Market Research and Competitor Analysis
Using evidence to make stronger design decisions.
Move from assumptions to evidence.
By the end, you should be able to use research to identify patterns, opportunities, and evidence-based design decisions.
Research does not tell designers what to copy.
It helps designers understand what already exists, what audiences expect, and where there is space to create something different.
Four things that often get confused
Moodboard
Collects inspiration and visual references.
Market research
Investigates a market, its audience, needs, behaviours, trends, risks, and opportunities.
Competitor analysis
Compares how organisations compete within the same market or for the same need.
Design research
Turns findings into design criteria.
Observation → Interpretation → Implication → Design decision
Loop Coffee
A fictional new cafe in Zurich.
- Serves speciality coffee.
- Targets students, freelancers, and young professionals.
- Offers takeaway and workspace seating.
- Wants to appear accessible rather than elitist.
- Needs a visual identity, packaging, and social media presence.
Design without research
You have been commissioned to create branding for a new speciality coffee shop in Zurich.
- Choose a colour palette.
- Choose a type direction.
- Choose a visual style.
Present your first design direction.
Keep it short: colour, type, visual style, and the feeling you wanted to create.
Now test the decision.
- Why did you choose these colours?
- Who is the target audience?
- Which other cafes already use this style?
- What problem is the design solving?
- What makes this cafe different?
- How do you know the audience will understand it?
Personal preference is not enough.
The first ideas may look good, but we cannot yet know whether they are appropriate.
Research helps replace assumptions with evidence.
What information are we looking for?
Which brief gives the designer more direction?
Brief A
Design a modern logo for a coffee shop.
Brief B
Design an identity for an affordable speciality coffee shop aimed at students and freelancers who find traditional speciality cafes intimidating and expensive.
Research turns a vague brief into a useful brief.
It gives design decisions a clearer audience, problem, context, and direction.
Start with research questions.
Otherwise, you will collect whatever looks interesting.
Begin by asking: what does the audience need to understand, feel, or do?
Useful research questions
- What types of cafes operate in the chosen location?
- Who visits them?
- What expectations do customers have?
- What complaints appear repeatedly in reviews?
- Which visual styles dominate the market?
- Which needs are not being addressed?
- What price levels exist?
- How do customers discover these businesses?
Primary and secondary research
Primary research
Information collected directly for the project: interviews, surveys, observations, usability tests, customer conversations, field visits.
Secondary research
Information that already exists: websites, social media, reports, reviews, statistics, articles, trend reports, case studies.
If you visit three cafes, what could you document?
- Menu structure.
- Customer age groups.
- Waiting times.
- Seating behaviour.
- Signage.
- Packaging.
- Ordering process.
- Common customer questions.
Quantitative and qualitative research
Quantitative
How many? How often? What percentage? Which option? How much?
Qualitative
Why? How? What do people feel? What problem are they experiencing?
How many of you have avoided entering a shop because it looked too expensive?
Why did it feel too expensive?
What visual or communication cues created that impression?
Quantitative research identifies patterns.
Qualitative research helps explain them.
Not all sources are equally strong.
Different sources reveal different things.
| Source | What it may reveal |
|---|---|
| Company website | Intended positioning. |
| Social media | Ongoing communication strategy. |
| Customer reviews | Customer experience and recurring problems. |
| Physical location | Real-world implementation. |
| Price list | Market level and positioning. |
Rapid market scan
In groups, research one local market.
- Speciality cafes.
- Independent gyms.
- Sustainable fashion.
- Meal-delivery services.
- Design agencies.
- Language schools.
Your market scan slide should include:
- Five key findings.
- Evidence or screenshots.
- The source.
- One possible design implication.
Which findings describe the market?
Which findings already suggest a design response?
Competitor Analysis
From market context to structured comparison.
Competitor analysis compares organisations that compete for the same:
Who competes with Netflix?
Netflix competes for leisure time and attention.
Direct, indirect, substitute
Direct
Similar product for a similar audience.
Indirect
A related need solved in a different way.
Substitute
Replaces the purchase or experience entirely.
Different competitors, different reasons
Direct
Another speciality cafe targeting students and freelancers.
Indirect
A bakery with seating, university cafeteria, or coworking space.
Substitute
Coffee at home, ready-to-drink coffee, or working from a library.
Choose relevant competitors, not only famous ones.
- One direct local competitor.
- One market leader.
- One competitor with a similar target audience.
- One indirect competitor.
- One brand with a strongly differentiated approach.
Compare more than logos.
Business and positioning
Offer, audience, price level, promise, difference, proof.
Visual identity
Logo, colour, type, imagery, layout, iconography, consistency.
Communication
Tone, key messages, calls to action, content, campaign style.
Customer experience
Reviews, complaints, clarity, value, accessibility, trust.
What is the problem with this analysis?
“The website is boring.”
Describe what you can see before judging what it means.
The homepage uses a monochrome palette, one sans-serif typeface, large white space, and limited imagery.
