Overview of design management methodologies

Overview of design management methodologies

ADMIRE programme Objective 1.1

Professor Alan Lewis

Darragh Murphy Caroline Mougenot The National Centre for Product Design & Development Research (PDR) University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC)

April 2009

© University of Wales Institute, Cardiff 2009 2

CONTENTS

Foreword 3

Chapter 1 Introduction 4

1.1 Background 4

1.2 2008 DME Award criteria 4

1.3 Selection of sample 6

Chapter 2 Literature review 7

2.1 Defining a scope for design management 7

2.2 Design management models 8

2.2.1 Managing the design process 8

2.2.2 Levels of design integration within an organisation 8

2.2.3 Design management implementation 9

2.2.4 Value models for design 9

2.3 Review of DME34 selection criteria 10

2.3.1 Criterion 1: Leadership through design innovation 11

2.3.2 Criterion 2: Designing change through design 11

2.3.3 Criterion 3: Excellent in design co-ordination 12

2.3.4 Criterion 4: Strategic performance 12

2.3.5 A top-down implementation process 13

Chapter 3 Overview of design management methodologies 14

3.1 METHODOLOGY 1: Managing design in the new

product development (NPD) process 15

3.1.1 Using design management as a driver for new product innovation 16

3.1.2 Using design to enhance or improve product performance 18

3.1.3 Using design to build distinctive product identities 21

3.2 METHODOLOGY 2: Managing design as a strategic branding tool 24

3.2.1 Managing design to raise brand awareness in fast

moving consumer goods (FMCG) markets 25

3.2.2 Managing a concurrent design and marketing programme 28

3.3 METHODOLOGY 3: Managing design in the service industry 30

3.3.1 Designing the customers’ experience in service industries 31

3.4 METHODOLOGY 4: Managing design in design-led companies 36

3.4.1 Design publishing 36

3.4.2 Open source design 38

3.4.3 Design as a value added service 39

3.5 Main Findings 40

Chapter 4 Conclusion 42

References 43


Foreword

This report focuses on the latest theories and

practices in design management, and, in particular,

how design management is seen as having a positive

influence in the drive to successfully realise

innovation through design. Other approaches to

supporting innovation through design being

considered by the European Commission include

design support and promotions programmes, and a

design policy for Europe.

This report, along with an extensive range of related

actions as part of the PRO-INNO Europe ADMIRE

programme, is designed to help researchers,

practitioners and policy makers understand better

how innovative companies manage design. The

purpose of this co-ordinated approach is to uncover

practices and processes that support

competitiveness through innovation, and explore

how they can be more widely adopted within a

range of private and public sector organisations and

companies.

Design management is an intrinsic part of any design

and development process and its precise form and

characteristics within any one setting very much

reflects the nature of people involved and the aims

and culture of an organisation. This report shows

that companies apply design and the management

of design in response to their chosen strategies

rather than by sector, industry or product

specification. This provides opportunities for a cross

fertilisation of ideas and methods from across

different industries and sectors. But, as this report

shows, it is the collective vision, style and capability

of organisational managers who play the most

important role in the successful realisation of

innovation through design.

The form and structure of the 2008 DME Award

were devised to create both a credible award and a

source of reliable and meaningful data. Through the

process of setting the award criteria by a panel of

design management experts, presenting the entries

in a single format and selecting the winners by a jury of

design management experts; the selection of the

review sample can be presented in this report as

representing leading European design management

practice. This selection of 34 private organisations,

referred to in the report as the DME34, represent the

‘state of the art’.

The many different design management models

supported by leading researchers are reflected in the

wide range of practices revealed through the DME

Award entrants. Although many of the entries

assimilated recognised models there were many that

could not be easily categorised into predefined

models. Therefore, the assessment approach adapted

a broader review of the design strategies employed by

the entrants and to what purposes they were

intended.

128 companies and organisations were presented on

the 19th

June 2008 for the DME Award jury day. The

entries represented a diverse range of applications

from public organisations to multi-nationals, small

businesses to charities, and manufacturing to service

sectors. The collection represented a unique insight

into how companies perceive design and how they

manage it. The winning entries demonstrated

sophisticated design management practices which

stood out from other participants.

Among the DME34 sample were several examples

demonstrating original interpretations of the design

process, new ways of designing. These examples

present new business models that exploit technologies

in innovative ways to provide fresh ideas and solutions

to their customers. They represent a form of

innovating innovation, applying design to design. Only

through identifying and disseminating these practices

can other entrepreneurs, managers and designers

develop new business models for themselves. The

DME Award serves a worthy purpose in rewarding

good design management practice, what was not

expected, is its ability to question how things are done.


Chapter 1

Introduction

The basis for this overview of Design Management

methodologies is the 2008 Design Management

Europe (DME) Award. This edition of the Award was

developed to provide a qualified sample of

companies whose design management practices

could be regarded as some of the best in Europe.

Several questions were addressed in order to qualify

a sample of good design management practice:

What is good design management?

How to find good design management?

How to communicate good design

management?

How to assess good design management?

In order to incorporate these questions into an

award process every effort was made to make each

step as transparent and logical as possible.

The DME Award was the vehicle for selecting the

sample companies. It provided a rich source of

material for analysis. As a result of the analysis a

DME Award jury selected a sample of 34 companies,

the DME34, as representing best design

management practice.

1.1 Background

When developing the 2008 DME Award the first

challenge was to determine how to award an activity

that is unique to each business but which cannot be

quantified without the danger of eliminating the

essence of that activity. It quickly became clear that

the challenge was twofold: What kind of information

should be gathered from the companies? And how

should this data be assessed?

A review of other management awards showed that

they all had something in common, and that was the

requirement for the entrants to openly express why

they should win an award, whether it was through an

essay, recommendation, presentation or interview.

With a European dimension to the DME Award and the

huge potential range of the subject matter, a format

needed to be identified that could facilitate each case

and provide a level playing field for entrants. The

poster format appeared to be an excellent solution:

not only had it proved being a successful medium in

the 2007 DME Award, but it also allowed for

companies to easily communicate their unique

practices through the aid of pictures, and simple text.

Attention was then turned to the development of the

assessment criteria. Due to the diverse nature of

design management, and the need to understand what

truly represents best practice, the only transparent

and fair method to select winners appeared to be

through a Jury process. Therefore, criteria had to be

developed to allow the Jury to arrive at their

judgements, and to provide a focus for the entrants in

developing their applications.

1.2 2008 DME Award criteria

Fig. 1: The expert panel assembled to determine the 2008 DME Award criteria, Cardiff 21st February 2008. Back row: Joao Mena de Matos,(Portugal); Gert Kootstra,(The Netherlands); Dr. Thomas Lockwood, (USA); Middle row: Darragh Murphy,( Ireland); Prof. Robert Brown, (UK); Prof. Alan Lewis,(UK); Prof. John Boult, (UK); Front row: Sally Brazier, (UK); Dr. Brigitte Borja de Mozota, (France); Caroline Mougenot, (France).

The best way to set criteria for a design management

award was to gather professional and academic

experts in design management to discuss and agree

upon what qualities would be expected from a DME


Award winner. In addition, this open approach to

determining the criteria with third party experts

would promote transparency, gain endorsement and

build the credibility of the award.

On 21st

February 2008, a small expert panel of

leading design management experts met at the

National Centre for Product Design & Development

Research (PDR), University of Wales Institute, Cardiff

(UWIC), UK. They were set the task of determining

criteria for the DME Award that could be applied

across all sectors, sizes, EU countries, and to both

public and private organisations.

Panel members all felt that those companies who

place a strategic advantage on design would be able

to identify with the criteria and react positively to

the challenge of submitting for the DME Award. The

criteria agreed by the panel of experts were as

follows:

Leadership in Design Innovation: Defining and

implementing a vision for the whole

organisation.

Driving Change through Design: Identifying

significant changes within an organisation

where design has played a major role.

Excellence in Design Co-ordination:

Demonstrating capabilities, processes, skills and

resources.

Strategic Performance: Demonstrating

performance based on objectives, deliverables

and results (tangible and intangibles).

With the criteria established, a set of guidelines

encompassing them, the description of categories as

well as the award deadlines could then be compiled

and published. A key facilitating element of the DME

Award was the network of partners across Europe to

nominate and facilitate entrants from their countries

to submit for the award. Through bringing their own

expertise to bear they made the criteria

comprehensible to the entrants and help them to

realise their applications.

A total of 128 posters were received from a wide

range of companies, organisations and sectors,

public and private, manufacturing and service.

Large company category

Open to private companies with 250 employees or more or with an annual turnover in excess of €50,000,000.

Medium-sized company category

Open to private companies with 50 to 249 employees or with an annual turnover not in excess of €50,000,000.

Small company category

Open to private companies with 10 to 49 employees and with an annual turnover not in excess of €10,000,000.

Micro company category

Open to private companies with 9 employees or less and with an annual turnover not in excess of €2,000,000.

Public or non-profit organisation (NPO)

Open to public or non-profit organisations such as charities, government programmes, city councils or schools and colleges.

First time design project

This category is specific to SMEs (less than 250 employees and a turnover not in excess of €50,000,000). The purpose of this category is to showcase good examples of organisations managing design for the first time. This can either come from established organisations or from start-ups.

Design strategy for sustainability

This category is open to private companies and public organisations of all sizes. Sustainability relates to design strategies encompassing social responsibility, improving the environment or reducing ecological impact.

Fig. 2: Breakdown and description of categories of the 126 entries to the 2008 DME Award


1.3 Sample selection

The DME Award Jury was selected to represent a

variety of business and design management

experience and expertise from across Europe and

beyond. All of the Jury members were nominated by

project partners of the ADMIRE programme and

went through a selection process before being

approved.

On the 19th

June 2008, the Jury assembled at UWIC

to review the poster submissions and decide upon

the winners. Jury members were divided into two

groups of four and charged with judging one

category at a time per group. Different groups of jury

members were selected for each judging session

with regard to their specific expertise. At the start of

each category judging session, a moderator would

agree the session plan with the Jury and ask whether

there was a conflict of interest between any member

and the list of entrants in the category to be judged.

The judging sessions started with the Jury members

being provided with scorecards to assist them in

evaluating the entries according to the set criteria.

The marks they recorded were not intended to be

definitive results, but rather were designed to assist

the Jury in arriving at a working shortlist for further

debate. The Jury panel for each session was

empowered to decide on the number of honourable

mentions to be granted.

The criteria marking process proved itself through the

consistency of the scores given by each of the Jury

members. Furthermore, the final decision of the Jury -

which was based on discussion - was consistent with

their initial scores, thus reinforcing the validity of the

criteria for selection. However, the Jury members

regretted that not all of the companies followed or

demonstrated evidence of the criteria.

The moderators played a crucial role in focusing the

debate on design management and in delivering each

session on time, yet also allowing the Jury members to

freely express their opinions.

From the 128 entries, the jury selected 34 companies,

which met the DME Award criteria. These companies

are the sample (DME34) determined by the Jury to be

leading exponents of design management in Europe

and were analysed for this report. The objective of this

report is to provide an overview of the current state of

the art of design management as determined by the

DME Award. A literature review of design management

is conducted in Chapter 2 followed by the case study

analysis in Chapter 3.

