| Organisation |
Problem |
Response |
Result |
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Design to overcome a downturn
Science and technology
Published 23 December 2008
|
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
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Design for public services
Published 23 April 2008
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Public services don't always keep the users in mind |
Design tools can get to the bottom of what people really want |
Happier patients, healthier people, more innovative procurement
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Better business by design
Professional services
Published 17 April 2008
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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
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Finding a designer
Published 26 June 2008
|
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
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Design Out Crime case studies
Published 12 May 2008
|
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
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Vitsoe
Industrial and manufacturing
Published 20 November 2006
|
How to keep a company at the top of its game when product throughput is deliberately slow |
Capitalise on your strengths and back them up across the board |
Vitsoe builds on its great reputation
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Dott 07: Eco Design Challenge
Published 15 July 2009
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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.
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Nusa Kitchen
Retail
Published 12 March 2008
|
Soup sales tailed off during the Christmas season at London based manufacturer and retailer Nusa Kitchen |
A new design for its soup pots focused on the home made, natural goodness of the company's food |
Knitted soup sleeves became collectors items and Nusa Kitchen sold 25% more soup
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Unpackaged
Transport and distribution
Published 12 February 2009
|
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
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Dott 07: Urban Farming
Published 17 July 2009
|
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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Taylor's Eye Witness
Industrial and manufacturing
Published 26 October 2006
|
A Sheffield-based knife manufacturer was losing out to foreign competition |
Rebranding and improved product design were needed to establish new markets |
Sales increased by over £800,000
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Vitacress
Agriculture
Published 15 December 2006
|
Launch a new brand into the highly competitive packaged salad market in Portugual |
UK-based design team creates a completely new look for packaged salads, enabling Vitacress to stand out on the shelf |
After a £10,500 investment in design the newly launched product exceeds sales expectations by 40 percent in a year
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Guinness
Industrial and manufacturing
Published 29 June 2007
|
Visitor centre struggles to cope with more than double the number of visitors it was originally designed for |
Guinness decides to revamp the centre and employs Imagination to drive the direction of the design |
The Guinness Storehouse - a complete brand experience with training centre, company archive, bars, restaurants and gallery space - is voted Ireland’s number one visitor attraction
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Anglepoise
Industrial and manufacturing
Published 29 June 2007
|
A much-loved British heritage brand loses its way in the face of stiff global competition |
Anglepoise undergoes a complete overhaul, relocates to the South East, re-establishes its precision engineering credentials and launches a new generation of luxury products |
Anglepoise finds success with the premium-priced Type3 task light
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Oskar
Retail
Published 21 June 2007
|
Mobile phone retailer Oskar has a good share of the Czech market, but struggles to attract higher paying customers |
Design agency Enterprise IG develops new retail concept to articulate the brand’s strengths |
Sales rise by up to ten per cent in redesigned stores, and the enhanced value of the company attracts a buy out by Vodafone
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Kingsdown
Agriculture
Published 21 May 2008
|
Kingsdown needed to generate new revenue streams, but its customers were comfortable with the familiar |
Talking to existing buyers and prospective customers revealed a more modern approach would stand out in the mineral water market |
Sales increased by 34% and new top-end clients started to place orders
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McCallums
Agriculture
Published 16 January 2008
|
How could a family-run fruit farm in Doncaster take its produce to a wider market? |
Bank End Farm rebranded as McCallums to focus on its family heritage and build on growing consumer interest in the people behind the food we eat |
The rebranded business has stepped up a level and is thinking more seriously about marketing and begining to selling more produce to a wider consumer base via the internet
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Nike Considered
Published 24 July 2009
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Global sportswear behemoth Nike had attracted criticism in the ‘90s for its poor labour and environmental standards. It wanted to minimise the impact of its manufacturing, starting with one of its flagship products, the Pegasus atheletics shoe |
Working alongside not-for-profit organisation, The Natural Step, Nike implements a new strategy where the environmental impact of all of its product were considered at the design stage |
The new Pegasus shoe incorporates recycled material and uses fewer materials than earlier versions, with an impressive weight reduction of 13%
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Borderfields
Agriculture
Published 04 April 2008
|
Farmers producing a healthy cooking oil admitted they didn't know how to make it appeal to their target market |
A new name, bottle, label and promotional material needed to be designed on a limited budget |
Sales exceeded forecasts by 145% and the oil achieved listings in major multiples
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Aga
Industrial and manufacturing
Published 17 August 2007
|
Aga and Rayburn were widely recognised brands, but the company wasn’t exploiting them as well as it could |
Aga joins the Designing Demand programme and works with designers to look in depth at its two brands |
New ranges are launched and Aga sees profits rising by 14 per cent, exports up 38 per cent and cookware sales rise from £2million to around £7million in four years
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