"The client was brave to go with something so edgy..."

Jonathan Sands on the real-life impact of design

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Whatever the challenge your organisation is facing, there’s a design solution. Design can help everyone from small businesses to schools transform what they do.  
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Designs to overcome a downturn

When times are tough and revenues are falling there may be a temptation for business to cut ‘discretionary’ budgets - money allocated to activities such as design, perhaps. But design is a powerful tool in a downturn. Our research shows that more than half of the UK’s businesses: ... are looking to design their way out of downturnOver half (54%) of the firms in our survey thought design...

CastleRock designed out of a downturn
HMV designed out of a downturn
Problem Response Result
Knowing how to maintain competitive advantage in challenging economic times is difficult Design has always been used to combat challenging economic times Design can do many things for businesses including: delivering a professional image, bringing in new customers and changing buying habits

Public services by design

We interact with public services like post offices, buses or mobile libraries almost every day, but they can be the cause of some major frustrations. Design can help public services work better for their customers, whether that's diabetes patients in Bolton or people who want to post things in Belgium. Browse these case studies of public sector innovation to find out how design methods could...

Design for public services
Result
Happier patients, healthier people, more innovative procurement
Serious** design

Design for business

Challs products didn't stand out on shelf. Serious** needed to stop competitors mimicking its logo. Harrison Fisher needed to fight back against overseas competition. Whether they were small, medium or large, manufacturing, farming or waste management companies, these case studies showcase design that has made business sense. Browse these stories of pack, brand, product and sustainable...

Problem Response Result
What's the point in businesses spending on design? Design tools like brainstorming, prototyping and user-testing can make products and services more saleable Product, graphic, brand or service designs make businesses more effective and profitable

How to find and work with a designer: case studies

If you’ve never commissioned a designer or design consultancy before it might well be hard to know where to start looking and how to select the best one for the job. It’s worth saying at the outset that, because all projects are different – and because the design process itself should be a flexible one – there is no absolutely carved-in-stone way to approach working with a designer. These case...

Problem Response Result
Ever wondered how to make your packs stand out on shelf or your website work better? You need a designer who understands your company values and aspirations, but you don't know how to find one We share some practical advice on how to find and work with a designer
Velib designing out crime

Design Out Crime Case Studies

Designers know that crime happens but only some have created products, services , spaces or graphic communications that address crime. For some designers, there has been a business imperative to design out crime. They have responded to business and consumer demands for more security. The Best Bar None scheme rewards pubs and bars that have designed-in security, and potential customers feel safe...

Problem Response Result
Hot products like mobile phones, bikes and MP3 players are easy targets for criminals Design and businesses have worked together to produce innovative places, products and services that are anti-crime Opportunities for theft, violence or vandalism are removed, creating safer communities and commercial opportunities

Vitsoe

Vitsœ calls itself ‘resolutely unfashionable’, but by ignoring the vagaries of fashion and focusing on one timeless, versatile product, it has turned near financial ruin into commercial success.

After Vitsoe shelving: 'before and after' by Nick Evans
Result
Vitsoe builds on its great reputation
Dott 07 worked on the Eco Design Challenge project
Aklam Grange School's submission to Eco Design Challenge

Eco Design Challenge

As Year 8 students (young people aged 12–13) travel to school each day, use the facilities and throw their waste into the bins, they may be adding to the school’s carbon footprint, but they are also picking up a detailed picture of how their school works – or doesn’t work. So ran the thinking behind the Dott Eco Design Challenge. If schools were going to be made more eco-friendly, the students...

Problem Response Result
How can young people concerned about the environment take practical action to improve their immediate surroundings? Year 8 students were trained as sustainability experts and got the tools to discover the size of their school’s carbon footprint and how to reduce it. 16,000 students from across the North East calculated the carbon footprint of their school and five schools were shortlisted for having exceptional ideas.
Unpackaged sells loose products and customers fill up their own bags

Unpackaged

Unpackaged, an organic local grocery store in North London, used design to help its local customers to be more environmentally friendly by using less wasteful packaging when they buy their supplies.

Problem Response Result
We use packaging like it’s a never ending resource. Every person in the UK generates about 500kg of waste each year, 160kg of which is packaging waste that uses finite resources then ends up on landfill sites because not all of it can be recycled Unpackaged, a North London social enterprise helps people use less unnecessary packaging. It worked with designers to create a local organic grocery store which helps local customers shop in a new packaging free way 60% of Unpackaged customers reuse their own packs when they return to the shop and about 1.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions are saved by the store each year compared to if it was selling the same groceries pre packed

Nusa Kitchen

Limited financial resources needn’t limit creativity levels. London-based lunch time soup seller, Nusa Kitchen found this out when it embarked on a two-fold marketing drive to remind customers about its core brand values and drive sales in late 2006.

After Nusa Kitchen limited edition soup packs
Result
Knitted soup sleeves became collectors items and Nusa Kitchen sold 25% more soup
Dott 07 worked on the Urban Farming project
Allotment space in Middlesbrough

Urban Farming

Getting food from the farm to our plates can be an immensely wasteful process. In developed countries, the food consumption of a single family generates eight tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

Problem Response Result
Global food systems are not sustainable. How can design help to create food within city limits? An inner-city agricultural project involving more than 1,000 people culminated in a major public event for the local community and devised a prototype for a local, healthy and sustainable food supply chain. Local authorities have made a firm commitment to extend and expand the project in 2008. They have launched four food co-operatives that will sell the food grown back to the community, and are developing a new local produce restaurant.

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