Understanding the Value of Design

By embracing a human-centred design approach to services, governments worldwide have an opportunity to innovate & serve with excellence.

In service design workshops that our team has conducted with UAE Government partners, for example, the process of simply reframing citizens as special VIP guests can unlock more imaginative thinking to servicing them better. 

This type of design thinking activity is reflected in the recently published Design Maturity Report  - the latest in a series of global efforts to recognise value through design-led decisions & processes.

“Like strategy, design is an ambiguous term that can be misunderstood and misused. Asked to identify a type of design, most people outside the industry may be able to name fashion, product and perhaps web design, but it’s rare they can recall many more”. 

And yet, our daily lives are shaped by designers. The device you are reading this on, or the level of comfort you have travelling to and from work, or even how you feel just looking at a certain product, is usually the result of decisions made by design practitioners. 

The Report is the latest in a series of global efforts to recognise the clear relationship between the introduction of strategic design into an organisation and the multiples of return of investment they experience. The more an organisation integrates design-thinking within its value chain, the better the experience for everyone. Customers, staff, suppliers, and ultimately, shareholders.

Towards Design Integration 

The Report references data from Invision that shares “In the top 5% of companies, design has become core to business strategy, impacting the most elusive business benefits of all – design IP and valuation or share price.” 

The Design Maturity Ladder is used to categorise the level of design integration across a whole organisation from logistics and operations, through marketing & sales all the way up to C-suite decision making.

The Report also acknowledges an increasing trend towards Business design, referencing Accenture research Design in business: It’s not about creating something pretty. It’s about creating value. “Customer focus has given way to customer obsession… Product development is no longer about designing things customers want. It’s about designing solutions that give customers the outcomes they need.”

Ten businesses of different sizes and industries were surveyed by the Design Business Council. The results were summarised as a mean score across ten business activities indicating the level of design integration.

“The Design Maturity Index is a useful way for design firms to demonstrate to clients how an investment in design can pay off. It’s an easy to grasp framework for non-designers, and best of all, it’s focussed on ROI,” said event organiser David Sharpe of Sharpe Advisory. 

Peter Gould is the founder of Gould Studio - a boutique design team developing meaningful brands, products and strategic creative experiences. Peter writes and shares ideas at the intersection of design, spirituality and entrepreneurship based on his creative and personal journeys over the last 20 years.