Fig. 3: The 2008 DME Award Jury, 19th June, Cardiff. Front row left to right: Prof. Robert Brown, UK (Moderator); Anna Wróblewska, Poland (Juror); Joao Mena de Matos, Portugal (Moderator); Dr Maarit Lindström, Finland (Juror); Professor Saša Janez Mächtig, Slovenia (Juror), Stephen Conlon, Ireland (Juror). Back row left to right: Dr Thomas Lockwood, USA (Juror), Xènia Viladàs, Spain (Juror); Darragh Murphy, Ireland (Co-ordinator); Sir George Cox, UK (Juror); Prof. Dr. Eric Jan Hultink, The Netherlands (Juror); Michael Thomson, UK (Moderator). Absent from photo: Dr Frank O’Connor, Ireland (Advisor).Photo by Glenn Edwards.


Chapter 2 Literature review

Literature published on design management

provides models for implementing design

management processes and further explanation on

the various benefits design management may

provide to companies. While in its most basic form,

design management consists in the management of

design projects1, at a higher level, design

management is also concerned with the whole of

the organisation and shapes the widest range of its

activities. Managed effectively and strategically,

design should enable a company to enhance

financial performance, increase customer

satisfaction, but also improve internal processes and

create shareholders value2.

A major issue in investigating design management

lies in the lack of an agreed definition for the

discipline; this ultimately results in an ill-defined

scope for design management research. The first aim

of this chapter will therefore be to review the

available literature in order to provide a clear

definition of design management. Secondly; an

overview of the main design management models

will outline the process of design management as

regarded by respected researchers in the field.

Finally, a literature review of the DME34 selection

criteria will provide a further understanding of the

context of the sample.

2.1 Defining a scope for design management

Design has now been widely acknowledged as being

one of the major key factors in driving today’s

economy3. Aside from enabling businesses to add

value to products and services, well-managed design

should enable strategies, build brands, create

1 Best (2006, p.6) 2 Borja de Mozota (2005) 3 Cox (2005)

innovation; and, ensure customer satisfaction4.

Furthermore, they should enable a company to enter

and / or create new markets, facilitate innovation,

improve differentiation and increase customer

satisfaction. Companies such as Apple and Sony have

demonstrated evidence of the significance of design in

standing out and thriving in a fast-changing,

increasingly competitive global marketplace5. Since

design can greatly enhance businesses’

competitiveness, strong emphasis is being put on the

need for companies to further integrate design in their

activities. Further research has stressed that although

collaborating with designers would not be enough to

achieve success, design management is critical in

exploiting and further maximising the potential of

design resources for business advantage6.

One of the most basic functions that design

management performs relates to the management of

design projects. However, restricting the subject to just

a form of project management would be mistakenly

limitative7. Increasing emphasis is put on the need for

businesses to understand and use design management

as a strategic business tool8. Gorb

9, in defining the

practice as relating to “the effective deployment by

line managers of the design resources available to the

organisation in the pursuance of its corporate

objectives” already highlighted the corporate

implications of managing design. This was further

explored by Topalian10

who identified two levels of

design management: the corporate level and the

project level. This greatly widened the scope for design

management: as well as being a basic tool for

businesses to integrate when undertaking new

projects such as developing new products and / or

services, design should also be considered at an

organisational level. Cooper and Press11

further

investigated the hierarchic responsibilities for

managing design within an organisation. Three main

levels were identified: the board / top management

level would be responsible for setting a strategic

design vision; middle / functional managers should

4 Kootstra and Wolf (2007) 5 Borja de Mozota (2006) 6 Borja de Mozota (2006) 7 Best (2006, p.6) 8 Best (2006, p.16) 9 Cited in Best (2006) 10 Cited in Cooper and Press (1995, p.224) 11 Cooper and Press (1995)


implement the design strategy and develop design

projects, while operational managers should be

accountable for managing the design projects. This

provided the ground for developing the three-level

model further used by Borja de Mozota12

and Best 13

to explain how design management organises itself

within an organisation, emphasising the strategic,

functional / tactical and operational dimensions of

design management. The definition of design

management that has been set for the purpose of

the ADMIRE project and agreed by the consortium

reflect these findings and is as follows:

“Design management is the cultural, strategic and

operational use of the design resources (internal and

external) available to an organisation directed

towards the creation and attainment of business and

organisational objectives.“ (Kootstra and Wolf)14

By emphasising the cultural and strategic

implications of design management, the definition

emphasises that the discipline of design

management goes beyond the management of

design projects and has a significant role to play at

an organisational level in enabling the overall

business strategy.

SCOPE

Corporate level

Project level

Topalian

Board level – strategic design vision

Middle functional managers – implement design

strategy and develop design projects

Operational manager – design projects

Cooper & Press

Cultural

Strategic

Operational

Kootstra & Wolf

12 Borja de Mozota (2003) 13 Best (2006) 14 Kootstra and Wolf (2007)

2.2 Design management models

The wide range of existing design management models

suggests the variable scope for the subject. Some of

the models thus aim to further explain the essence of

design management, to classify practices, to examine

the extent to which these practices are integrated;

and, to map out the wide range of benefits resulting

from good practice. The following presents an

overview of some of the major models explored by the

literature.

2.2.1 Managing the design process

Essentially concerned with best practice in initiating

design projects, managing and monitoring the design

process, such models demonstrate mostly prescriptive

and sequential processes to be followed to manage

design projects, from opportunity identification to

launch and evaluation. Competencies required include,

inter alia, identifying design opportunities, writing

design briefs, selecting designers, managing budgets,

monitoring the design process, and evaluating the

outcomes15

. One of the main advantages of such

models lies in the fact that they do not tend to assign

responsibilities to various management levels, thus

relating to any kind of organisation the smaller they

may be. On the other hand, they may leave out the

wider implications of managing design and not stress

enough emphasis of the significance of implementing a

fully integrated design process in line with other

corporate objectives.

2.2.2 Levels of design integration within an

organisation

The ‘Design Ladder’, developed by the Danish Design

Centre, is a four-step model that identifies the extent

to which design is integrated in a company’s activities:

non-design, design as styling, design as process; and,

design as innovation. The higher on the ladder a

company is, the more strategically design is used16

.

Although such a model is not explanatory in terms of

design management methodologies, it tends to

15 Bruce and Bessant (2002) 16 Kootstra and Wolf (2007)


suggest a relationship between the skills involved at

the different levels of the ladder and the three levels

of design management previously explained.

The DME staircase, developed by Kootstra and

Wolf17

for the purpose of the ADMIRE project,

demonstrate similar views but stresses greater

emphasis on management implications by

proposing a shift from ‘design levels’ to ‘design

management levels’. Based on the ‘Process Maturity

Grid’ model developed by Moultrie and Fraser, the

model aims to rank companies on a four-level scale

according to the extent to which they use and apply

design management principles. The levels, being

respectively ‘no design management’, ‘design

management as project’, ‘design management as

process’ and ‘design management as culture’

suggest a learning curve in implementing design

management within an organisation. Interestingly,

the three upper levels of the models appear to

directly coincide with the operational, tactical and

strategic dimensions of design management.

Companies on the second step of the ladder and

staircase would mainly demonstrate operational

skills; on the third step, they should master both

operational and tactical skills, while top companies

should master the coordination of strategic, tactical

and operational skills.

2.2.3 Design management implementation

A top-down implementation of design management

processes is commonly recommended to achieve

effective practice and maximise the potential of

design resources. Emphasising the need for the

process to start at the top of an organisation with

the setting of a strategic vision including design

goals, lower levels should then be accountable for

implementing strategies, initiating and running the

design projects. As previously mentioned, three

major levels of design management are commonly

highlighted in the literature: strategic, functional and

operational18

. These levels correspond to

hierarchical positions within an organisation. The

higher the positions, the more strategic the design

17 Kootstra and Wolf (2007) 18 Borja de Mozota (2002)

decisions to be taken. Best19

further interprets this by

suggesting the roles of the design leader, design

manager and designer to respectively relate to vision,

process and content.

Cooper’s implementation model considers the process

for implementation and highlight that good design

management practice requires planning and organising

for design, implementing processes and monitoring the

impact / outcomes. At an organisational level, this

could be understood as planning for the future,

organising how the change will take place,

implementing actions, monitoring and evaluating.

2.2.4 Value models for design

The ‘value models’ for design essentially aim at

highlighting the various benefits resulting from

implementing good design management practice.

From basic benefits such as design improves economic

performance and commercial success – design is good

business20

. Borja de Mozota then emphasises the

significance of design in generating increased customer

value, in improving internal business processes, and in

providing strategic value for the organisation –i.e.

design as vision21

. Hayes22

also identifies four main

assets resulting from implementing design processes at

the organisational level; they are qualified as follows:

design as facilitator -e.g. improve cost, quality, time-to

market; design as differentiator –creates

differentiation and adds value; design as integrator –

e.g. better coordination between R&D, design and

marketing; design as communicator –e.g. enables

translating values, mission into tangible identities.

Another perspective derives from Drucker’s paradigm

of change model23

, which suggests that any

organisation operates in three time zones: past,

present and future. Based on Flaherty’s interpretation

of the model, Best identifies the role of design in

helping organisations improve the current operations

of the organisation (managing the traditional

business), address new opportunities (managing the

transitional business), move towards a new vision of

19 Best (2006) 20 Potter et al. (1991) 21 Borja de Mozota (2005) 22 Cited in Kootstra and Wolf (2007) 23 Cited in Best (2006, p.31)


itself (managing the transformational business). By

considering the widest range of impacts design can

have on an organisation, such models widen the

scope for design management and are useful in

providing insights as to the areas that should be

considered when planning for design.

2.3 Review of DME34 selection criteria

In order to assess applicants for the 2008 Design

Management Europe (DME) Award, a set of criteria

was developed. To achieve this, a ten-strong panel

of both academic and professional design

management experts from Europe and the US were

assembled. The meeting resulted in the following set

of four criteria drafted and agreed unanimously by

the experts.

Leadership in design innovation: Defining and

implementing a vision for the whole

organisation integrating design across a wide

range of activities.

Driving change through design: Identifying

significant changes within the organisation

where design has played a major role.

Excellence in design coordination:

Demonstrating capabilities, processes, skills and

resources in support of the application of

design.

Strategic performance: Demonstrating

performance based on objectives, deliverables

and overall effect on the organisation.

Most importantly, these criteria represent the

experts’ expectations of the best design-managed

practices in Europe and thus set standards for state-

of-the-art design management. By providing a

framework for the applicants to communicate their

unique design management practices, the criteria

verify a common collective of the current state-of-

the-art in design management.

INTEGRATION

Design management as culture Design management as process Design management as project

Kootstra & Wolf

Design as innovation Design as process Design as styling

Non design Danish Design Centre

IMPLEMENTATION

Strategic Functional

Operational Borja de Mozota

Design leader – vision Design manager – process

Designer - content Best

Planning and organising for design Implementing processes

Monitoring impact and outcomes Coopers

VALUE

Economic performance Commercial success

Improving internal processes Strategic value Customer value

Borja de Mozota

Design as facilitator Design as differentiator

Design as integrator Design as communicator

Hayes

Managing the traditional business Managing the transitional business

Managing the transformational businesses Best


2.3.1 Criterion 1: Leadership in design

innovation

In order to identify the most relevant literature

related to ‘Leadership in design innovation’, the

criterion is broken down into two main concepts:

design leadership and design innovation.