This creates a controlled, premium, and minimalist impression.
A new competitor could use a warmer, more social visual language to appear accessible.
Competitor analysis matrix
| Criterion | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C | Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audience | Coffee enthusiasts | Office workers | Students | Students who want quality without elitism. |
| Price | High | Medium-high | Low | Accessible mid-range. |
| Visual style | Minimal | Corporate | Inconsistent | Warm but structured. |
| Tone | Expert | Functional | Informal | Knowledgeable but friendly. |
Analysis is not finished when you know what competitors do.
It is finished when you understand what the findings mean for your own project.
Place three competing brands side by side.
Mark what repeats.
- Colours.
- Typography styles.
- Image subjects.
- Composition.
- Density.
- Tone.
- Visual cliches.
- Missing approaches.
If every sustainable skincare brand uses beige, green, serif type, leaves, and words like “clean” or “pure”...
Does that help a new brand belong to the category, or does it make the brand invisible?
Category codes and distinctive assets
Category codes
Signals that help audiences recognise the type of product.
Distinctive assets
Elements that help audiences recognise one particular brand.
Good differentiation does not mean ignoring every convention.
It means deciding which conventions help comprehension and which ones make the brand generic.
SWOT analysis
Strengths
Internal positives.
Weaknesses
Internal limitations.
Opportunities
External possibilities.
Threats
External risks.
SWOT points should lead to a response.
Weakness
Loop Coffee is new and unknown.
Response: prioritise clear launch messaging and recognisable street signage.
Threat
Customers may expect speciality coffee to be expensive.
Response: make pricing transparent without appearing low-quality.
Positioning maps need meaningful axes.
Read the positioning map.
- Where are several competitors clustered?
- Where is there empty space?
- Is the empty space a genuine opportunity?
- Could it be empty because customers do not want it?
An empty position is not automatically a market opportunity.
Sometimes nobody occupies that position because it is commercially unattractive.
A USP is a meaningful reason to choose.
For target audience, brand is the category that provides main benefit, because reason to believe.
Affordable speciality coffee and reliable workspace facilities for students and freelancers.
Audience
Students and freelancers.
Category
Speciality cafe.
Benefit
Quality coffee and workspace.
Difference
Accessible and welcoming rather than exclusive.
Premium, mass market, and niche
Premium
Higher price, exclusivity, refined materials, craft, status, control.
Mass market
Broad audience, accessibility, visibility, convenience, consistency.
Niche
Specific audience, specialised need, community relevance, deeper expertise.
How would the same reusable water bottle change for each market?
- Premium.
- Mass market.
- Niche: trail runners, cyclists, or commuters.
A trend is not automatically relevant.
Short-term visual trends
Specific gradients, type treatments, illustration styles, nostalgia effects, social media formats.
Longer-term developments
Accessibility, mobile-first communication, personalisation, sustainability, transparency, inclusive representation.
Before using a trend, ask:
- Does it support the strategy?
- Does the audience understand it?
- Is it appropriate for the brand?
- Can it function across all touchpoints?
- Will it still work after the trend fades?
- Is it accessible and technically realistic?
Competitor audit and recommendation
Choose one organisation and analyse three competitors.
- Define the market and target audience.
- Select one direct, one indirect, and one differentiated competitor.
- Compare offer, audience, price, positioning, identity, communication, strengths, and weaknesses.
- Create a SWOT and positioning map.
- Identify three opportunities.
- Write three design principles.
Loop Coffee design principles
- Approachable expertise: communicate coffee knowledge without elitist language.
- Visible workspace value: show that laptop use and longer stays are welcome.
- Warm differentiation: avoid generic beige-and-green styling while retaining credible product photography.
Every finding needs a chain of evidence.
| Finding | Evidence | Source | Interpretation | Design implication |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competitors use technical language. | Website copy analysis. | Three websites. | Beginners may feel intimidated. | Use simpler explanations. |
| Customers mention unclear prices. | 14 reviews. | Google Reviews. | Price uncertainty creates hesitation. | Show transparent prices. |
| Most brands use neutral colours. | Visual audit. | Websites and packaging. | Neutral styling is a category convention. | Add a distinctive accent system. |
What makes information relevant?
- Does it relate to the project’s audience or objectives?
- Does it appear across more than one source?
- Is the source credible?
- Is the information current enough?
- Can it influence a strategic, communicative, or design decision?
Watch for these patterns.
- Only analysing the logo.
- Describing without interpreting.
- Using personal taste as evidence.
- Choosing irrelevant global brands.
- Treating competitors as inspiration only.
- Presenting screenshots without conclusions.
- Inventing personas without research.
- Claiming a market gap without evidence.
Use this sentence.
“Because our research showed ________, we decided to ________.”
Revise your first coffee-shop direction.
- Colour direction.
- Typography.
- Visual style.
- Key message.
- Audience.
- Positioning.
What changed?
Which research finding caused that change?
Research does not remove creativity.
It gives creativity a purpose, a context, and a stronger argument.