Designers need to consider how the costs of materials, manufacturing processes, scale of production and labour contribute to the retail cost of a product. Strategies for minimizing these costs at the design stage are most effective to ensure that a product is affordable and can gain a financial return.

• Cost-effectiveness

• Value for money

• Costing versus pricing: fixed costs, variable costs, cost analysis, break-even

• Pricing strategies: price-minus strategy, retail price, wholesale price, typical manufacturing price, target costs, return on investment, unit cost, sales volume, financial return

• The relationship between what a product is worth and how much it costs

• Calculation of prices based on the listed pricing strategies

The economic viability of a product is paramount for designers if they are to get their product into production. Understanding how to design a product to specification, at lowest cost and to the appropriate quality while giving added value, can determine the relationship between what a product is worth and how much it costs.