Referring to design leadership, Turner and Topalian24

firstly suggest a distinction between design

management and design leadership. According to

them, while ‘management’ essentially aims to

address set issues, design leadership should aim at

setting a direction for the organisation, thus playing

an essentially pro-active role.

Design leadership and design management could

thus be seen as relating respectively to the strategic

and tactical roles of design management, strategies

aiming to be proactive, and tactics to react to given

business situations. This firstly suggests the link

between the strategic level of design management

and the first criterion. Design leadership therefore

also appears closely linked to strategic management

in the sense that they both aim at ‘envisioning’ the

future and planning accordingly. Cooper & Press25

further stress this by qualifying the executive board

level of management to be accountable for setting a

design vision, strategic direction and approval, and

creating a supportive environment for the company.

The aim of design leadership should thus be to

determine a direction for the whole organisation.

Turner and Topalian provide further indication as to

the role of design leadership: it should aim at

“envisioning the future, manifesting strategic intent,

directing design investment, managing corporate

reputation, creating and nurturing an environment

of innovation; and, training for design leadership.”

2.3.2 Criterion 2: Driving change through design

In a fast-paced and ever-changing environment,

there is an opportunity as well as a need for

organisations to embrace change to keep ahead of

the competition. Driving change through design

24 Turner and Topalian (2002) 25 Cooper and Press (1995, p.226)

relates to organising how change will take place in

order to achieve the overall strategy / vision. Change

may be externally driven, and / or take place internally.

Changes may apply to products, services, processes, or

the corporate environment.

Suggesting that this should be achieved through design

emphasises the need for a specific design strategy. This

is where design managers should apply tactical DM

principles and translate the vision into design

strategies26

. Cooper and Press27

specify the roles of

middle management to implement and monitor the

design strategy, create management structures,

develop projects and evaluate outcomes.

In explaining the role of design leadership and design

management, Turner and Topalian also stress that

businesses need design leadership to ‘know where to

go’, and design management to ‘know how to get

there’. They further highlight the role of design

management as being to “facilitate a change process”.

This implies that once the strategic vision has been set,

tactical skills are needed to implement the necessary

changes to achieve the strategy.

Cooper and Press emphasise the role of functional

managers to implement the strategy and initiate

design projects, the criterion appears to coincide with

the tactical design management level. Best then

suggests the role of design as being to help the

organisation address new opportunities.

Models dealing with new product development,

innovation processes and creativity techniques are

tools and methods useful in enabling and achieving

such change. Best28

further reflects on the

opportunities for design as a change agent. The author

suggests that design could “contribute to improving

the current operations of the organisation” i.e.

managing the traditional business; “help the

organisation to address new opportunities” -managing

the transitional business; and, last but not least, “help

the business move towards new vision of itself” -

managing the transformational business.29

26 Borja de Mozota (2003) 27 Cooper and Press (1995, p.226) 28 Best (2006) 29 Based on Flaherty’s interpretation of Drucker’s paradigm of change (Best 2006)


2.3.3 Criterion 3: Excellence in design

coordination

Echoing Thakara’s “Good design management is

perfect orchestration”30

, this criterion relates to the

operational level of design management, i.e. design

management at the level of managing design

projects. According to the Report on Innovation

Management’, by the European Commission’s

Directorate General for Industry and Enterprise, the

main goals of design management methodologies

include:

“. . . help new products meet the specifications

related to customer needs, quality, price,

manufacturing, recycling, etc; reduce development

costs and time necessary for commercialisation;

coordinate and schedule the activities involved in the

design and development of products within the

entire set of activities, taking account time, tasks,

resources, manufacturing, etc, all in the context of

the company; integrate the above objectives into a

development strategy in line with the company

abilities.” 31

To achieve this, Turner and Topalian32

identify the

five major roles of design managers. They should

manage “design people, design budgets, design

timetables, design work and design infrastructure”.

Cooper & Press33

further define the objectives of the

Design activity level: “Managing design, identifying

skills, implementing, monitoring and evaluating

design work, informs vision”. Models relating to

managing the design process provide useful

indications as to the various stages involved in the

process, how they relate to each other and with

regard to the steps to be taken for an effective

development of the projects.

The ‘New product development model’34

, highlights

the various roles of the project team with regard to

the different stages of the design process. The ‘fuzzy

front end’ would therefore require ‘preliminary

project planning management’, research and

30 Cited in Cooper and Press (1995) 31 Directorate-General for Enterprise (2004) 32 Turner and Topalian (2002) 33 Cooper and Press (1995, p.226) 34 Borja de Mozota (2007)

monitoring of technological, economic and social

developing trends, the idea development phase then

needing feasibility studies and risk management to be

undertaken, as well as developing an ‘end-user value

model’. Market testing also appears critical before

launching any new products. Excellence in design

coordination also require multi-disciplinary teams and

integrated R&D and marketing functions in order to

achieve developing products that will be successful in

the marketplace.

2.3.4 Criterion 4: Strategic performance

This criterion relates to evaluating the relative

performance of the firm with regard to set targets and

objectives. While this stage certainly involves specific

skills such as monitoring, what really matters here is to

understand the breadth of benefits that can be gained

from effective design management practice. ‘Strategic

performance’ firstly suggests the need for businesses

to align the design strategy with business objectives

and use design as a strategic tool to achieve company

goals, beyond economic performance. Targets may

thus relate to increasing customer appraisal /

satisfaction, improving sustainability, enhancing

product success, reducing costs, adding value to the

company offerings, improving brand image, etc. The

value models previously reviewed provide insights as

to the various benefits that should result from good

design management practice. Cooper & Press35

yet

suggest that “evaluating the management of design

and design projects is frequently forgotten, yet this

activity provides essential information for continuous

improvement in the use and management of design”.

The outcomes of such process should not be

considered as an end, rather as something that should

be fed back to the process in order to plan and

organise for future improvements.

35 Cooper and Press (1995, p.223)


2.3.5 A top-down implementation process

An exploration of the extent to which these four

criteria cohere with previously established design

management models provides primary insights into

the core information they convey. The diagram

opposite illustrates how the DME criteria fit onto the

design management models outlined earlier in this

chapter.

The near complete coverage of the criteria in the

design management models illustrates its validity

among current design management thinking.

Furthermore the three non-covered items; ‘Design

as styling’, ‘Non design’ and ’Design as

communicator’; demonstrates the focus of the

award and of the DME34 sample being focused on

the strategic value of design and not on the final

output.

KEY:

Leadership in design innovation Driving change through design

Excellence in design coordination Strategic performance

INTEGRATION

Design management as culture

Design management as process

Design management as project

Kootstra & Wolf

Design as innovation

Design as process

Design as styling

Non design

Danish Design Centre

IMPLEMENTATION

Strategic

Functional

Operational

Borja de Mozota

Design leader – vision

Design manager – process

Designer - content

Best

Planning and organising for design

Implementing processes

Monitoring impact and outcomes

Coopers

VALUE

Economic performance

Commercial success

Improving internal processes

Strategic value

Customer value

Borja de Mozota

Design as facilitator

Design as differentiator

Design as integrator

Design as communicator

Hayes

Managing the traditional business

Managing the transitional business

Managing the transformational businesses Best


Chapter 3 Overview of design management methodologies

All of the private organisations selected for the

analysis demonstrated their own unique design

management practices. The sample of companies

short listed for the 2008 Design Management Europe

(DME) Award also drew attention to the common

characteristics they shared, characteristics that

highlight the optimum conditions for design to be

integrated into an organisation. These conditions

have been recognised and promoted by design

researchers, practitioners and agencies for many

years and include:

The management of design is orchestrated at

the top of the company;

There is a clear strategy for design that is

integrated in all activities of the company;

Design is regarded as a critical function in the

operation of the business;

Design and innovation are part of the culture

and attitude of the company;

Directors and managers are passionate about

design and its possibilities.

As well as the operational characteristics outlined

above, the DME34 demonstrated the following

market orientated characteristics:

Growth exceeds national sector performance by

200%36

;

Growth is closely associated with innovation;

Strong capability to innovate and confidence to

continue innovating;

Ability to venture into new markets or address

new challenges;

36 24 private DME Award short listed companies with three years data to compare against the performance of their sector in their country.

Clear market differentiation from their

competitors.

The companies have a common approach to design

and enjoy similar success; the main differences

between them are their markets, market position,

strategy and design capabilities. This would explain the

wide range of design management practices observed

among the DME Award winners.

The design management practices observed among the

DME34 can be categorised into four main

methodologies:

METHODOLOGY 1: Managing design in the new

product development (NPD) process;

METHODOLOGY 2: Managing design as a strategic

branding tool;

METHODOLOGY 3: Managing design in the service

industry;

METHODOLOGY 4: Managing design in design-led

companies.

Within some of these four categories are sub-

categories that represent the different strategies

adopted by the DME34 companies. The first category

represents traditional new product development

practices associated with manufacturing, while the

third category provides an insight into the rapidly

developing discipline of service design. As expected

strategic branding is a tactic followed by all of the

companies but in this case the category represents

those organisations that have placed their design

investment largely on a branding strategy. The fourth

category highlights new possibilities in using design as

a strategic tool, i.e. the ability of entrepreneurs to

respond to market changes and opportunities with

new approaches to the design process.

The categories highlight the role of design above and

beyond simply designing individual products. The need

to adapt management approaches to suit the aims and

abilities of the companies is demonstrated by the

various design management strategies adopted,

ranging from the development of high added-value

products to the design of user-centred services; from

creating strong and powerful identities to establishing

new, innovative business models.


Launch

Stimulus / trigger

Design brief

Concept generation

Evaluation

Project planning

Sourcing design

Concept development

Concept development

Evaluation / selection

Prototype and testing

Market & Technical dev.

Detailed design

3.1 METHODOLOGY 1: Managing design in the new product

development (NPD) process

NPD processes have been widely documented and,

although the stages are likely to differ slightly from

one application to another, the overall process is

generally similar. Such models are especially useful

in guiding companies through their design journey

and provide them with stage gates (structured

decision points) to review the design work and

proceed, or not, to the next phase. The model is the

industry standard for industrial design consultancies

with each stage gate acting as a payment point.

Rothwell’s model37

provides a detailed approach to

the NPD process.

Fig.4: NPD process adapted from Rothwell, 1972

37Bruce and Bessant (2002, p.39)

The two first phases; ‘Stimulus / trigger’ and ‘Concept

development’; correspond to the front end of the

design process, sometimes referred to as the ‘fuzzy

front end’. The ‘Stimulus / trigger’ relates to the stage

where market opportunities are investigated. Spotting

new opportunities relies on reviewing one’s

environment, understanding the commercial context,

keeping track of the latest developments in the field,

investigating user needs, listening to customers, etc.

Specific methods which could be used include

undertaking a Political, Economic, Social,

Technological, Legal and Environmental (PESTLE)

Trends analysis which investigates trends in order to

give rise to new ideas on unexplored market

opportunities. Equally useful are Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)

analyses. Such analytical techniques assist companies

in strengthening their position in a market, and in

addressing their shortcomings in order to minimise

threats. Portfolio analysis and other marketing tools

such as the Ansoff matrix may also assist in highlighting

possibilities available to a company when diversifying

into new markets or developing new products.

