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The Power of Design
By Steve Bannister

Many people tend to think of design simply in terms of ideas such as high fashion, architecture and the visual arts. In actual fact, design goes far beyond these concepts to permeate everyone's daily lives.

"Design does not just mean the aesthetic, a finishing touch to make something look better. Rather it's about design-led thinking - a more complex, collaborative and integrated approach to producing the very best products and services with a meaningful point of difference."
www.betterbydesign.org.nz

Design is evident in everything we do: it is essential in such things as building our homes, creating our modes of transportation and developing efficient means of communication.

Design is quite a versatile word. John Heskett, a Professor of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, to demonstrate the many uses of the word "design", has used the following sentence in many of his presentations:

"Design is to design a design to produce a design."

Design word #1 (noun) - a general concept, strategy, or policy.
- What does design mean to you?
Design Word #2 (verb) - a condition or action.
- How can everyone in your business, from the top down, develop a "designer mentality"
Design Word #3 (noun) - a plan or intention for implementation.
- What is the function of design in your business?
Design Word #4 (noun) - the finished outcome.
- Who benefits from your products/service?

Successful companies looking to differentiate themselves from the competition seriously address each of these levels of design.

The Designing Trend

This article is the last of a series of five trend-setting articles, which focused on Global Greening, Philanthropy, Web 2.0 and Information vs. Knowledge. It is now only fitting that the last of these articles relates to the one topic that envelopes all of the four previous topics; namely design. Design has greatly affected each of the aforementioned topics in the following manner;

Global Greening - The combination of a universal desire to save the planet and the advancement of technology to aid in this endeavor, has precipitated a huge number of environmental design initiatives.

Philanthropy - Giving with the aid of technology has never been easier. Designing the interfaces for this to occur has never been more important.

Web 2.0 - The social-networking boom has created a do-it-yourself design phenomenon. Everyone is a photographer, graphic artist, published author, etc. and everyone has a direct and immediate (and sometimes powerful) say in how companies design their products and services (via blogs, MySpace, Second Life, FaceBook, etc.).

Information vs Knowledge - It only makes sense that design plays a crucial role in the attainment and dissemination of information (more on this later in this article).

Types of Design

Design in terms of a complex business activity involves examining Form, Function, Manufacturability, and Marketability. This entails harnessing the skills of engineering designers, product designers, industrial designers, graphic designers, illustration designers, information designers, advertising designers, brand designers, system designers, interactive designers etc. Although the skills of these designers are important, successful businesses go further by fully integrating their design, engineering, business and marketing divisions into teams on a regular and systemic basis. As Roger Martin the Dean of The Rotman School of Management put it; "Businesspeople don't need to understand designers better. They need to be designers".

There are a few key areas in the previously mentioned list, which directly affect the everyday worker, namely, 1) Office Design, 2) Service Design, 3) Interaction Design and 4) Information Design.

Office Design

Our knowledge-driven economy of the 21st century places great emphasis on the use of teams to constantly create new and exciting ideas. This has led to a greater demand for more innovative workplaces since companies are beginning to realize that the physical working environment can tremendously affect an organization's morale and each worker's performance. It is important to note here that designing innovative workplaces does not involve creating 'crazy' workstations. Innovative workplaces are about fitting the workers physical environment to fit his or her needs.

Where to begin? Every office has its' own unique way of doing things, so the construction of innovative workplaces is not a straightforward process. It involves finding a balance between the following;

The needs of the organization vs the needs of the individual. Does the organization look only at the bottom line or do workers' needs rank up there in importance?
The need for fixed real estate vs the need for workers to be mobile and/or to work at home. Is the office a place for workers to make a "pit stop" or does it serve as a more meaningful workspace?
The need for public or social workspace vs the need for private workspace. What products or services does your company produce and how important is it for workers to get together?
The design of the permanent structure of the building shell vs the design of interior settings. What are the advantages and disadvantages for a more open concept relative to your companies situation?

Incredile office design occurs at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California (known as the "Googleplex"). The empasis at the Googleplex is on providing a comfortable environment which caters to a wide variety of its employees' needs. Each employee at the Googleplex has access to the corporate recreation center which includes a workout room, a massage room, assorted video games, Foosball, a baby grand piano, a pool table, and ping pong. There are also numerous cefeterias on site which serve many different types of meals. The Googlplex stands as an incredible example of how an organization has used office design to develop a productive workplace.

Service Design

Sevice Design refers to the designing of systems or processes to provide a service to the user. Most services are enacted through what are called touch points. These points can be in the form of human interfaces (eg. salespeople), virtual interfaces (eg. Online shopping) or physical interfaces (eg. ATM machines). Well designed systems that are consistent and easy to use, can be the key distinction between competing products or services.

If Service design is to be successful in any business it is vital that top management is committed to change. Employees also need to develop a flexible mindset towards customer service. They need to see the designing of services in the same light as the designing of concrete products. The goal is to aim for the perfect customer experience.

Some suggestions to include in an effective Service Design include;

Get inside the customers head.
The buying experience is driven by the customers' needs (both fiscal and emotional) and not by what businesses have to offer. Meet the customers on their terms. Survey their needs and wants (via phone, conversations, email, website, etc.).
Communicate with the customer.
Businesses must put greater emphasis on communicating with the customer in an intelligent and responsive manner. Ensure that all persons in direct contact with customers validate the customers' needs and assist them in fulfilling these needs. This process must start at the initial contact and continue right up to the point of sale.
Customize the buying experience.
Sales and product delivery need to be transformed to address the needs of the customer. Ask for and incorporate customer advice into product design. Offer bundled products to create solutions for the customer.
Backup any claims.
The business vision, mission and culture must be aligned with the customers needs. All employers and employees must be united in their constant efforts to manage and nurture the customer experience.

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