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October 26, 2006
At the Heart of a Design-Centric Strategy
Competing on price alone is rarely a viable option for today's businesses. Now companies are creating products and services that thrill customers with graceful form and exacting performance. That in turn gives companies the ability to set themselves apart in increasingly tough markets — and set the pace rather than simply respond to the competition.
Businesses today face an increasingly stark choice: they can provide products and services aiming simply to be the cheapest — and leave themselves vulnerable to being beaten on price; or they can inspire genuine loyalty from customers by giving them products, services and an entire experience, answering needs that not even the customers knew existed.
More businesses are realizing that, with competition all over the world, only one business can be the cheapest — the rest must use design to tip competitive advantage in their favor.
To take the second path and achieve sustainable growth, enhanced efficiency and continuous improvement, businesses need design — not simply giving the makeover treatment to what they already do, but "right at the heart of their strategy, acting as a catalyst for completely new offerings," says the UK's Design Council. And that, the organization says, requires "vision, a measure of courage and a willingness to take risks and work in new ways."
For product makers, industrial design is not about the most extreme, "advanced" or "progressive" idea; no, industrial design is about the right idea.
As noted, design — closely aligned with innovation — is the key to standing out and maintaining competitiveness. That applies to any size business, no matter how large or small. Design helps businesses connect strongly with customers by anticipating their needs. That in turn gives companies the ability to set themselves apart in increasingly tough markets, and allows them to set the pace rather than simply respond to the competition.
According to 2005 research by Design Council, which promotes the vital role of design in making businesses more competitive and public services more effective, about 70 percent of businesses that see design as integral to their operations had introduced new products or services in the last three years, compared with only a third of companies overall. This suggests that innovation is not simply something you'll get around to when "convenient" — it suggests that it is essential.
If an organization wants to reap the benefits of design, however, it must do more than just hire "hot" designers or declare itself to be "design oriented," as Fast Company recently noted. It is important to think of design not just in terms of the look and feel of a product or service, and certainly not as something that's only introduced once all the key decisions have been taken and all the costs have been committed, Design Council further points out.
Rather, it can be seen as a process, a way of thinking and working, that allows organizations to sift through ideas and pursue those that can be developed into products and services people will want to buy. Industrial design is the synthesis of form, function, desirability, manufacturability, affordability, cultural reference, and so on, all interwoven. It requires consideration given to the visual, emotional, functional and cultural — which can repeatedly be packaged and shipped at a price you would pay for yourself, as Gadi Amit, principal of NewDealDesign LLC, recently wrote. It is design that is industrial. And businesses only really get the best out of design when they perceive it as being something of core strategic importance.
By now, design may be looking more and more like a business fad: declare you're a design-centric organization and — tah-dah! — you're the next Apple. Obviously, it is not that simple.
As Fast Company recently acknowledged:
Except for a few mavericks such as IBM, Kodak and Xerox, it would take years for design to move in from the fringes of business, But today, companies are creating products and services that delight customers with the grace of their fit and finish, and their exacting performance.
Obstacles remain, one of the gravest being the "awkward romance" between business and design, as Fast Company recently determined:
Many businesspeople have long regarded designers as mere stylists. More than a few designers see businesspeople as Neanderthals all too willing to forfeit quality for the sake of profit. Their mutual pique springs from a fundamental difference in the way each side thinks about creating value: Corporate types, by and large, seek to fuel growth by building from bulletproof, reproducible systems; designers generally attempt to do so by imagining something new, different, better. That difference can be seen as a trust in reliability on the one hand and in validity on the other.
So there's business-as-usual and business-by-design. Managing the balance means giving people the "freedom to follow their nose, but hold them accountable for their performance," the article continues. It means setting a high bar but recognizing that failure is an unavoidable consequence of pushing beyond traditional territories.
Simply, in today's competitive market, wherein businesses are not only desperate to remain relevant but aspiring to be the best of the rest, they must do everything possible not just to thrill their customers but also wring costs and efficiencies out of vendors and suppliers. Or, as Sir Christopher Frayling, Design Council chairman, put it, "One of the great functions of design is to be able to project and embody the future rather than the present: that is where added value comes from."