CURRENT

PRODUCTS

NEW

PRODUCTS

CURRENT

MARKET

MARKET

PENETRATION

PRODUCT

DEVELOPMENT

NEW MARKET MARKET

DEVELOPMENT DIVERSIFICATION

Fig. 5: The Ansoff Matrix38

Once the product opportunity has been defined, and

the planning of the project established, a design brief

should be drafted. The ‘Design brief’ is a critical

element in the NPD process as it is the reference point

for the rest of the design process. The design brief

should describe in as much detail as possible the

product specifications, market positioning and project

constraints e.g. budgets and deadlines. The design

brief is a working document that is regularly revised as

the project continues.39

38 Ansoff (1957) 39 For more information about design briefs, refer to Design Management (Best 2006).


The next step is to ‘source design expertise’. While

some businesses may choose to work with an in-

house design department, some may prefer to turn

to external consultancies. Other companies may

combine both. Running design competitions has also

proved to be a successful course of action for some

companies.

After such expertise has been identified and the

design brief has been set the core design process can

commence. Concept generation is the first phase of

the process and consists of generating product

concept ideas. Methods to assist the idea generation

phase include brainstorming, lateral thinking,

synectics, Six Thinking Hats, metamorphosis analysis,

etc.40

The designer will then sketch the ideas, turning

them into tangible product concepts. This will allow

for the concepts to be assessed, reviewed against

objectives, and evaluated in order that a selection

can be made for further development. Prototypes

will further assist in reviewing and testing the

product, leading to manufacturing ramp-up and

product launch. In acknowledgement of the iterative

nature of product development, throughout this

process the specification is reviewed and updated to

include the latest data informing design

development.

As an innovation process, the NPD path applies a

methodology to realise creativity in the form of a

marketable product. The following case studies

demonstrate how the NPD process provides product

innovations, improve product performance and build

distinctive product identities.

40 For more information, refer to Proctor (2005) and Higgins (2005).

3.1.1 Using Design Management as a driver for

new product innovations

The companies reviewed as part of this section apply a

strategy focused on new product innovation to gain an

advantage over their competition. The management

role of the company is to assist the NPD process to

arrive at new products for their existing market that

can be sold at a high margin.

Although different in nature and in their products,

three of the companies nominated for the Award

shared a common approach: all of them demonstrate

the drive to innovate and invest heavily in design to

achieve their objective. Design management is the

force that drives the projects, enables the companies

to generate innovative ideas and to carry them

through to deliver products that differentiate from the

competition by the means of greatly enhanced

functionality, quality and aesthetics and of innovative

features. For those companies design creates value.

Fig. 6: The CafeSoloTM by Eva Solo, Denmark

Danish company Eva Solo started in the 1960’s as a

manufacturer of kitchenware accessories. Since its

creation, the focus of the company has always been on

the development of innovative products that

presented a high added value. This philosophy remains

stronger than ever and they continue to compete

through design, developing desirable products that

truly appeal to their target market, and adding

innovative features to their products to constantly

surprise their customers.


Fig. 7: The Vacuum Wine Saver by VacuVin, The Netherlands

VacuVin define themselves as a manufacturer and

distributor of innovative food and wine-related

products for home and professional use. Their

products are characterised by their practical

application in daily life; they distinguish themselves

by means of improved functionality, originality and

quality.

Magnus Olesen realised that, to stay ahead of the

competition, the company had to innovate. Bringing

in some more design expertise appeared as the right

strategy to achieve their objectives. Yet, while some

companies would restructure their design

department, revisit their processes or bring in a

consultancy, Magnus Olesen took a radical

approach: they bought out a freshly established

furniture design-led company, D’nmark and

introduced the newly acquired designs in their

product range.

Where do companies get their ideas from?

These companies get their new ideas from challenging

the existing. Eva Solo systematically assesses existing

products. They apply their “Yes but” strategy that aims

to challenge conventions, push the boundaries a little

further, and enables them to continuously surprise

their customers by offering products that always

demonstrate new and innovative features.

“The first trendsetting Eva Solo products were launched

in 1997 – functional design with an edge. Traditional

product concepts for the entire home – both inside and

out – were rethought to produce new and unique

solutions in highly original shapes, different materials

and with exceptional functionality. Once again, a

continuation of the “Yes but” strategy. Hygienic silicone

for pot holders, insulating neoprene covers for jugs

holding hot or cold drinks as well as glass and stainless

steel as recurring materials characterise the Eva Solo

products.”(Eva Solo)

New technologies also provide inspiration for fresh

ideas. Such an example is reported in the Magnus

Olesen / D’nmark case, “By using laser cutting, it was

possible to create a new expression in the metalwork.”

An obvious but rarely exploited opportunity for

developing new ideas can come from listening to

customers. VacuVin takes special care of reviewing

customers’ feedback to improve existing products and

develop innovative new products to address unfulfilled

needs and wants.

“Combining customer service with quality control

enables VacuVin to improve their products when

necessary. Customer suggestions are researched by

R&D and implemented when valuable.” (VacuVin)

Fig. 8: The Day Bed, acquired by Magnus Olesen through buying out

it’s creator company D’nmark.


What kind of design expertise do they use?

Some businesses may choose to implement an in-

house design department; some may turn to

external consultancies or freelance designers.

Different sources of design can suit different

demands of the company.

VacuVin opted for a combination of extensive in-

house expertise, supplemented by students from the

Technical University of Delft as well as several other

colleges. The benefit of this approach is the

generation of very fresh and raw ideas, tapping into

the creativity of students which has not been diluted

by industrial experience. Colleges and Universities

are always receptive to industrial collaboration as it

enhances their teaching and research, it can lead to

valuable student placements, portfolio work and, in

some cases, it can lead to royalties for both the

student and college.

Some companies may chose fairly radical

approaches towards enhancing their design and

innovation capacities. In the case of Magnus Olesen,

they were a very traditional furniture manufacturer

who wanted to attract a different type of customer

and market. Rather than redesign their range or

learn a new style they decided to buy a newly

established furniture company; D’nmark; that

already attracted the market they were aiming at.

“In January 2008, Magnus Olesen A/S bought the

young Danish furniture company D’nmark.

D’nmark was founded in the beginning of 2005. The

vision was to create a new generation of Danish

furniture, that could compete with the old Danish

design classics and stimulate the creation of new

Danish products. The D’nmark products were well

thought out, with regards to functionality,

construction and aesthetics and they took their own

unique origin in new production methods and social

responsibility. The buying of D’nmark was the perfect

match to improve and strengthen the design values

and product line at Magnus Olesen A/S.” (Magnus

Olesen)

Eva Solo source their creative input from an

extensive collection of freelance designers. This

approach maintains a high quality of work from

designers keen to earn a royalty fee and allows the

company to pick and chose the work they think suits

their business. The model also permits the company to

expand or reduce their design capability to react

quickly to the fluctuations of the market.

What do the companies get out of being innovative?

Aside from being able to sustain a significant

competitive advantage, companies have also enjoyed

several benefits as a result of their approach to

innovation. Significantly, the generation of original

new products allows the companies to protect their

investment through intellectual property rights

measures such as patents and design registrations.

VacuVin even applies this principle to some of their

older products for which the patents are running out.

They review the ageing products in order to develop

improved functionalities which will enable the patents

protection to be prolonged.

The companies also enjoy worldwide recognition, Eva

Solo are proud to reveal that, over the last 10 years,

the company has received over 130 Danish and

international prizes.

These three cases demonstrate the role of design

management as a driver for the development of

product innovations. Not a chance process, there are

specific methods in place to assist companies in

developing innovative products. Design creates value

by enabling companies to offer added value products

to their customers. Leadership in design innovation will

therefore enable companies to constantly keep one

ahead of the competition.

3.1.2 Using design to enhance or improve product

performance

This section illustrates businesses that compete on

performance, outperforming the competition by

developing products that demonstrate greatly

enhanced reliability, features and efficiency. The role

of design management in such a case is to consider

every aspect of an existing product in order to develop

improved, faultless products that compete more

successfully in the market.


Aside from enabling the development of new

products, the NPD process can also be utilised by a

company in order to significantly improve the

performance of existing products. Such products,

which provide users with greatly enhanced features,

can be a significant source of competitive advantage

for a company. It allows them to compete more

aggressively in a market they know, and with a

product they have confidence in. This is the strategy

that has been adopted by Thrislington Cubicles,

Performance Health Products (PHP), Senz Umbrellas

and Curana. Bound by the same motivation to

continuously outperform their peers, these four

companies have created for themselves impressive

market space within mature markets by turning

some of the most common products into desirable

devices of outstanding performance.

Thrislington Cubicles are a “toilet cubicle

manufacturer with an uncommon passion for

design”. Through paying special attention to detail

with regard to everything they develop, from

products to company literature, website to

promotional gifts, Thrislington have achieved

worldwide recognition for premium quality. By

producing products that are sleek and beautifully

engineered they attract the attention of architects

willing to specify their products to compliment their

building. Thrislington applies their high design values

across all activities of the company to communicate

to their customers and potential customers that

design matters to them.

Fig. 9: A hinge detail from one of the Thrislington Cubicles, UK, range of products.

SENZ Umbrellas was born from a frustration with

existing umbrellas, providing three friends with the

ambition to develop the ‘ultimate umbrella’. An

umbrella that doesn’t break, is comfortable in use,

does not contain dangerous tips that can poke people

in the eyes, and provide the users with good product

experience.

Fig. 10: The original SENZ umberella

Performance Health Products (PHP) designs and

manufactures equipment for the disabled, the elderly

and infirm with a special emphasis on products for

wheelchair users. PHP’s core concerns are the

improvement of comfort, function and quality of life by

the comprehensive management of posture in seating.

Fig. 11: The V-Trak system developed by Performance Health Products, UK

Curana specialise in the development of innovative

mudguard systems for bicycles. Curana reports that

their products differentiate from the competition

thanks to distinctive designs, and the innovative

concept of being able to attach to most bicycle frames

without the need for any tools.


Fig. 12: The B”lite mudguard by Curana, Belgium

How do the companies achieve superior product

performance?

The energy and effort to make the best product

cannot be underestimated. The challenge for

management is to balance the cost of development

against the estimated value the exercise will add to

the product. To do this, management has to decide

on the optimum method to develop the product and

have confidence in it to invest significant time and

money. Management has another key role in clearly

communicating to the rest of the business how the

product should be improved. Four such approaches

are mentioned by the companies:

Attention to detail

Radical new product concepts

Use the expertise of third parties

Exploit changes in regulations.

In order to gain significant improvements in a

product, the DME companies have a common

willingness not to take any aspect of their product or

service for granted, and address every detail with a

view to improving it. Thrislington reports several key

success factors in achieving outstanding

performance, including the ability of a company to

constantly raise their own standards through good

design and communication.

“Make your first project to the best standard that fits

your business. Then make the rest of the areas catch

up. Then constantly do the same, find your best

element of design in your business and benchmark it

against other design disciplines.” (Thrislington

Cubicles)

Sometimes established products have inherent

problems which are taken for granted because they

have been around for a long time. That is, until

someone addresses the problem with a revolutionary

new product concept. Senz addressed the age old

problem of umbrellas breaking in the wind and applied

aero dynamic principles to the humble umbrella to

create a radical new and effective product. Based on

the shape of the optimum volume/drag coefficient of

the tear drop, the designers explored the potential of

applying this shape to an umbrella. In addition, they

addressed several other problems with conventional

umbrellas that people had previously tolerated i.e.

sharp points, difficult release mechanism.

