Abstract:

Design's recent interest in emerging markets has focused attention on the economies of China, India
and Brazil. These are examples of growing economies with gigantic consumer bases, where the
possibility of designing products for large markets has piqued the interest of US and European
manufacturers. Consumers in these markets have traditionally been under-served by foreign
manufacturers to the extent that their needs are not considered at the front end of design with the
same alacrity that consumers’ needs are considered within the boundaries of manufacturers’ local
markets.
In the United States, the size and importance of the Mexican community (including both new
immigrant and established Mexican-American populations) has added Mexico to this list, making
design for Mexican markets in Mexico and in the US interesting to designers and manufacturers alike.
What will be discussed are design research methods used to conduct generative research in emerging
and remote markets (including Mexico, China, Thailand and India), ranging from an immersion
workshop in Chicago’s Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods to secondary ethnographic research
conducted in China, Thailand and India. The methods described belong to an over-arching
methodology of human-centred design, which grounds design within an understanding of user needs.