Resources
Competitive Advantage Through Design
Design Council
New ideas - why they matter
Design Council
Tough Love
by Roger Martin
Fast Company, October 2006
The Definition of Industrial Design? It's right there in the title.
by Gadi Amit
Core77, August 2006
Design and your strategy
Design Council
Introducing... The 2006 Masters of Design
by Fast Company staff
Fast Company, October 2006
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Comment
18 CommentsBeautiful article.
It is so true of the opposing corners that design and business reside. I would go one step further to say engineering and business. The fact is that it should not be like that at all. The problem is in the way that both an engineer and, for that matter a manager, are created.
An engineer is generally accepted as an innovator or designer since graduation. Everybody expects of him/her to perform. In reality, a good engineer is like a good wine: it takes years to make.
For a good manager, it also takes years of learning the business he is in. Mainly, the technological and process aspect of it.
Now take that necessary experience away from both professions and what you have is what the article is talking about. Design that is expensive instead of smart, and mistakes that don't come cheap on one hand and on the other (management view) you see resentment, frustration and the downsizing that cuts engineering jobs.
When both profession nurture and appreciate each other, work on each other strengths rather than weaknesses you can see success stories.
The fact of the mater is that knowledge and experience are invaluable for both engineer and manager, and a good understanding of each other's function makes cooperating much more efficient.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! What many designers, I have found, often do not take into consideration is that the first-time viewers' on or off line, eye may not be attuned to what the designer saw as good design. Many of the "new" designs that are considered "good" are ones that were originated in the first half of last century. Only in the past 30 or 40 years have they been exposed to those designs.
Giving or using good design, or I should say, design that seems to have a long-term acceptance by the public, is when the public or users find that it is pleaing to their eye or senses. Then, good design is a form of giving "added-value" because it fits many different situations. However, the real added value is in the crafting of what it is. Often, very good designs are prostituted when done with poor craftmanship. From a distance it looks good, but up close, it is cheap . . . and that makes, unfortuantely, good design turn into poor design.
Alan
Alan J. Zell, Ambassador Of Selling
azell@aol.com
Winner of the Murray Award for Marketing Excellence
Member, PNW Sales & Marketing Group
Member, Institute of Management Consultants
You are invited to learn about programs and services and
article on business topics that affect selling at www.sellingselling .com
I agree with Nick: it takes time and experience to develop the best.
October 29, 2006 10:51 PMWell, that is a good point that some good designs turn out to become "cheap" through materials and craftsmanship. However, one has to realize the blame for that is to be put on business that cheapens the design in 9 out of 10 cases. They are the ones that change material specifications, they move manufacturing in under developed countries, they fire qualified people to get cheap inexperienced workers. One has to remember that "you get what you pay for" and if "you pay peanuts, you get monkeys." This is a prime example of the lack of communication between business and engineering.
October 30, 2006 11:37 AMDesign is about creating image. It is about vision. Products designed are meant to define lifestyles. Spaces are designed to organically connect with the products, which in turn impact people. This is where all the other factors like culture, values, social mores, attitude and style come into play -- which is typical to a specific society. But with the world shrinking and with different ethnicities and cultures intermingling, a new and dynamic idiom of design that is ever changing is evolving. Hence today's design sensibility has to transcend boundaries (cultural, national, ethnic, lingual or whatever) and be receptive and responsive to this universal dialect. This is my understanding of design.
November 15, 2006 12:23 AMI doubt that any of you designed anything technical. Is amazing to see how people who don't know the first thing about something can talk about it like so-called experts. Way to go, America.
November 15, 2006 4:00 PMI think the problem with design and business goes both ways. Most designers (not all) know less about business than most business people know about design.
And, ironically, Industrial Design is a profession that has evolved to sell more products. If that means making something look cheap, to fulfill the brief, then the outcome is success. With communication design, if you make something look stylish, fashionable or cool and it can't be read, then the outcome is failure.
It's my opinion that: "my job as a designer is to make money for my client"
-Mike
Eastwood Design
New Zealand
Very interesting article. It is also very interesting to try to understand what good designs are all about. Could it be universal? Design out of technical aspects will certainly not be it. But if cultural and humanistic values are incorporated in a product, it can speak to the soul of the consumer in a completely different way.
November 23, 2006 6:06 PMWhere does one get acceptance by the troubled auto giants of a submitted retro look with a contemporary flair auto design . . .or does it take a concept car built and promoted elsewhere? Give me hope!!!!
December 5, 2006 11:04 AM