Fig. 13: Different simulations for the testing and development of the SENZ umbrella

Product performance can also be enhanced when

specialist third parties are involved during the

development process. They bring with them specialist

knowledge which the designer learns and apply. They

also provide a different viewpoint of the performance

and production of the product.

“In order to keep the flow of innovative ideas alive,

creative sessions are held regularly. Once checked if

they are valuable, a first feasibility study is done by

simple handmade models, from which a lot can be

learned for the further process. During concept testing,

styling and system design, there is a constant

interaction with production partners, knowledge

centres and mold makers”. (Curana)


Thrislington Cubicles undertakes extensive research

and involves ‘specifiers’ such as architects to make

sure concepts are commercially viable. Through the

involvement of the end specifier, the design

managers can avoid time and costs being spent on

concepts that will not attract customers.

SENZ Umbrellas made excellent use of third party

expertise to bring their radical umbrella concept to

market readiness. They recognised the importance

of working with technology experts from the Delft

University in the Netherlands in order to assess,

revaluate, develop and test their unique umbrella

concept. They utilised several types of testing

methods available at the university to ensure their

product met their high standards and vision of an

unbreakable umbrella. The ability to test and

measure the performance of their design allowed

the product to evolve into a true manifestation of

the original concept.

Another driver for change can be inspired from

unexpected opportunities. PHP believes in

regulations being a catalyst for beneficial change, a

trigger for product improvement.

“Many opportunities for product improvement and

appeal lie within burgeoning regulation. By the

design team members attending international

events, advance knowledge of new Crash Test

standards enabled the company to be the first in the

world to achieve compliance with these new

standards at a time when they became crucial to

product acceptance.”

(Performance Health Products)

The key to developing outstanding product

performance seems to rely on the willingness of a

company to go further, push the limits and question

the obvious. It has to be directed from the top of the

company in order to secure significant investment

and ensure its delivery across the whole company.

Although the investment is significant at the start of

the process it is good value compared with the costs

associated with launching the wrong the product

onto the market.

3.1.3 Using design to build distinctive product

identities

In highly competitive markets the ability to design and

produce leading products has to be matched by a

distinctive product identity that communicates the

qualities of the product and values of the company.

The objective of this aspect of design management is

to generate a recognisable product language that

supports the company’s brand message and that can

be consistently applied across the entire range of

products. This practice of design management is

predominately the domain of large manufacturing

companies.

KTM Motor Sports had been a motorcycle

manufacturer since 1953. Yet, in 1991, the company

faced bankruptcy due to the motorcycles not standing

out from a crowded market. At that time KTM had no

clear vision or design strategy. KTM therefore

implemented a new vision that would drive the

business forward: ‘leading KTM back to success,

becoming a leading manufacturer in the off-road

segment, expanding in the on-road segment, to then

expand in the 4 wheel segment, and thus become the

leading European motor sports manufacturer’. In 2007

the company had a turnover in excess of €500m and

over 1900 employees. To start their long path to

recovery they reflected their ambitions with the core

brand message ‘Ready to race’ which served as a

reference point for every activity thereafter.

Fig. 14: The RC8 motorbike by KTM, Austria, designed by KISKA Design agency

Karcher was founded in 1935 by inventor Alfred

Karcher. In 1950, they implemented the first European

hot water high pressure cleaner. Focusing their

strategy on the core business, high pressure cleaning,


they developed in 1984 the world’s first portable

pressure washer, enabling Karcher to enter the

consumer market. Since then, the company’s

objectives have been to continuously increase the

water processing segment. The company now has

more than 6500 employees, 41 subsidiaries, more

than 2000 products, and 342 patents.

Fig. 15: The K7.85M Pressure Washer by Karcher, Germany

Labinprogres is a large Croatian company that was

founded in 1974; the company produces agricultural

mechanisation such as tractors, two wheel tractors,

motor hose and motor mowers along with a range of

attachments. Until 1990, the company remained a

leading manufacturer for small-sized agricultural

mechanisation, with over 300,000 machines sold.

But the break up of Yugoslavia in 1991 made the

company lose 80% of its market. To remedy this, the

company implemented a new strategy that aimed to

enable the company to regain market share and to

export. In 2007 the company had a turnover in

excess of €10m with 294 employees.

What are the key elements of this strategy?

Each of the three companies highlights the

importance of developing a strong corporate identity

that will be reflected in their products. This forms

the basis for a consistent identity throughout the

product range. In order to make effective use of the

corporate identity and visual product language,

Karcher and KTM develop design guidelines which

will guide the designers in modelling their projects.

Fig. 16: The Tuber 40 Tractor by Labinprogres, Croatia

“Corporate Product Identity: Unexceptionally all our

products follow certain design rules that make them

look “Kärcher“. The CD-handbook is a working tool for

all our designers.” (Karcher)

Within a company that already possesses its own

design guidelines, the designer will probably be part of

a large design team with clear processes documented

and supervised. In some cases, the concept for the

product would be already created, the technological

constraints defined and the designer’s task would be

to synthesise all the information into an accurate

design.

“The role of the designer is to design products that

have all the necessary features and compelling extras

so that target customers will be impelled to buy. In this

case, the designer is a craftsperson. S/he has a brief

and applies a distinct skill set to the task.”41

Fig. 17: Karcher’s design process stages

Design identity guidelines are characteristic of

companies with sophisticated, well defined design

processes and stage gates that support a constant flow

of product development. These processes are most

41 Bruce and Bessant (2002, p.68)


likely integrated with the marketing, engineering and

manufacturing departments. The details of these

processes are unique to each company, and even

factory, but all follow the form of Rothwell’s model42

.

What are the benefits of this strategy?

The continuity of a successful design identity,

reinforces the brand values of the company and can

have a positive affect on customers and the work

force. In the case of KTM, their revamped product

image was initially met with mixed reactions from

their existing customers but was successful in

attracting new customers. For the development staff

at KTM, it allowed them to focus more clearly on the

product and concentrate on building their racing

pedigree.

Fig. 18: KTM’s new management strategy – Integrated Design Development

The distinctive product identity of KTM and Karcher

allowed them to move into new markets with their

own set of company values, rather than having to

reinvent themselves. Another advantage of

developing design guidelines is the ability to

maintain continuity of the product identity during

transitional stages of the company design process.

Increased differentiation from competitors and

distinctive brand identity provided the companies

with new competitive advantages. In the case of a

re-positioning exercise, companies have regained a

significant share of market. Labinprogres and KTM,

through their reinvention, have turned their fortunes

around and are now both leading manufacturers in

their markets.

42 Bruce and Bessant (2002, p.39)

Fig. 19: KTM’s strong visual product language

The reinvention of Labinprogress also coincided with a

dramatic change in its circumstances. In 2001 the

business was bought by the Slovenian company

CIMOS. The addition of Labinprogress to the group

created another outlet for their first tier automotive

factories. As a strategic addition to their automotive

operations, CIMOS invested heavily in Labinprogres to

bring their products into the 21st

Century and ensure

new market opportunities. To reflect the new

investment in technology, research and design they

introduced the Tuber 40 tractor, a mid range four

wheel drive agricultural tractor designed to meet the

needs of an average farmer in the Adriatic region

where farms rarely exceed three hectares. The new

design vision and strategy provide the company with a

direction and focus to move forward with.

“For Labinprogres, the re-branding and the

implementation of design strategy into the business

process led to:

The development of a new corporate identity;

The modification of existing and development of

new products;


Recognition, quality and coherence in our

product lines;

Better communication with customers;

Increased sales and new markets.”

(Labinprogres)

These cases demonstrate design as a crucial element

in the process of reinventing an established

company. Where radical new product innovations or

improved product performance are not part of the

strategy but simply re-establishing the company

within its market. It is more than a cosmetic design

exercise but a re-evaluation of all products that are

brought into line to communicate the company’s

values. Through the development of colour, font,

motto and high key designs the company can avail of

trademark mechanisms to protect its investment.

Design cannot achieve this alone, but it is an

effective tool in delivering a new long term vision.

This approach requires a design strategy integrated

with the business strategy from the very start of the

process and requires strong design management

leadership, and design processes to deliver it

successfully.

3.2 METHODOLOGY 2: Managing design as a strategic branding tool

Brands are strategic and valuable assets. They consist

of both tangible and intangible strands.

While the brand message is intangible (i.e. a promise

made to the customers and the perception of the

message by these same customers), brand identities

are tangible ‘touch points’ between business and

customers. Identities should support and reflect the

company’s offerings and values. Keys to building a

strong and consistent brand identity lie in the ability of

a company to genuinely recognise its values and

translate them visually.

Fig. 20: Brand touchpoints43

As stated by Wheeler44

, the process of designing brand

identity starts by conducting research: market

knowledge, product analysis, competitor analysis,

customer and stakeholder audits and interviews with

top-level management. All are essential for the

identification of company competitive advantages and

values. This enables the definition of the strategic

position to be adopted by the company to stand out

among the competition, and facilitates clarification of

the design objectives.

“Companies use their identities as a basis for credible

market communication.”45

43 Wheeler (2007) 44 Wheeler (2006) 45 Bruce and Bessant (2002, p.92)


Literature on branding classifies the elements that

influence and communicate the ‘profile’ of

companies into four categories:

Product design – the core product

Information design – all visual elements that

support identification of the products’ and

company’s existence and meaning: logotype,

brochures, uniforms, signs, transit, etc.

Environmental design –all visual environments

and surroundings where the product is

manufactured or purchased: offices, factories,

retail outlets, etc.

Behaviour – how people behave and treat

customers is a visual trait that will affect the

perception of a company’s identity.

Brand identities do not create brands; rather, they

visualize the brand’s message. They will improve

product recognition and raise the prospects’

awareness. They are meant to communicate the

essence of the brand, whether it is to customers,

stakeholders or employees. Pickton and Broderick46

add that consistency, clarity and continuity are the

three prerequisites that will have to be followed to

achieve an efficient brand system.

The two following sections will outline two different

applications of design as a strategic branding tool

that can both create and add value to customers47

.

3.2.1 Managing design to raise brand awareness

in the fast moving consumer goods markets

“It is virtually impossible to detect quality differences

between the products of major financial service

companies, or petrol retailers, or the various

chemical companies, for instance. This means that

companies and their brands have increasingly to

compete with each other on emotional rather than

rational grounds. The company with the strongest,

most consistent, most attractive, best implemented

46 Pickton and Broderick (2005) 47 For more information on designing brand identities, also refer to Wheeler (2006)

and manifested identity will emerge on top in this race.” 48

All fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) markets are

dominated by large multi-national conglomerates. New

FMCG start-up companies are competing with the

sophisticated marketing campaigns and distribution

networks established by household brands.

Entrepreneurs who recognise these challenges place

equal importance on developing their brand as well as

their product. Their objective is to create market space

through raising awareness of their products by

establishing effective brand identity systems.

From the DME34 selection, three companies operating

in mature FMCG markets demonstrate a very similar

approach to using design to create strong brand

identities, but employ different methods of managing

the process. In these cases, design is used mainly to

create a powerful brand image and support it through

a range of touch points i.e. logo, graphics, packaging

and advertisements. Two of the cases represent bold

new start-up companies, and the third an established

FMCG company aiming to expand their market share.

