Knowing Your Organization’s Design Maturity

Design maturity is the level at which design is operating within your business. At the beginning of design it was an easy extension of engineering, the tools and thinking were very similar. Design was able to bring something to product development that had not been there in the past. Consumers began to see value in products that looked good. Human ergonomics started to play a greater role in how things were designed. There was better understanding of consumer purchasing behaviors. Overtime, design began to mature and has continued to do so.

Today design means something completely different than it did 60 years ago. Design in today’s business environment has grown and matured to be in integral part of business. Understandably this didn’t just happen overnight, but it happened more recently than you might think.

In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s design began to realize that it was extremely misunderstood by business. There was somewhat of a renaissance that started to increase the understanding of design. One area that gained a lot of traction was the idea of speaking the language of business.

Design used quite a bit of eccentric language to describe design solutions making it hard to understand by those who did not have design training. When you are talking about form, proportion, color, negative space, and how certain things make you feel, it is understanding that most people tend to shut down. Design had value, but could not move beyond its own boundaries unless it was understood.

Through the halls of universities and within the profession there was a strong push towards beginning to speak the language of business. If design were to move beyond its own boundaries and be valued it would have to be able to communicate why it was valuable to the rest of the organization. Design began to describe itself and solutions in terms that others could understand.

This had such a profound effect on the value of design that Designers began getting MBA’s and MBA’s began taking design courses. Places like the d.school at Stanford created an environment where design and business could live as one. All of sudden the environment that design operates in began to change.

As design began to find its place within business it had to find ways to increase value even more if it wanted to be taken seriously as a business function. The design process was well suited for any problem that a business could face. By combining the design process with designer’s ability to develop creative solutions they found they could tackle anything within the business. All of sudden designers were tackling problems in customer service, finance, and marketing. Design became an integral member of the team. Designers began to see that there was greater value in designing experiences than just making things work well or look good. With experience as the foundation, everyone began to see how valuable design could be to the entire ecosystem.

Now that people outside of design were getting training in design processes and could see the value in designing experiences, design could now become part of the thinking culture of an organization. Many companies rely on a very analytic thinking culture. Things are measured, rational, and conservative. But in most industries this is not what consumers are looking for. Consumers are looking for experiences. Their choices are emotional. Some companies are seeing that if their culture is more creative, emotional, and innovative, what they produce will also be the same. Their products and services will resonate more with the consumer.

As you can see through the history of design it has had to mature quite a bit. The only problem is that this did not happen everywhere. There are companies that still don’t see the value of design. Design is still used as a styling department (if you have a styling department change its name to design tomorrow!). There are varying levels of maturity across all design organizations. Here are the levels of design maturity that design can have within an organization and how you can begin to move up the ladder.

Aesthetics/Styling
Design is utilized as a way to make things look good. They are typically the last step in the process. They get a package from engineering and the VP of Engineering comes in and says “here you go, make it look pretty.” This type of environment is a bad place to live, it creates limited value for design because there is no way for design to facilitate the creative process with the greater team.

Functional
Once design moves into the functional realm we start to gain some respect. Remember all of those days that you spent in the shop at design school. They pay off right here. Design proves its worth at this stage by showing others that it can create and it can create things that actually work and function. Design at this stage understands all of the constraints of a problem and works with engineering and others to come up with creative solutions. Show them that you have empathy for what they do and you will go a long way.

Connected
We already started to blur the line a little bit but the idea of being connected means that you are working with different departments around your organization. You understand the needs of marketing, sales, manufacturing, engineering, and on and on. You actively work with them and include them in what you are working on to ensure that their input is being heard and considered. This begins to get us down the path of creating holistic experiences. It will also set the stage for designs increased role in the business as they gain more and more respect.

Integrated
When design is integrated it is no longer bound to the walls of the design office. It has autonomy and is working on marketing problems or sales problems. Design is integrated into the other disciplines of the business. Design is no longer just thought of as someone who creates products but is now seen within the organization as a change agent. They are looked at as someone who can bring creative processes and unique solutions to any problem the business might face.

Strategy
Strategy isn’t necessarily the first thing you think of when we talk design. But let’s step back for a second. At this stage design is highly integrated across the business understanding how each aspect works and operates and spends months out of the year in the field doing research. Design at this point likely knows your customer better than anyone in company and also knows how the customer fits into the bigger picture of the organization. Design begins to use their skills in foresight to create strategies that fit the business and the consumer. A designer’s view will actually make your strategy stronger because it won’t just be reliant on numbers anymore. It will be created with empathy.

Culture
A very rare position for a company to reach, but there are a few out there. When design becomes your culture everyone across the business understands what design is, how it fits in, and may even use its processes in their day to day lives. It’s not that everyone becomes a designer, it is that everyone understands how to solve problems in a systematic way that is creative. People are open to new ideas, they prototype ideas, they understand that they are able to fail, and they understand their role in creating a holistic experience for the consumer.

As you can see design has evolved quite quickly over time and will continue to do so as the business landscape changes. Design will take on new roles but our processes will always allow us to adapt. Design will always be there to solve problems in a creative way that brings delight to customers and pushes the boundaries of business. As you look at your organization, take a hard look at what design’s role is within your business and whether you think moving design up the ladder could benefit the organization. Customers today are looking for experiences, design has the tools and processes that create great experiences. Don’t underestimate the role design should play in your organization, they are some of you strongest assets for a creating a differentiated experience for your consumer.

Published in Startups, Wanderlust, and Life Hacking

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