Using the Internet for Design Research – What Are Our Options?
2006-06-08 08:00:00 -0400

The Internet is most definitely the future of design product research and specification. More and more architectural and design firms are turning to a faster, more efficient way of locating the products they need. Computer and Internet savvy design students are graduating and moving into positions across the country, bringing with them a new process of design research.

Once a questionable resource, the Internet has now become part of virtually every industry today. The design industry, like many others, struggled with countless technological applications, software, Internet sites and more. The marriage of aesthetics and the computer has not been an easy one. However, after almost a decade, the design industry has embraced this new resource.

Design professionals actively search for tools and applications that make their jobs more efficient, which in turn allows them to concentrate on their job as creative designers. With so many websites that have come and gone or changed their business model, it is hard to wade through the offerings.

TODL staff are constantly asked – what is the difference? Aren’t they all the same? What are our options for design research?

The answer, simply stated, is that for product research there are basically three types available on the Internet:

Internet Search Engines

Everyone knows these – Google, Yahoo, AltaVista, MSN and many, many others. These are the search standards – the best there is in finding anything on the Internet. Whatever you’re looking for, you can find it.

However, if you’re doing professional product research and you’re looking for products from manufacturers that service the trade, you’re in for quite a surprise.

More often than not, your search results will number in the millions (do a search for ‘executive task chair’ and you’ll get over 33 million matches). And because these search engines scan for word matches, most of the results will end up being retail websites - extremely frustrating for a professional looking for trade-only sources.

These search engines not only search the entire Internet matching every site that contains the search word or phrase, it then requires the buyer to open separate websites one by one to see if the product they are looking for is available. For a trade professional, this process can be incredibly time consuming.

Design Directories

The next type of Internet sites available to our trade are design directories. Much more efficient than general search engines, these directories allow a trade buyer to search for key words, phrases or types of products within a set number of trade manufacturers or suppliers.

Search results from design directories are specific to the trade and therefore much more productive.

Directories of this type can be found from most industry magazine websites and several stand-alone directories. Directory research is very similar in process to physical design research – instead of pulling down 20 catalogs; you’re going to 20 different websites or downloading 20 different online catalogs.

Specification Databases

A specification database is the highest level of professional design research available today. With this type of database, you actually search and locate products. There is no need to go to separate websites, request data or catalogs.

The search results from a specification database are actual products – each one listed in a universal format – one right next to the other.

In our industry, there are several ‘product specification databases’ targeting the design industry. Most are specific to a type of product – i.e. lighting or plumbing or surfaces websites with trade-only programs.

While all are incredibly valuable, TODL is the only online product resource that has over 200,000 products of all types that are divided into contract, commercial, residential or hospitality applications.

All products listed on TODL are cataloged for easy searching by product keyword, type or manufacturer. Search results are organized by product request – so you see your products matches regardless of manufacturer – all in one place.

TODL buyers can then compare the products, save them to project folders, email or print the product images for their client and much more. The entire process is streamlined for instant specification.

Design professionals go to TODL.com.

Because at TODL, the find what they need, when they need it.