1. Design Service Group Turning a into a Strategic Corporate Asset MariaJose Miselem

2. Where to begin? • Analyze the current situation regarding Design and the Corporate World. • Understand the value Design can bring to a corporation in order to communicate it. • Decide to take the first step to make it work.

3. Design & the Corporate World The Current Situation

4. “ Instinct isn’t greeted with an open seat at the budget table… design is challenged by the immediate, quantitative and comparable data afforded by channel and direct marketing programs… The age of accountability requires design to have the courage to meet the rigor of examination…” David Miller

5. What Can We Do? As designers, we need to learn to backup our work with reliable data regarding the final user and the marketplace in which the corporate product or service will exist.

7. This will help to build a must needed trust, essential in order for the executive level to begin thinking about design as a core corporate asset they need to implement throughout the organization.

8. Why Should Corporations Consider Design Relevant to their Strategies

9. 1. Design Thinking: User-Context Understanding As designers we should not only be familiar with the company’s product or service, but with the target users of the corporation.

10. “ To broaden the lens of opportunity, it is important to look beyond the direct use of a company’s product or service, to the context in which it is used.” Heather Fraser

11. This advantage allows us to have a better understanding of the context in which the corporate assets interact with people, providing a better vision for future market opportunities and business growth.

12. “ As the marketplace evolves, the needs of the user evolve, and thus the business model must evolve.” Heather Fraser

13. By merging design thinking into the new business models, corporations gain a better understanding of the user, adding value to their products or services. This will help deliver greater satisfaction in the user experience.

15. 2. Systems / Integrative Approach As designers, we look at problems from different perspectives at the same time: • Product or Service • User • Market-Context

16. “ There are a number of different angles to solving a problem, and a number of different dimensions… Systems thinking says that all these dimensions have to be considered in the ultimate configuration.” Jim Hackett

17. The systems thinking approach mentioned by Jim Hackett, incorporates the different areas within a situation and makes them meet, trying to deliver an integrated final result.

18. “ Design is not seen as isolated from other matters of business, and designers are seen as integrative thinkers.” Julie Ridl, Herman Miller

19. Design & Business Who takes the First Step?

20. “ We have to have the courage to present the data and a logical, rational reason for what we do. We can be advised to move to a different place in understanding the problem, and that’s okay. But senior management has to convince me, on the other hand, with the same level of detail and disciplined study that what they’re proposing is a better direction or solution.” Barb Herman, Herman Miller

21. There is only so much we can expect on how a corporation acts towards design. I think is better, as designers, to start changing the ways we act towards a corporation, speaking their language and understanding their needs.

22. If we really want to turn design into a strategic asset for a corporation, it’s our responsibility to begin this change by adapting the way we communicate design initiatives to the executive level in the organization, enabling the development of conversations. Educating on design and learning from executives at the same time will create an interaction that seeks to fulfill our shared goal: provide rewarding experiences for the final user.

23. “ Advice for improving relationships is always generic: appreciate that there are legitimate differences, empathize, seek to communicate on others’ terms…” Roger Martin