Four ways design adds value
It’s a mistake to assume clients understand why they should invest in design. Sometimes our role is to state the obvious. Here’s some conversation starters …
Remember design isn’t all about increasing sales — design can be about selling an outcome. That’s exciting because designing to improve outcomes is a true partnership between the client and the designer and that’s way above the skillset of any AI bot.
Four ways design adds value
1. Competitive advantage
Design can give a product or service a competitive advantage in the market through customer experience, brand equity, customer loyalty or price premium.
2. Improve a business model
Design improves new product development (time to market, product refinement using visualisation skills); and design builds a modular architecture of product lines, user-oriented innovation models, and fuzzy-front-end design thinking.
3. Get more new business
Design creates new business opportunities; improves the client’s appetite for change and innovation. It helps the client better understand their business and marketplace. Design increases sales and better margins, more brand value, greater market share, better return on investment (ROI).
4. Social impact
Design improves society at large (inclusive design, sustainable design). Design interrogates real-world systems—institutional, economic, social, political, interpersonal – defines opportunities for change that give voice to disenfranchised or marginalised.
Take away
Never assume a (potential) client understands the value design can deliver to their business. The only exposure many clients have to design is in sales – better packaging/headlines/billboards. Use initial conversations to discuss possible outcomes – like how design can help clients gain competitive advantage, improve their product or service development, find new opportunities and have the right social impact.
Want more?
Here’s more information on side hustles:
1 Developing design maturity in clients
2 It’s time to become aware of the power of design
3 The power of design thinking
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About Carol
After 30+ years running a design studio, I accumulated a pretty special network of fellow designers. One thing most have in common: a need for more information about the ‘business’ side of design. Most are impatient with any task competing for time spent doing what they love – designing so they wanted more info about how to work more efficiently and effectively.
Not me. I love that intersection between design and business. I built a career working with Ombudsman schemes, the Emergency Services sector and the Courts. My special power has always been an ability to use design to translate the difficult to understand or the unpalatable message.
I now use exactly the same skills with creative business owners. I translate the indigestible into bite-sized chunks of information. I share insights, introduce tools and embed processes to help others build confidence business decision-making skills. More confidence makes it easier to grasp opportunities. More confidence makes it easier to recognise a good client from the bad.
Outside DBC I have mentored with Womentor, AGDA and most recently with The Aunties.
And I’m a proud board member of Never Not Creative.
Always happy to chat, I can be contacted here.
Our second site is designbusinessschool.com.au – Australia’s only business school for designers
