Strategic Product Design as a Driver of Innovation: How Corporate Industrial Design Makes Brand Values Visible

What is Strategic Product Design or Corporate Industrial Design?

Strategic product design – often referred to as Corporate Industrial Design (CID) – goes far beyond aesthetic considerations. It is a holistic approach in which design is deliberately used to make brand identity, corporate values, and technological innovation visible and tangible.

At its core lies the question: How can a product be designed so that it not only functions well but also clearly and recognizably represents the company behind it?

Corporate Industrial Design helps position products as physical manifestations of brand values such as innovation, reliability, quality, and future readiness. It is a strategic tool – for brand development, competitive differentiation, and long-term value creation in capital goods.

Why is Corporate Industrial Design Essential for Companies?

Especially in the B2B sector, technical excellence and innovative capability are expected. But how can this technical competence be communicated externally – in a visible, tangible, and recognizable way?
This is where strategic design comes into play. It enables:
– Visualization of corporate values such as precision, reliability, and progress
– Creation of a consistent product identity across product lines
– Support of brand strategy through physical brand ambassadors
– Building of trust through high-quality design and intuitive usability
– Proof of innovation through the interplay of design and technology

A strong Corporate Industrial Design is not just “beautiful” – it is a strategic business asset.

Best Practice: SICK AG and the Design Approach Behind FLOWSIC500 & FLOWSIC600-XT

An outstanding example of strategic product design is the collaboration between SICK AG – one of Germany’s leading sensor technology specialists – and the design studio code2design. The goal was to develop a design system that translates SICK’s brand identity – based on the values of Innovation, Independence, and Leadership – into the product world.

FLOWSIC500: The Beginning of a New Design Era
With the FLOWSIC500, the world’s first ultrasonic compact gas meter for natural gas distribution, SICK made a bold statement. The device set a milestone not only technologically, but also in terms of design: it was the first product developed under the new Corporate Industrial Design Guide – and promptly won the iF Design Award in 2013.
“The experience in capital goods and mechanical engineering, combined with the ability to merge technical understanding with design expertise, was crucial,” explains SICK’s strategic product management. “The result is a design that gives our products a unique recognizability today.

FLOWSIC600-XT: High-End Performance with Design DNA
With the successor model FLOWSIC600-XT, the CID approach was applied to an even more demanding product – gas meters for high-pressure areas and natural gas transport, where top-level precision, robustness, and safety are required.

The device impresses not only with technological features such as i-diagnostics (intelligent application diagnostics) and PowerIn Technology (up to 3 weeks of autonomous operation during power failure), but also with a consistently considered design that visually emphasizes its performance.
“When customers enthusiastically rush to the product at trade shows with sparkling eyes – that’s when we know: the design works,” says SICK’s Head of Marketing.

Conclusion: Why Strategic Product Design Is a Must Today
In times of increasing product comparability, design becomes the key differentiator. Companies like SICK demonstrate impressively how Corporate Industrial Design can communicate not only form and function, but also values, vision, and innovative power.

Successful product design doesn’t happen by chance – it is the result of strategic thinking, deep industry understanding, and close collaboration between corporate and design teams.