Fig. 21: Package design for a fruit smoothie produced by SóBor,

SóBor is a start-up which manufactures and packages

fruit smoothies for the bar and club market in the UK.

The concept is a new one for the market: selling

48 Olins cited in Bruce and Bessant (2002, p.87)


smoothies that can be drunk on their own or mixed

with alcohol. SóBor uses design as a strategic tool to

raise awareness of the brand and to influence buyers

and stakeholders to buy and store the products.

Through working with a design consultancy and

design advisor, SóBor established a powerful identity

for the products, which also reflects the brand

values: indulgent, healthy, natural, delicious,

sophisticated, and versatile.

Fig. 22: Product range by Madara, Latvia

Madara started with the association of four friends

who shared a passion for organic products. Their

complementary skills and backgrounds enabled

them to develop and launch a range of organic

cosmetics for the Latvian market. Successful and

ambitious, Madara now seek to further expand

through exporting their products.

Voslauer is an Austrian brand for mineral water. The

company uses design to position the brand and

strengthen its position as market leader in the

Austrian market.

A challenge specific to FMCG companies lies in the

fact that products are generally non durable. This

results in products that can scarcely be ‘designed’

and which cannot stand alone or impel

consumption. Companies must therefore rely on

their brand identities to convey their message and

values in a meaningful way so that the public

understands the benefits of the core product.

What key success steps did the companies recognise

in designing strategic identities?

First and foremost, all companies have to identify

and understand their intended market. Madara

made the choice to develop products for customers

that they would like to buy for themselves. From this

starting point, they presumed their customers would

have a similar profile to them i.e. concerned with both

beauty and ecology, and with a high income and who

share a passion for design.

Fig. 23: Advertisement for Voslauer Mineral Water, Austria

With the potential consumer in mind, the next stage is

to define appropriate and authentic values for the

brand that represent the company, its product and

appeals to the target customer. These values should be

a reference point for every activity the business

undertakes. SóBor brand values, ‘indulgent, healthy,

natural, delicious, sophisticated, and versatile’, are in

line with their product offering, and with the

anticipated target market’s expectations.

“The brand values associated with SóBor are integral to

our philosophy, and we are committed to adhering to

these throughout our marketing literature and

promotional activities. We understand that these

underpin the value of the brand and in order for us to

do that, we are currently in the process of writing a

brand handbook that will include rules and regulations

to ensure that we all understand our common

philosophy and that the brand design will remain

coherent in literature.” (SóBor)


“When we first started making organic cosmetics 3

years ago, we decided there are going to be no weak

points in our venture. We wanted to design a

company which is great both in function and form.

Logical, perfect in every detail, each function

designed with care. Beautiful, green and alive. Like

the flower (Madara) that has inspired our brand. . .

Together we share the passion for MADARA – the

humble flower form our meadows that has inspired

our brand with both its beauty and unbelievable

logics. Because we grew out of ‘madara’, we have to

be ‘madara’. We are truly MADARA, and that is why

our customers believe us” (Madara)

Fig. 24: Strap line for SóBor brand

The challenge for companies developing brands for

the first time is justifying the associated design costs.

Is there a direct correlation between this investment

and return? How much time is required to

understand the ambitions of the company, and to

translate them into a successful identity and tangible

products? On a design consultancy basis this can be

a very expensive exercise and if managed poorly can

generate the wrong result.

In order to get the most cost effective branding

exercise for his company, the founder of SóBor

enlisted the advice from a design advisor from the

local design advisory service. Without having any

experience in design or branding the founder applied

text book practices to the exercise along with the

expertise of the brand advisor.

“The design advisor’s role was to advise me on the

design issues such as constructing a design brief, and

issues surrounding design. Her role was emphasised

on giving suggestions rather that making the final

decisions as this was my role and duty. With the

advisor I had a process of gathering her thoughts on

design issues; for example deciding on the small

changes to the packaging, her experience gave me

confidence to make key decisions such as:

Presenting a design brief;

Choosing design and copywriting agencies;

Evaluating brand concepts and designs.” (SóBor)

Madara adopted a different approach to enlisting a

designer to develop their brand and products. They did

not have enough funds to employ the services of a

design consultancy. However they recognised the

importance of design in their venture and enlisted an

experienced designer as one of the four start-up

partners. By including a design partner as one of the

main stakeholders in the business, it allowed a fully

considered brand to be developed. The designer could

invest enough time to fully perceive the values to be

communicated and translate them into an effective

visual concept.

Important to any branding exercise is to apply the

identity and communicate the values consistently cross

all brand touch-points. MADARA takes further

advantage of every tangible element to reflect and

apply the core values, allowing for the brand to convey

its authenticity.

Fig. 25: Principles of the Madara brand

Developing a brand is a different application of design

to product development and requires different skills

and knowledge to manage. In a market where every

business understands the importance of the branding

exercise it is more and more important to be able to

mange and inspire this aspect of design.


3.2.2 Managing a concurrent design

and marketing programme

In the absence of true innovation, companies turn to

design in order to repackage a range of products and

attract attention in the market. To maximise the

investment in design, some companies combine this

activity with a new marketing campaign, the two

disciplines – design and marketing – working

together. Different from an all encompassing

branding exercise, this activity develops a range of

products in line with a campaign for a short term

impact. The role of design is to develop a consistent

identity system addressing both the product and its

promotion.

Vipp was established in 1939, when a waste bin unit

designed by its founder was put into production

after receiving significant interest from the Danish

medical sector. The bin has been the core product of

Vipp since that time and has undergone few

modifications. The unexpected success of the waste

bin, led the company to grow and market a wider

range of (bathroom) products. The company uses

design to develop a ‘living’ range through the

integration of design, promotional material and PR

opportunities.

Fig. 26: A collection of products from VIPP, Denmark

Hisar manufactures flatware and tableware

products. During a restructuring of the business

several years ago, they recognised the potential

advantages of integrating a ‘design culture’ into the

business and took the strategic decision to establish

the ‘Hisar studio’, a work group of marketing and

design consultancies.

Fig. 27: Sketch development work of cutlery for Hisar, Turkey

Cifial, a Portuguese company, has two core product

ranges: complete bathroom solutions and integrated

door systems. Cifial’s success heavily relies on their

integrated design strategies to regularly introduce new

products and to create a consistent identity through

promotional material, corporate identity,

environments, exhibitions.

Fig. 28: The Technovation 35 by Cifial, Portugal

How do design and marketing complement each other?

There are many activities that transfer expertise from

one discipline to the other and have resulted in several

recognised and established practices.

Market research methodologies are used to

understand further a consumer’s perception of the

company’s products and brand. Surveys and focus

groups provide a wealth of information to contribute

towards the NPD process and inform the development

of both the products and its packaging. It is particularly

useful when companies plan to attract a new target

audience or introduce new products.

Point of sale displays and store interiors are the face of

marketing and design. The challenge for the design


manager is to co-ordinate the two disciplines in

order to maximise the impact on the consumer and

maintain continuity of the brand within the retail

environment.

Fig. 29: VIPP point of sale displays

Traditionally, marketing and graphic design usually

results in an extensive and well executed

communications programme covering marketing

literature, website, advertising, transit liveries and

other campaign extensions. However, two of the

case study companies demonstrate product design

that has been influenced by marketing forces.

Fig. 30: Cifial marketing material

Despite having strong design capabilities, VIPP and

Hisar decided to collaborate with famous designers

and brand names in the development of their

products. Introducing influential designers into a

company on a short term exercise can have a

positive or negative short term result in sales, but

the objective is often to bring recognition to their

design intent, attract a more discerning customer and

offer high value added products. World famous

designers are by their nature very independent of

thought and confident in their work. It is down to the

skill of the design manager to get the best value out of

the designer and make the investment pay off. The

exercise is largely influenced by the brief set to the

designer, it can either be a very tight brief or a very

open brief it depends on the aspirations, risk

averseness and budget of the company.

“Artists such as Philippe Starck, Mauricio Clavero, Ron

Arad and many more have been unleashed with no

restrictions in order to execute their interpretation of

Vipp products. Their design and work of art form the

basis of exhibitions at prestigious places such as

Carrousel du Louvre in Paris held in 2006.” (VIPP)

Fig. 31: VIPP promotional image of designer Ron Arad with a modified VIPP product

“We add more brightness to our products range by

using Swarovski trademarked Signity stones for the

first time in the world.” (Hisar)

Design is best utilised when it is integrated across all

activities of the company. Where companies do not

have a strong engineering or R&D department the

emphasis of the business model is on marketing and

that often reflects in the way design is managed.

The examples in this section provide an insight into the

many graphic design outputs of a marketing based

design strategy; brochures, identity continuity,


branding, marketing material, advertising, liveries

and other promotional devices. The

marketing/product orientated design strategies tend

to concentrate on cosmetic revisions to established

products. A guest designer’s knowledge of any

company and its specific market and technical

requirements will always be limited. Their lack of

specific knowledge can be an advantage and it is

down to the design manager to continue their strong

concepts all the way to production.

Not to be confused with brand development,

concurrent marketing and design strategies

strengthens a company’s brand through

differentiation and can add further value to its

overall offering.

Fig. 32: “We add more brightness to our products range by using Swarovski trademarked Signity stones for the first time in the world”, Hisar

3.3 METHODOLOGY 3: Managing design in the service sector

For companies operating in the service sector,

“designing the customers’ experience” is now

recognised as a critical factor for success. From

corporate identity to staff behaviour, website to

environments, every consumer ‘touch-point’ must be

considered to offer customers a consistent and

enjoyable experience throughout their ‘journey’. As

has long been recognised in more traditional product

development, companies must learn how to manage

design to deliver high quality services that will satisfy

or exceed in their customers’ expectations. In general,

service development follows the NPD process, what

includes research, brief, concept development, testing

and implementation stages. However, unlike

manufactured goods, services are intangible by nature,

and therefore companies face particular challenges in

design to manage such experiences. Service design

relates to the process undertaken to develop or review

new and existing services. Hollins49

highlights five

major singularities inherent to services:

Customer contact - Generally, in manufacturing

the customer is probably unaware of how the

product came about. In services, production and

consumption tend to occur at the same time.

Quality - In manufacturing, measures tend to be

quantitative, and quality tends to be measured

against pre-conceived specifications (e.g. technical

drawings). The measures of quality in a service

tend to be qualitative. As a result, there is a wide

variability as it is more difficult to control the

quality of a service – as it is often down to the

individual person supplying it.

Storability - Because services tend to be intangible,

it is usually impossible to store them. For example,

a car in a showroom if not sold today can be sold

tomorrow but an empty seat on an aeroplane

loses its value once the plane has left.

Tangibility - One can physically touch a

manufactured product but most services are

intangible. One cannot touch legal advice or a

journey, though one can often see the results.

49 Hollins (2006)


Transportability - Most services cannot be

transported and therefore, exported (though

the means of producing such services often

can). It is currently estimated that only 11% of

services are exportable.

“A service is any activity or benefit that one party can

give to another that is essentially intangible and does

not result in the ownership of anything. Its

production may or may not be tied to a physical

product.”50

3.3.1 Designing the customers’ experience in

service industries

Although the main product of these four case study

companies presented below is a service (transport,

courier, culture) they have applied design principles

to develop user-centred and innovative ways of

delivering that service to the customer. The

objective in investing in core service development is

to provide an experience that will retain customers,

attract new customers and or increase the service

value.

