Insights

29 November 2007

Our friends over at the Design Council have been busy promoting their latest research project, a series of eleven in-depth case studies of global brands and the way design fits into their business. The 'Eleven lessons' study, published in full on the Design Council's website, offers both general guidance on design strategy and an in-depth look at design's role at the likes of LEGO, Microsoft and Sony. There's a lot to take in, but it certainly looks the business.

The official Design Council press release is below and there's more in the DesignTalks forum.

Design Council research uncovers secrets of design success in global corporations

Eleven cutting-edge companies are setting standards for design practice that offer valuable lessons for business and the design industry

26.11.07 DESIGN is the key driver of innovation for some of the world's highest-profile brands, according to a new study published by the Design Council today. The research, entitled Eleven Lessons: managing design in eleven global corporations, was made possible through unprecedented access to some of the biggest and best creative brains in leading organisations including Microsoft, Starbucks, Virgin Atlantic and Sony, and provides a unique insight into their design processes.

These companies not only place design high on their business development agenda but also have set processes for how it is managed internally to contribute to innovation and new product and service development. It also sheds light on exactly how these global leaders manage design and integrate their design teams into their businesses to help themselves stay competitive.

The Design Council interviewed senior design leaders and heads of design in eleven companies: Alessi, BT, BSkyB, LEGO, Microsoft, Starbucks, Whirlpool, Yahoo!, Virgin Atlantic, Xerox and Sony. The main findings offer interesting lessons for business, the design industry and design educators:

Design as a key driver

All the companies place design at the heart of their innovation and new product development strategies. In other words, design is a key driver at the outset of innovation activity, and an essential tool for understanding and translating user needs into products and services.

Similar design process

The companies share a similar design process to take a project from insight and idea to implementation, despite their focus on different products or services. These companies place a significant emphasis on design and on a process for managing design within the wider organisation and this forms the basis of decision making at a strategic level for business and innovation activity.

Design champions

Each company demonstrated how their design function is tied closely to senior management, receiving full support and buy-in at the highest level of the business. The design leaders in these companies also effectively function as ∆design champions√ who promote the value and impact of design internally.

Corporate design

Design is creative but also corporate, in that it is closely tied to business objectives. Most companies have methods and metrics that they use to prove the impact of design on their bottom line and contribute to brand positioning and profile.

Key processes

A number of processes and tools are used by the businesses to support the core design process and help it function better, such as:

• Multi-disciplinary teams and working processes throughout the innovation process
• Databases, blogs, intranets and case study banks where information and methods from design projects are logged, tracked and developed for wider use in the company's work.

Business-savvy designers

Business-minded designers who demonstrate advanced business knowledge and also have an ability to communicate effectively with experts of other disciplines, including software engineers, materials specialists and researchers

Design Council Chief Executive David Kester commented: 'All the participants in our research are household names, acknowledged as leaders and trend-setters in their field. It is no accident that they are using design strategically and have embraced the fact that design offers business a different perspective on the challenges they face in an increasingly competitive and global marketplace.'

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The eleven case studies and the supporting analysis are available on the Design Council website www.designcouncil.org.uk/elevenlessons

For further comment on this item and to debate the issues it raises, visit the DesignTalks forum.