“Consumers buy in their own self-image.”  

I feel a parallel can be drawn from the concept of Authenticity to Product Design.  I have been in the website business for years.  Over and over Management struggles with how to templatize a website offering to reduce design costs.  For certain companies such as Template Monster, taking advantage of this concept has worked well for them.  

Finding the balance between a generic low cost design and something a consumer feels great about buying is an ongoing challenge.  Because a website represents their Business or Organization, choosing a design from a Gallery doesn’t match the passion, pride and uniqueness they feel for that Business.  Even if the consumer does find something that suits their needs from a Gallery the urge to “customize” is present….a way to make it theirs and only theirs.