to support study is a precious opportunity. Unfortunately, this was the only module, which we could have no access to any material on the VLE and any study support after class for, as Mr Moore is an external lecturer. It would be very useful for us students, to have the possibility to have more connection with the lecturer and being able to at least set up one day per week to meet and discuss any possible problem we encountered, especially towards the end of the module, when starting working on the assignment task.
The books were only limitedly directly reconnected to the lectures and, while Trott’s “Innovation Management and New Product Development” was found very clear and useful as a complementary tool to the lectures, Von Stamm’s “Managing Innovation, Design and Creativity” was clear but very reductive in content.
In conclusion, I can say I really enjoyed the module, which- thanks to a very enthusiastic, easy-going, kind, and in some occasion even very patient tutor- was very useful, pleasant and clear. The tutor’s enthusiasm when explaining concepts or making practical example always kept high the level of attention of the class, and group works helped the class to grow as a group and to benefit from the multi-cultural aspect, thanks to exchange of opinions regarding companies operating in the different countries. A very good connection with other modules has helped us to give a logical order to all the outcomes and to understand how marketing departments have to work together as all the aspects are linked to each other.
At the end of the semester, I can say this has been one of the most useful modules, not only from an educational point of view, but also to understand what will come after, and what I will choose as my future career.
If asked to describe the Marketing Design and Innovation module in just a short sentence, that would surely be: “ a course that change students’ way to look at everything around themselves”.
More than a combination of theoretical concepts and diagrams, as matter of fact, this course has been a huge help to change our perspective when doing even the simplest daily routines. Today, at the end of the twelve-week-course, when looking at objects around me I don’t just see their colour or nice shape. I understand why they have that colour and that shape, and I wonder what technology or innovative element is hidden inside it.
It is hard for me to say which has been the best part of the course: lots of interesting topics have been touched: function of marketing and design, product licensing, some aspects of marketing communications, open innovation and product design. But the most stimulating for me was the lecture focused on what is design.
When referring to “design” of a product, people always think of it just as aesthetical, tangible aspects of it. I have now learned it is much, much more. Design is the way to enhance the …show more content…
functionality of a product, or to cut costs, or to even solve relevant issues. Designers are not artists or very original people who are able to draw properly. They are a team of marketers, engineers, and people coming from lots of different backgrounds, so that every single aspect of a product or service to introduce in the market can be cured in the best way.
During the module, we have been watching- at home or in class- several videos on very interesting lectures by important designers or tutors, which have been useful and clear and have widened our way to think about design and products development.
One in particular, Timothy Prestero’s “Design for people, not for award”, caught my full attention and showed me a different reason to design: help people fight against diseases. Before that lecture, I had never thought about how much design work there is behind medical machineries. And it is not a design to make them more appealing. It is a design to make them functional and sharp, but more than anything easy to use. Design to create machineries that would help solve problems in the best and easiest possible way. Design so that the only possible use is the correct
one.
I started this postgraduate MA in marketing and innovation after a bachelor degree in Business Economics. I chose it because, at the end of my first degree, I had realised I knew a lot (even more than needed in some cases) about economical and financial theories and concepts, but I still had a lot of doubts and curiosities about the practical job of a marketer.
I can say this module, together with Marketing Communications, have stimulated me and helped me understand which is the path I would like to follow for a future career. I have been fascinated by the discovery of all the processes and the research that have to be carried out, from the project to the positioning of a new product in the market.
Another interesting topic was for me the evaluation of how design and innovation processes work. During that lecture, a very important and yet absolutely new concept has been discussed: Open Innovation.
Having based the whole final dissertation for my bachelor degree on Open Innovation and New Social Medias, I always am fascinated to know more about the new processes to market, and partnerships that can be created to find the best possible solutions for a new product development. I actually think that this part should have had more relevance in the module, as probably one of the most important things for marketers to take into consideration, in order to reduce costs, and share risks and investments of the creation and introduction of a new product in the market.
A part from this, another weak element of the module, in my opinion, was the limited connection with the textbooks and the VLE material: especially when it comes to International students, the possibility to have some additional material to support study is a precious opportunity. Unfortunately, this was the only module, which we could have no access to any material on the VLE and any study support after class for, as Mr Moore is an external lecturer. It would be very useful for us students, to have the possibility to have more connection with the lecturer and being able to at least set up one day per week to meet and discuss any possible problem we encountered, especially towards the end of the module, when starting working on the assignment task.
The books were only limitedly directly reconnected to the lectures and, while Trott’s “Innovation Management and New Product Development” was found very clear and useful as a complementary tool to the lectures, Von Stamm’s “Managing Innovation, Design and Creativity” was clear but very reductive in content.
In conclusion, I can say I really enjoyed the module, which- thanks to a very enthusiastic, easy-going, kind, and in some occasion even very patient tutor- was very useful, pleasant and clear. The tutor’s enthusiasm when explaining concepts or making practical example always kept high the level of attention of the class, and group works helped the class to grow as a group and to benefit from the multi-cultural aspect, thanks to exchange of opinions regarding companies operating in the different countries. A very good connection with other modules has helped us to give a logical order to all the outcomes and to understand how marketing departments have to work together as all the aspects are linked to each other.
At the end of the semester, I can say this has been one of the most useful modules, not only from an educational point of view, but also to understand what will come after, and what I will choose as my future career.