The Design Value Wheel
At last an approachable framework for talking to design’s ROI
I’ve heard it repeatedly. You’ve probably heard it too. 100s of times, i’m sure.
‘They just don’t understand the value we (designers) bring.’
I’ve never been a fan of some of the recent value of design discussions, or reports trying to convince everyone outside of design how important it is.
However, I was pleasantly surprised when 4 days ago, Matthew Godfrey published ‘What’s the ROI of Design’; and it’s already been doing the rounds across social media. For good reason too.
In his article, Matthew does what I feel McKinsey, InVision, Frog and others kinda missed, and that was provide a clear visual framework for describing different types of design value. Less hyperbole, and fewer arguments loaded with correlation but little causation.
Instead, he introduces The Design Value Wheel (aka Design Proposition) as a framework.
It’s beautifully simple. It uses nice alliteration (3Fs and 2Ds). Splits value into internal and external to an org. And puts it all into an elegant wheel shape. It’s demonstrating some value of design in its own form. Well done Matthew!
Rather than further dig my own whole, why don’t you just check out Matthew’s Post — it’s far more articulate than my ramblings.