Fig. 33: Images showing the extent of the work of a service design manager in Virgin Atlantic, UK

50 Kotler (1986)

Without the benefit of a tangible product, the

challenges presented to a design manager of a service

company are different from those in a traditional

manufacturing environment. The following case

studies provide useful insights into the different

methods used to generate and execute leading edge

services and experiences.

Virgin Atlantic is a leading airline provider in Europe.

They differentiate themselves in a very competitive

market through offering a high and innovative

standard of service in both economy and premium

classes. In order to design and shape their customers’

experience of Virgin Atlantic’s services, the company

integrates design across all business functions. This

ensures that their brand values are reflected in every

touch-point, from booking the flight through to

arriving at their destination and returning home.

“To inspire change with considered innovation,

creating functionally excellent ground and air

environments and products.” (Virgin Atlantics’ design

mission statement)


Fig. 34: Images showing the extent of the design brief for DSB, Denmark

Their integrated design unit supports the company’s

manifesto “to grow an airline with which people love

to fly and where people love to work”, and allows for

the company to clearly differentiate themselves

from the competition.

DSB, the Danish State Railway, carries 168 million

passengers every year, while operating

approximately 80% of passenger train services in

Denmark. DSB has been an independent public

corporation since 1999, wholly owned by the Danish

Ministry of Transport. DSB provides urban, intercity,

regional and international passenger rail services

within Denmark, and across international borders.

The design department of DSB Design, is responsible

for the company's visual appearance in all aspects.

To achieve this, DSB Design works closely together

with the entire organisation.

Fig. 35: Point of Sale concept for TNT post, The Netherlands

TNT Post is a specialist in collecting, sorting,

transporting and delivering letters and parcels and is

also a leading force in data and document services,

direct mail, e-commerce and international mail.

Processing around 16 million postal items a day and

delivering these to more than 7.6 million addresses in

the Netherlands, the company is now broadening its

horizons through acquisitions in Europe and Asia. TNT

Post has tackled the challenge of maintaining its

position in today’s shrinking market by concentrating

its focus on the customer. The strong design policy

plays an essential role in company strategy which sets

clear targets for operational excellence, customer

intimacy and product leadership.

The MuseumQuarter Wien is one of the largest urban

areas for contemporary art and culture worldwide. It is

a 3D cultural district with a wide variety of activities;

visual art, architecture, music, fashion, theatre,

literature, children’s culture and digital culture. It is an

“art space” with museums and other spaces for

exhibitions and events, an urban “living space” and

meeting point for Vienna culture aficionados. It is also

a “creative space” for the 50 resident cultural

initiatives of the city.

Fig. 36: The front façade of MuseumQuarter Wien, Austria

How do service companies achieve success through

design?

Whether a company is providing a product or a service,

design management should invariably aim at

implementing design strategies that support the

company’s vision and enable its strategic objectives.

Only through articulating the design strategy, and its

position in the company framework can senior

management and operational staff start to maximise

its potential.


Fig. 37: Management structure of Virgin Atlantic illustrating the decision making hierarchy, cross discipline integration and company values.

Virgin Atlantic’s long term manifesto (see fig.37)

reflects the company’s main strategic objectives,

namely growth, customer satisfaction, and employee

satisfaction. It is the reference point for the whole

company. The annual business objectives are then

determined which are then translated into the

divisional plans. The divisional plans detail all

projects, their timescales and budgets, including

Product and Service Divisional plans. It is the role of

the design manager to deliver these objectives with

his team whilst ensuring the brand values of the

company are integral to the solutions developed.

The management structure is clear, the decision

making hierarchy is transparent and the position of

design in this line of command is close to the top

level of decision making. One of the advantages of

having a clear structured approach is the clarity in

which projects are briefed and executed. In a large

business with many projects in progress at any one

time, only a formal system can work effectively. This

is contrary to most beliefs that design is a random

creative activity. It is the challenge of the design

manager to interpret divisional plans into projects

that his design staff can work to. Inspiring them to

deliver creative, innovative user centred solutions.

A key component in service design is reviewing

existing services and identifying problems that

customers experience. These problems represent

opportunities for improvement. Inhouse design teams

face a unique challenge when identifying problems,

their familiarity with the business conflicts with an

objective view of how it is run. To overcome this

barrier, research methods adopted from other

disciplines as well as employing external designers are

some of the methods used to overcome this myopia,

e.g. hiring ethnographers to carefully observe the

lifestyle of their customers and gain a further

understanding into their needs.

Fig. 38: ‘Service keys to give our staff some guidance on how to deliver the Virgin difference’, Virgin Atlantic

Although it is possible to design every system and

touch point between the customer and the company,

the most valuable part of this interaction is the

member of staff delivering the service. To ensure

consistency within the service delivered by its staff,

Virgin Atlantic has developed a set of cards to train


staff on how to act / react and welcome the

customers. Standardisation of the service ensures

consistency throughout the company and every

operating site.

DSB has its own design department, DSB Design. The

stages involved in DSB’s core ‘service design’ process

follow classical design and NPD processes. They see

their main activities as being twofold: problem

defining and problem solving. A major issue in

defining a problem is to avoid developing ideas

based on internally held beliefs and assumptions. To

overcome this, DSB carry out extensive user

research, identifying user needs by a variety of

qualitative and quantitative methods including

observation, shadowing, diaries, in-depth interviews,

scenarios, role playing, and personas.

Fig. 39: The design process at DSB

Out of the 29 key service elements DSB Design

develop; 19 of them are communications related.

Every opportunity to reinforce their service and

corporate image is reviewed and developed:

before the journey (websites, magazines);

at the station (train station, signage system);

on the platform (Traffic information systems);

on the train (pictograms, uniforms, interior);

behind the scene (intranet, work environment;

internal stakeholders / staff).

Fig. 40: Personas created and employed by DBS

One of the many techniques employed by DSB Design

to research user needs is the use of personas. This is a

technique where the designer reviews the product or

service through the eyes of the user. In the case of DSB

they created several different personas representing a

wide range of their user group and reviewed every

aspect of their service from the perspective of each

persona. The methodology provides a deep insight into

how the user perceives the service and how it meets

their expectations. This results in an extensive and

detailed review of the company’s services and provides

a basis for further development.

In order to communicate their mission across to the

public - being an “art space, a urban living space and a

creative space” - MuseumQuarter Wien use renowned

artists, designers and architects to design unique

environments that are conducive to creativity and

performance. These include everything from

commissioning progressive architecture to an original

signing system, internal and external pieces of

furniture that represent a different way of living and

learning. Their promotional material and advertising

communicated a fresh and eye-catching approach to

going to the museum and experiencing culture for

everyone.


Fig. 41: Progressive architecture and promotion at MQW

As portrayed in the image campaigns of MQW

above, the communication element of the service is

the most effective way to promote the brand values

and identity of the company. In a service design

capacity the communication element has to be user

centric as well, therefore special attention has to

make sure that all of the touch points work and

enhance the customer’s experience

Fig. 42: The TNT rebranding exercise covered every aspect of the business.

When TNT Post underwent a re-branding exercise and

became TNT Post, it had to reinforce its new found

values (accessible, engaged, alert, reliable and leading)

through how it communicated and engaged with its

customers. This was followed by an extensive refit of

the new logo across the entire business; shops,

transport fleet, uniforms, advertising, operational

equipment even post man bags.

The company had to support its new image with a

service that matched it. The TNT Post Office was

reinvented to concentrate solely on providing mail-

related products and services catering to the changing

needs of its customers in the major towns and cities.

The new formula was developed through reviewing the

tasks required, concentrating on the brand values and

designing a shop system which enhanced the function

for both the customer and staff members, thus

providing a more efficient, clear and professional level

of service.

The remit of service design is to extend to every touch-

point between a company and its customers. One

weakness in the interaction can undermine the efforts

of the whole process. Service design is the design

process applied to add value to intangible products. It

can be developed by an in-house team or external

consultants, but as with product development, the

exercise is best executed when it falls in line with the

company strategy and is close to the decision making

process. The discipline requires a new and wider range

of skills including behaviour analysis, anthropological

methods as well as traditional design practices. This

adds more challenges to the design manager’s role but

also increases their importance within an organisation.

More and more service sector companies are

recognising the value service design can add to their

business and can see the return on its investment. For

those companies (service and manufacturing) who

value their customers and employees and want to

differentiate themselves from the competition it is a

new opportunity to exploit.


3.4 METHODOLOGY 4: Managing design in design-led companies

As expected, the DME34 group of companies

reaffirmed several common design management

practices. In addition there was a significant number

of applicants demonstrating news ways of managing

design and integrating it into their business.

These cases consist of companies where design is

the core activity of the business and demonstrate

new business models that manage the NPD process

in a different way to achieve original solutions for

their market, new ways of designing.

3.4.1 Design publishing

As the title suggests, the design publishing model

allows the work of independent designers to be

produced and marketed through a ‘publisher’ who

has confidence in selling their work to the consumer

market. The design management role in this case is

to develop a structure for the business to operate,

attract and to commission the right designers whose

work can contribute to the success of the company.

While most companies develop their products

according to specifications they have previously

defined, the design publisher can choose to publish

existing designs that they select from a designer’s

portfolio. In some cases, the designers would

independently develop products considering the

qualities and characteristics of the publisher and sell

the concepts to the publisher. In other cases, the

publisher would approach a designer and advise on

what they are looking for. Publishers distinguish

themselves from the market with original and

desirable products, therefore the brief is deliberately

loose to encourage creativity. It is often the case

that the publisher does not pay for the design

development work but remunerates the designer on

a royalty basis.

The main challenge of a publishing model lies in

building a network of external designers who can

produce original work in order to sell premium

products.

Fig. 43: Deer, designed by Big-Game for Vlaemsch( ), Belgium

Vlaemsh( ) is a design publisher brand who specialise

in conceptually strong design that can appeal to a wide

audience. Their products have a unique identity and

are described as having a ‘Flemish’ feeling, hence the

company name. This identity has been carefully

articulated through the collections complied by the

founder and curator of the company. The products’

selection process is mostly subjective but some factors

must be considered: originality, price and whether the

products can be produced locally (due to corporate

social responsibility reasons). The company is small

(two full time employees) but works with an extensive

range of contractors (lawyer, accountant,

photographers and stylists) and eight freelance

designers.

Fig. 44: Creemy Tea&Coffee collection designed by Karim Rashid for Gaia & Gino


Gaia & Gino is another example of a design

publisher. The company started by publishing

designs around the ‘Turkish theme’ for which the

designs had to reflect the country’s culture. They

worked with both Turkish and international

designers to produce their collections. In addition

the company is now experimenting and

implementing a new approach; working with design

colleges in the development of products for dogs,

the ‘Gino the Dog’ range.

Fig. 45: A selection of concepts that reached production stage for Industreal, Italy.

The Italian company Industreal took a unique

approach to developing products. Initially

specialising in 3D modelling and rapid prototyping

activities, the company started to produce ‘calls for

proposals’, calling for designers to submit designs

that the company would then prototype and exhibit

in research exhibitions. Expanding their know-how in

prototyping and manufacturing, the company then

took some of the designs into production. The

company now manufactures over 70 products and

has significantly increased their prototyping and

manufacturing capacities / abilities. More than 70

professionals feature in their network of designers.

