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Design Management

Design management is concerned with the integration of designinto management and vice versa. It is an approach wherebyorganisations make design-relevant decisions in a market andcustomer-oriented way as well as optimising design-relevantprocesses. It is a comprehensive activity on all levels of business

performance that effect design, from the front-end to theexecution of design.

Design management acts as an the interface of management anddesign and functions as link between the platforms of technology,design, designing, corporate management, brand managementand marketing management at internal and external interfaces of the enterprise.

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Design Management is the effective deployment by line managers of thedesign resources available to an organization in the pursuance of its

corporate objectives. It is therefore directly concerned with theorganizational place of design, with the identification with specific designdisciplines which are relevant to the resolution of key management issues,and with the training of managers to use design effectively.

Design Management is a complex and multi-faceted activity that goes rightto the heart of what a company is or does it is not something susceptible toformulas, a few bullet points or a manual. Every company's structure andinternal culture is different; design management is no exception. But the factthat every firm is different does not diminish the importance of managingdesign tightly and effectively.

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Design management plays three integrative key roles in the interface of design, organisation and market.

Design management is not limited on a single design discipline. In his'Classification of Design' (1976), Peter Gorbs divided design into threedifferent classes; design management operates in and across all threecategories :

Produc t (e.g. Industrial Design, packaging design, service design)

Inf or mati o n (e.g. graphic design, branding, media design, web design)

Envi ro nment (e.g. retail design, exhibition design, interior design)

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Design management is not independent from the organizational andproduct situational context, and plays three integrative key roles in the

interface of design, organisation and market : Al ign d esign st r ategy with corporate and/or brand strategy

Manage q u a l ity an d co nsisten c y of design outcomes across and withindifferent design disciplines (design classes)

Enhan c e new ways of user experience and differentiation fromcompetitors

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W hat is Design ?

The word Design means plan or a scheme for an artefact or a system of artefacts. T he word is also used to denote the end result, particularlyappearance, of a design process as when we refer to the design of acar.

It can be thought of it as the outward appearance or physicalarrangement of objects involving shapes, layouts, colours, textures,patterns and so on.

S ometimes design might be thought of in terms of the technology thatgoes into a product or its convenience in use, including ergonomicaspects.

Economics as represented by purchase price or service costs, might becorrectly seen to be in some way related to design.

A frequent reason for using design is to help turn an invention into asuccessful innovation or to extend the usefulness of an existinginnovation.

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W hat D o Designe r s D o ?

1. A goal directed problem solving activity.2. Relating product with situation to give satisfaction.3. T he imaginative jump from present facts to future possibilities.4. T he conditioning factor for those parts of the product which come into

contact with people.

Designing may be viewed as being concerned with the preparation of appropriate solutions to marketing problems or opportunities. A keyactivity in designing is to review the associated symptoms or circumstances and to accurately define the problem. T hen analysis,iteration and simulation are used to derive a feasible solution.

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In designing products, specific skills required include the ability tounderstand users needs, wants, tastes and priorities :

T he ability to select the r ight mate r ia l s an d man u fa c t ur ing p roc esses

T he ability to create products which fully meet aestheti c, e r g o n o mi c,q u a l ity an d e co n o mi c expectations

T he ability to produce dr awings an d exp l anati o ns which communicate thefinal design solution to others working in the enterprise or outside.

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Models of the Design Process

F ormulation Evolution T ransfer of results of problem of solution to production and the market

F ig 1 : A simple linear model of the design process

T he main weakness of this model is that its linear form suggests that aperfect design result can be achieved that the design process has a clear end point beyond which no further work is required. In real life this is nottrue; designs are never perfect and there is always some extra benefit to befound. Constant changing markets would soon create a need for some

further design attention ; the linear model lacks any indication of marketreaction.

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Fig

: 2

Aspiral

model

of

the

design

process

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It is more realistic to represent designing as a circular or a spiral processwhich stresses that design is an evolving activity. T he converging spiralmodel emphasizes two points.

F irstly, as each subsequent design cycle is completed, more knowledge isgained as familiar territory is covered, leading to quicker, more efficientdesigning although major discontinuities may occur sometimes causing a

jump inwards or outwards to another part of the spiral.S econdly, the spiral form also acknowledges that new technology is forcingpreviously separate activities closer together.

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Computer aided design (C A D) linked with other computer controlledprocesses can already combine much of the evolution and transfer stages.

Eventually, technology will permit very rapid design processes with far reaching consequences; extreme product or service diversity will bepossible, allowing the needs of individual consumers to be satisfiedprecisely and uniquely.

Within the four stages in the figure 2 there are a number of distinct activities.

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F ormulationProblem InvestigationProblem definitionDesign specificationProject brief

EvolutionIdea generationS olution refinementPrototype developmentDesign freeze

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T ransfer Manufacturing drawings, data compilationO perating system modifications S tart-up testsF ull-scale operation / productionDelivery to customers

ReactionCustomer appraisalAfter-sales service demandsProblem investigation

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Design Terminology

P a ck age d esign : M ost products are presented to the customer in somekind of container; often this is so important that the package is effectively apart of the product. S ervices, also are increasingly packaged in the sensethat they are accompanied by instructions.

T hus sales performance depends more on package than on basic productor service. T hus package designers are concerned with choice of material(plastic, paper, glass, etc.) and manufacturing processes, together withshape, colour, decoration and lettering.

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G raphic Design

Specialists

in

graphic

design

may

be

involved

in

many

types

of

projects

(including the design of packages) such as the layouts of brochures, company stationery, point-of-sale materials etc.

A s in all design work, an element of creative flair is necessary, but graphic designers must possess important technical skills as well. T he appropriate

use of upper and / or lower case type, what messages different colours and shapes can convey, how to balance the layout of print to achieve an easily legible result all are basic graphic principles.

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B uilding Design

T his is another specialism of design, often further subdivided into interior andexterior work. Buildings are only special types of products and most of theproducers are similar to those in other branches of design. T he expectationsof the customers and users are such that the design of a building may be ascritical as the business which is transacted within it. Public houses and winebars are good examples of how building design may have far greater

influence on commercial success than the basic products (beer, wine, foodetc.) offered for sale.

In the retail sector, more and more companies not only pay great attention tothe design of their premises but also seek to ensure that there is a consistentlink with other aspects of design including product packaging.