INDUSTRIAL DESIGN: when everyone solves the same problem the same way, you’re in a race to the bottom

You identify a real problem and figure out a way to solve it. Then a dozen more follow with a similar approach because the solution works and the market is growing.

Products start to look identical. Specs are all the same. Price points converge. The only way to grow is to be cheaper than the person next to you.

That is the commodity trap and it is not a pricing problem. It is a design problem.

The companies that escape stop competing on the solution and start competing on what the solution means. Who it is for. What it says about the person using it. What it feels like to choose it over everything else, and then live with that decision.

It’s not just a marketing question. It starts with your product.

If it feels like the only lever you have left to pull is price. Then it’s time to design to stand out, not cost down.