What process do the companies follow to achieve

their objectives?

As with any publishing enterprise the selection of

the authors and their work determines the success

of the company. To spread the risk, design

publishers create large networks of designers to

work with. Whether this is achieved through regular

‘calls for proposals’, word of mouth, through using an

existing network of independent designers, or running

design competitions, such networks are at the core of

the design publishing activity. On an individual basis

the designer has to be inline with the aspirations and

theme of the publisher as well as have their own

unique style and interpretation of design.

Fig. 46: Some of the many designers who worked with Industreal

To bring structure to their collections, and to guide the

designers in their commission, the design publisher

works to their own design ‘philosophy’ which is applied

across a wide range of products, materials and

processes. Although it is open to interpretation, these

philosophies are essentially brand values.


“Flemish tradition, humour, simplicity, no-nonsense,

reliability, quality and surrealism.” (Vlaemsch( ))

“Dynamic, organic, emotional, multi-disciplinary, and

multi cultural. “ (Gaia & Gino)

“Relevance and meaning also suggest completeness,

completeness suggests simplicity. We aim for this

sense of completeness.” (Industreal)

Where Gaia & Gino and Vlaemsch ( ) turn to their

cultural heritage for inspiration, Industreal aim to

exploit the possibilities of new rapid manufacturing

techniques through research and creative

workshops. To do this, they publish a carefully

crafted ‘call for proposals’ to attract and challenge

designers. Continuing the research exercise, the

work is then exhibited and future products are

selected. This approach to open source innovation is

methodical and transparent where as the selection

processes used by Gaia & Gino and Vlaemsch ( ) are

subjective.

The design publishing model is successful in

producing and rewarding original work. In the

absence of a tight brief, the designers have the

opportunity to express their creativity and

demonstrate new forms. Their products can outline

future trends and influence other companies in the

way haute couture catwalks influence prêt a porter

collections. For the design publishers their design

investment is kept to a minimum through a royalty

agreement. The model can be a win-win

arrangement for both parties but their success is

ultimately dependent on the receptiveness of the

market for radical new products.

3.4.2 Open source design

Contemporary culture is increasingly embracing

open source media through internet developments

such as YouTube, where individuals can broadcast

their own work. These developments increase

expectations of products, as opportunities are

available for companies who can cater for even more

demanding customers. As an example, the US sports

company NIKE addressed this opportunity several

years ago with their NIKEiD website whereby

customers can create their own unique running shoes

based on a wide range of colour, style and cut options

presented to them. Where NIKE has developed a mass

customisation system around their core business, it

presents the possibility of developing new business

models that exploit the technology further.

Designers and design managers respond to cultural

and technological developments with innovative new

ideas which can broaden their services/products and

improve the way they work. In this example, a cluster

of construction businesses lead by an architecture

practice opened up the NPD process to involve the

customer at the very start of each project. Fig. 47: A home designed by the customer, built by a consortium of businesses under the Plusarchitects tradename, Finland.

Plusarchitects have developed the PlusVilla concept,

an innovative service concept that enables customers

to design themselves a villa via a web platform.

“Adding and creating value through combining design,

technology and service innovations.” (Plusarchitect)

The PlusVilla collection offers a selection of leisure-

time homes and sauna that the customer can

customise and compare on the PlusVilla internet user

interface. The customer can use the user interface to

view the layout and perspective of the model he/she

has designed. A detailed breakdown of the material

and construction costs can then be provided upon

request.


Fig. 48: A schematic of the Plusarchitect cooperative.

The ability of the technology platform that

Plusarchitect developed to deliver a fast and

accurate interface to the customer is the result of a

lot of design and development work. Although the

customer feels they have designed their own villa, it

has only been possible through extensive design and

development work done by Plusarchitect

beforehand. They had to design a Villa system that

can provide all the living needs and construction

requirements but can also provide a wide range of

options for the customers choose from and that the

cluster can produce. In addition, they had to design

parametric software that could translate the 100’s of

Villa possibilities into working drawings, construction

plans and bill of items for fast quotation and

construction.

Fig. 49: A page from the Plusarchitect website illustrating the design developed by the customer through the on-line design process.

This investment in the product and service

development was high, but, by preparing all the

common specifications and production set-up

beforehand, they can turn bespoke design and

production around faster and at a lower price than

other design and build construction companies. The

real time interaction with the interface allows

customers to view their options and see exactly what

they want without the need to involve a design/sales

representative.

3.4.3 Design as a value added service

Grupo Vangest is a Portuguese tooling company

specialising in manufacturing plastic-injection moulds.

In the early 1990s, the company recognised that the

production of tooling alone would not remain a viable

strategic direction in the marketplace. Therefore, they

restructured their organisation to offer NPD solutions

as an integral part of their service. They established

their own in-house design studio and was able to offer

subsidised deign consultancy work (dependent on

tooling and manufacturing requirements) to attract

customers. The outcome of this has been to provide

the entire design, prototyping, tooling and production

facilities under one roof, which allows the company to

control the quality, cost and timescales of the entire

exercise and thus take this level of project planning

away from the customers.

Fig. 50: Diagram of the process structure of Grupo Vangest and the position of design as part of its range of services.

Over the last decade, the integrated design

consultancy within their business has proved effective

enough for large customers to sub-contract the

development of major products. Many other tooling

agencies now offer design consultancy as part of their

service, but Grupo Vangest have benefited from


pioneering this model and establishing a credible

and successful design consultancy working for clients

such as Black & Decker.

By having a design studio within the company, it has

also allowed Grupo Vangest to develop its own

original range of products to promote their technical

expertise and R&D base to potential customers.

A common feature of the business models

represented above is a recognition of the

shortcomings and limitations inherent in the

traditional business and design models that applied

to their respective markets. They demonstrate how

design can be used to shape much more than the

image and product offerings of a company; it can be

used to shape the business itself and design the

business model.

Design managers have synthesised all the factors,

applied the creative design process and formulated

new business models with design at the core of the

business. They have created new ways of designing.

Innovation has come from changing elements of the

NPD process and exploiting new technologies e.g.

mass customisation, technology platforms or

internet. Another key development has been the

change in design sourcing e.g. Industreal utilising an

open source of innovation, design publishers looking

for complete designs, manufacturers looking for

component suppliers to provide design

development.

3.5 Main Findings

The case studies outlined in this chapter further

support the importance of design in the creation of

value by enabling companies to offer added value

products and services to their customers. They also

demonstrate the role of design as a facilitator of

innovation. Whether it is radical or incremental

innovation, the design process can channel ideas and

creativity towards a commercial product.

Design alone did not achieve the products and results

illustrated in this chapter. The case studies showed the

importance of design being aligned with the strategy

and management approaches of the company in order

to maximise its contribution. There are different design

strategies for different business objectives. These are

the business objectives addressed through the case

studies:

To produce new and original products (Eva Solo,

VacuVin, Magnus Olesen, Vlaemsch, Gino & Gaia);

To produce a solid base from which to expand into

new markets (Karcher);

To produce products with a superior performance

(SENZ Umbrellas, Thrislington Cubicles,

Performance Health Products, Curana);

To reinvent a failing company and turn its fortunes

around (KTM, Labinprogres);

To create a brand (SoBor, Madara, Vosleur Mineral

Water);

To launch a new marketing campaign (VIPP, Hisar,

Cifial);

To improve customer experience and customer

satisfaction (TNT, Virgin Atlantic, DSB,MQW);

To exploit new technological opportunities

(Industreal);

To form a co-operative and offer a turn-key

building solution (Plusarchitect);

To avoid competing on price but instead to offer

value added service (Grupo Vangest).

Although the respective design strategy of each of the

above examples are tailored to the individual demands

of the company they can be categorised into four

methodologies:


METHODOLOGY 1: Managing design in the new

product development (NPD) process;

METHODOLOGY 2: Managing design as a

strategic branding tool;

METHODOLOGY 3: Managing design in the

service industry;

METHODOLOGY 4: Managing design in design-

led companies.

This study found that many of the case study

companies have a design strategy closely integrated

into the main business strategy. It can be argued

that this is the case in most successful companies

using design. There are also companies where

design is part of the core function of the business

and their design strategy can sometimes be their

business strategy.

The design/business strategy relationship is taken

further by a different set of companies who base

their business around original design strategies. This

report showcased several companies who adopted

new approaches to the design process to develop

new business models. They have demonstrated that

new opportunities are open to those who can

change the way design is used, sourced or managed.

Whether this is through harnessing new

technologies, changes in the market, open source

creativity or social developments, the application of

design is different from conventional models. They

represent a significant opportunity for innovation,

and, introduce new ways of designing.


Chapter 4 Conclusion The first challenge in documenting the ‘state of the

art’ in design management in Europe was to qualify

and identify a sample from which to analyse best

practice. Other than an appointment of familiar

companies, the sample had to be a point of

reference for future reviews of design management

in Europe. The 2008 Design Management Europe

(DME) Award was an ideal vehicle from which to

qualify ‘state of the art’ design management

practices.

The poster format of the award provided a unique

insight into the design management practices of

companies from a wide range of sectors across

Europe. Significantly, the entrants to the 2008 DME

Award articulated in their own words what design

meant to them and how they managed it. The next

challenge was to interpret these stories into a

coherent report on design management in Europe.

Although the company posters described their

design management activities in some detail, they

did not conveniently categorise themselves into

different types of methodologies.

The four key design methodologies outlined in this

book are not derived from theory or literature but

determined from the evidence of the companies.

The methodologies and their variants were

formulated from objectively reviewing the posters

and considering the aims of the company and how

design supported those aims.

The examples explored in this report are only

representative of one edition of the DME Award and

therefore provide a snapshot of design management

in Europe today. Not until the next edition of the

DME Award will it be possible to see if these

methodologies are consistent or whether a

completely new set of strategies will appear. From

the benefit of experience it is the opinion of the

authors that the four main methodologies will still

be evident but will collect new and interesting variants.

It is important to highlight that the effectiveness of a

design strategy is dependent on how well it is planned

(design leadership) and how well it is executed (design

management). This brings an additional contributory

factor to the success of a design strategy, i.e. the

abilities of the managers. Although the characteristics

of the individual or team are not covered in this report

it is explored further in the Design Management

Staircase51

model developed for the ADMIRE survey.

The potential combination of these studies is further

proof of the invaluable source of information the DME

Award is, and the importance of maintaining the award

for further research in this field of design and

innovation management.

The insights gained from companies describing their

design strategies in detail cannot be under-estimated.

On one level, businesses can benefit from learning how

other companies use design; on another level,

researchers can build new understandings to educate

students, inform policy makers and advise company

managers. Therefore this report recommends the

continuation of the DME Award as a valuable metric of

design management success, and a source of best

practice data which can be exploited by researchers,

practioners and policy makers.

51 Kootstra and Wolf (2007)


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The National Centre for Product Design &

Development Research (PDR),

University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC),

Western Avenue,

Cardiff,

CF5 2YB

UK

Tel: +44 (0)29 2041 6668

www.pdronline.co.uk

www.uwic.ac.uk

www.designmanagementeurope.com

The ADMIRE programme and DME Award are made possible with financing from the European Union through the PRO INNO Europe initiative.