Most successful business processes require good leadership. Design is no exception. The 11 companies from our study show that leading by example is a good way to make sure design is an important business practice.
A defining factor in the companies interviewed in our survey is the presence of one or more design champions who drive the development of the design function and its recognition internally and externally.
Some of these design leaders have been responsible for a very radical change in the profile of design in their company, while others have transformed the processes by which the design function operates. All of the heads of design we interviewed were charismatic, passionate and skilled in design subjects and were capable of communicating their activities in a commercial context.
Extending the influence of design upstream and downstream in the business was a priority for most of the leaders we spoke to. Upstream influence gives design input into product and service roadmaps and top level brand values. Downstream influence helps to prevent the dilution of design intent in the production and delivery phases of the product cycle.
Design champions in our survey also shared a strong interest in the development of talent in their departments. They emphasised the importance of maintaining a creative and inspiring environment for the designers they employ, but placed equal focus on the development of new skills to help their designers work more effectively in the wider context of their organisations.
The position of the design champion varied significantly in the companies we visited. In some cases design leadership emanated from the CEO, or from senior management and was pushed through the company in a top-down approach. In others, the leader of a smaller team was the instigator for design, driving a bottom-up approach and expending significant effort ‘selling’ the value of design to more senior personnel.
In some cases, changes in corporate strategy or market conditions provide the catalyst for a transformation of the role of design within an organisation. For example, as Xerox changes from being a vertically integrated designer and manufacturer of equipment to being a horizontally integrated business services organisation, the role of design in the company is also changing. Design champions within Xerox say that design’s role in the organisation will change from being a horizontal function, which plays a limited role at select points in the product engineering process, to being a vertical function, informing all of the company’s activities, from board room to product end-of-life. Many of the activities of the design team at Xerox are geared towards achieving this goal.
In more depth
A key role of the design champion in many organisations is to provide an effective link between the design function and the senior management team