Unlocking the Value: Assessing the Worth of Your Object

Acquiring skills in estimating products’ value and price and learning how to communicate about them

Having a clearer and more exaustive list of criteria to define the value of an object, gaining skills in desribing the “real” value of an object and have feedbacks, improve communication skills in product descritption

Download and print the tables with the list of “Criteria of value”

EU COM value sheet .pdf

The activity provides different options for participants to choose from, which are mentioned in the activity description as Option A, B, or C. Options A and B are suitable for experienced participants who have prior experience in selling products. On the other hand, Option C is recommended for non-experienced participants, who want to be introduced to the topic and the criteria. In one workshop, it is also possible to try out more than one option, starting with everyday objects (Option C), then analyzing an artist’s or designer’s work (Option B), and finally, the participants’ own work (Option A).

• Step 1: Introduction
  – Conduct a brainstorming session to identify the criteria that define the value of an art or design object.
  – List the participants’ ideas on a whiteboard and find examples for each criterion.
  – Share handouts with the participants and confirm that all criteria have been mentioned.
  – Explain any criteria that may not be clear and differentiate between the concepts of “value,” “pricing,” and “benefit.”
• Step 2: Choose the Object
  – Ask participants to choose an object for evaluation.
  – They can use art objects designed by themselves (Option A), previously selected art works or design objects (Option B), or everyday objects (Option C).
• Step 3: Evaluate the Object
  – Participants evaluate their chosen object based on the criteria of value listed on the handout.
  – They give points from 1 to 5 for each criterion.
• Step 4: Select the Top Criteria
  – Participants select the five criteria with the highest scores and put them in order of importance.
  – For instance, in the case of a design product, “DESIGN” criteria could be first, while in the case of fine art, “RECOGNITION” criteria could be first.
• Step 5: Create a Narrative Description
  – Participants transform their evaluation into a narrative description that reflects the given scores.
  – Guide them to use an engaging writing style, as if they were writing a product description.
• Step 6: Read the Descriptions
  – Participants read their descriptions aloud.
  – Others must identify the chosen criteria and their order, as well as the number of points given to each criterion.
  – They mark the criteria’s order and evaluation notes they believe the reader had defined on their own handouts.
  – After each turn, participants compare the results.
  – If the evaluations are close, the product can be considered to have an efficient description.
  – If the points given by others are lower, the description was not convincing enough.
  – If they give more points, the product was over-evaluated in the description.
• Step 7: Identify Misleading Information
  – If there is a significant difference between the evaluations, encourage participants to identify the misleading information and reformulate it together.