1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background and purpose of the research

There is a shift happening in the business world. Design is being put much closer to the centre of organisations and given a voice in the important decisions made. However, the shift is not about aesthetics or beautifying the world around us. Rather, it is about applying the principles of design to the way business problems are solved.

This shift is in large a response to accelerating technological developments and our increasingly digital world (Berman, 2012, p.18). Customers are better informed and have more choices today than ever. As a result, they grow to expect seamless, intuitive and desirable experiences from any service they engage with (Vey et al., 2017, p.24). Providing those kinds of interactions are creating an imperative for organisations to change the very essence of how they think and work. They must reorient their organisational cultures and operating models to put their customers at the centre.

Design principles — empathy with users, multidisciplinary teams, prototyping and a tolerance for failure — make the best tool we have for creating human-centred solutions and flexible organisational cultures that can quickly respond to change. These principles transcends design as a role. Design in business is about applying these design principles in order to match the needs of the customers with the possibilities of technology and the requirements for business success (Brown, 2009).

The tools and mindsets of design can be used by people who have never even considered themselves designers. They can be applied in any industry in order to address complex issues and problems in ways that create real value. Design has gained a lot of traction over the past decade as design has been adopted by companies in fields far beyond those in which designers have traditionally operated (Kimbell, 2011). Large corporations are setting up in-house design teams, startups and venture capitalist firms are including designers in the early stages of business development and even international foundations and charity organisations are choosing a design-led approach to their operations (Design Council, 2013).

Still, many organisations structure their teams, manage their people and evolve their cultures the way they always have. These management philosophies were created to fit the pace of the past century (Gothelf and Seiden, 2017). In light of today’s pace of change and rising customer expectations, they are neither sufficient, nor sustainable. To remain relevant and stay ahead of the competition, making the shift toward a design-driven organisation is quickly becoming the key operational challenge for businesses of all kinds (Gothelf and Seiden, 2017).

This research delivers a study that is valuable to businesses that want or need to make new efforts in order to stay competitive and meet new customer expectations. It sets out to be a resource for the designers tasked with orienting organisations to deliver human-centred products and services through the use of design.

This study includes qualitative research in the form of in-depth interviews with industry professionals to gain insights about how and why businesses are using design as a strategic resource. It also analyses and compares a selection of academic articles and professional literature written by industry experts to achieve a thorough understanding of the changing role of design and its potential benefits and value to business strategy.

1.2 Aims and objectives

The aim of this research project is to develop a functional framework for businesses to help them become design-driven by integrating design into the overall corporate strategy.

The research will explore the changing role of design in business and society, investigate what has led to the strategic use of design and what the current shift, which puts design much closer to the heart of the organisation, means for the future of business strategy. The objectives of this study are as follows.

1. To undertake an ongoing review of professional and academic literature in relation to how business problems are solved and how design appeared as a valuable strategic tool.
2. To evaluate the value and benefits of design to businesses strategy and the wider community.
3. To identify the key factors for successful design adaptation in businesses.
4. To provide conclusions on good practice for adopting design principles in business.
5. To make recommendations to maintain and develop successful design adaptation in businesses.

Read Chapter 2: Literature review

References

Berman, S. (2012). Digital transformation: opportunities to create new business models. Strategy & Leadership, 40(2), pp.16–24.

Brown, T. (2009). Change by design. New York: Collins Business.

Design Council (2013). Leading Business by Design. [online] London: Design Council. Available at: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/dc_lbbd_report_08.11.13_FA_LORES.pdf (Accessed: 4 Dec 2017).

Gothelf, J. and Seiden, J. (2017). Sense and respond. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press.

Kimbell, L. (2011). Rethinking Design Thinking: Part I. Design and Culture, 3(3), pp.285–306.

Vey, K., Fandel-Meyer, T., Zipp, J. and Schneider, C. (2017). Learning & Development in Times of Digital Transformation: Facilitating a Culture of Change and Innovation. International Journal of Advanced Corporate Learning (iJAC), 10(1), pp.22–32.

© Nadine Ramsberg, 2018
Hyper Island — MA Digital Management
Industry Research Project