The big re-think continues… A good statement post.
The Design Thinking meme has been around for a long time — since around 2007 — but only recently did it pick up some steam due to the global financial crisis (driven largely by an as of yet unacknowledged global, fundamental crisis at the very heart of business and capitalism itself).
As…
I agree design orientation sounds like a good signpost for a mindset that’s needed within business. Working as a strategic designer in a domestic appliance manufacturer I feel there is a balance to be struck between encouraging design thinking in all and recognising leadership in it, and that the design thinking signpost doesn’t fully describe the change in mindset.
I believe designers have a very exciting leadership role to play, but that the leadership type and style will be different to traditional leadership, and that’s necessarily so.
It’s like design is evolving beyond it’s traditional silo. Where I work we’re only early on the curve but there is progress. I’d say the evolution beyond the silo depends in large part on individuals carrying the skills and design mindset as pioneers, design as an organisational function is still seen as a silo.
In this process strategic type designers naturally have a vision for a new way of working, organisational makeup etc, but from experience I’d say some the keys are:
Patience; evolution from the bottom up takes time.
Readiness for opportunity; when senior management open doors you need to be ready to go for it even if you’ve just taken a few blows along the way.
Discipline; making sure you’re present at cross disciplinary or senior management progress meetings, however time consuming (or boring).
I agree that designers evolve into this kind of role, and feel that ‘design management’ needs to catch up with that process. The profession as a whole is maturing in the marketplace and education needs to find a way to tap into that. For me design orientation is a good signpost, and that design’s role is increased rather than decreased as design thinking is promoted, it’s a mindset change that design can lead by evolving beyond it’s traditional silo.
Thanks for the post Raymond.
Practical steps to in-house design strategy 1
Find a way of developing, communicating and agreeing the design direction of a product without referencing a design itself.
This has been very important for us.
If you want understanding/discussion/agreement on a broad basis (brand, consumer, trend etc) that needs to be done before designs are viewed and judged, if you’ve got to a concept presentation it’s already too late.
Coming in early with design direction keeps the thinking on the level you need, and gives you a chance to inform the choice of design by building a mental library in people, important business types, so when they see the design they’re already on board. It also gives them a chance to voice their intuitive understanding and thoughts before being asked to respond to a static design, something they’re normally not used to doing.
It’s about taking people on a journey, bringing them in on the process.
-How to lead and encourage design investment
-What design can and can’t deliver
-Have we arrived at the Golden Age of Design?
-How design methods being used to address social problems
-The new economic ecosystem
-How strategic design thinking must constantly evolve within a company’s DNA
-The transformational potential of design
-Design as a method for navigating complexity
-How designing for services takes designers closer to management and strategy
Good stuff…
Some keys to making design strategy happen from experience within a business environment:
1 Involve key leaders in the creation of the strategy, for shared ownership.
2 Everyone is an equal carrier of the vision, there is no hierarchy of vision ownership. Where traditional business management prizes delegation, the principle of ‘need to know’ becomes ‘need to share’ (@fabfeed). In the context of design strategy a manager needs to impart the vision, not just a delegated activity.
3 Intentionally highlight examples of implementation when they happen.
4 Be responsive in planning the implementation, implementation is messy, planning needs to bridge the vision and the reality and needs continual energy.
