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"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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Kingsdown

It can be considered risky to meddle if you’ve already got a winning formula. Customers like familiarity - they don’t like to be taken out of their comfort zone - but re-vamping your brand can bring great rewards.

Before
After
Problem Response Result
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

T-Mobile

Historically phone bills have been as bland as a tin of condensed soup but T-Mobile saw an opportunity to make its bills more valuable as a regular interface between its brand and its customers.

After The new T-Mobile bill
Result
Customers are 11% less likely to phone customer services for help understanding their bill and customers were 10% more satisfied with bill clarity

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
Before
After

Little Trekkers

By embracing design Little Trekkers, a specialist online retailer of children’s outdoor clothing, developed Spotty Otter – a new branded product range now tipped to become a major children’s clothing brand

Problem Response Result
How to increase brand differentiation Create a new, branded product range A cultural shift that brought design into all elements of the business to provide solid platform for future business growth

Note: Another success story from the Design Council's Designing Demand Programme

Manchester Art Gallery

A visitor to an art gallery isn’t always met by big white spaces and an obvious route round the exhibits. Back in 2003, Manchester Art Gallery knew its customers sometimes found getting past the building’s historic stone exterior to be a disorientating experience.

Problem Response Result
Potential visitors were put off by dull signage and an unwelcoming layout at Manchester Art Gallery Wayfinding and signage changes needed to be made to make the most of the refurbished buildings 34% more visitors came in to the gallery in 2006-07 than the year before

Oleifera

What’s in a name? A group of farmers in Northumberland discovered that when it came to naming their produce, it paid to work with designers and make the name part of their product’s success rather than a reason for its failure.

After Oleifera bottled rape seed oil
Result
Sales exceeded forecasts by 145% and the oil achieved listings in major multiples
Challs design
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
The new Mechan brand identity

Mechan

World leading mechanical handling equipment manufacturer Mechan updated its image and improved its business

Problem Response Result
How do you drive forward an engineering firm with a strong reputation but an outdated image? A new brand identity that gives a sense of the company’s quality, heritage and innovation The new identity reflects Mechan’s qualities and its new website is attracting enquiries from new markets overseas

Related: Corporate identity and branding Graphic design Communication design

Note: Another success story from the Design Council's Designing Demand Programme

OPTAC

Designing a product to replace a much-used analogue device with a modern digital equivalent is one thing. Designing it for a group of people with limited IT skills, who don’t want, but have, to make the change, requires a whole new approach.

After OPTAC
Result
A 971% sales increase and a 45% reduction in manufacturing costs
Public service design
Design for public services

Design for public services

We interact with public services like the NHS 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 stuff in Belgium. Browse these case studies of public sector innovation to find out how design methods could help public...

Problem Response Result
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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