Design in Tech Report 2015

#DesignInTech Report
John Maeda, Design Partner
Kleiner Perkins Cauﬁeld & Byers
1
TEAM: JACKIE XU (TALENT), AVIV GILBOA (MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS), JUSTIN SAYARATH (TALENT)
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO CHRISTINA LEE, JULIET DE BAUBIGNY, MARY MEEKER, MIKE ABBOTT
5/15
v 1.1

Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda #DesignInTech
2
1 The Data of #DesignInTech
2 A few thoughts about Design, Tech, and Business
3 Why should you (and businesses) care about #DesignInTech?
4 How do you become a #Design(er)InTech?
5 Final Thoughts
Overview

Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @jshoee @wired @philippbohn @anthonydimare #DesignInTech
Nine creative ﬁrms have been atypically acquired by companies known for tech like
Facebook, Flextronics, Google; also Accenture, Capital One, BBVA, McKinsey & Co
http://www.wired.com/2013/05/accenture-fjord/ http://www.americanbanker.com/news/bank-technology/bank-deals-for-digital-design-ﬁrms-highlight-new-mobile-priorities-1073876-1.html http://blogs.blackberry.com/2010/12/rim-welcomes-tat/
4
2013 2014 2015pre-2013
■ FACEBOOK
+acq. Hot Studio 2013
Timeline of #DesignInTech M&A Activity
Agencies acquired by mature startups include 80/20 (+acq. Square 2012), Jet Cooper (+acq. Shopify 2013), Helicopter (+acq. One Kings Lane 2011).
■ ACCENTURE
+acq. Fjord 2013
■ CAPITAL ONE
+acq. Adaptive Path 2014
■ GOOGLE
+acq. Gecko Design 2014
■ FACEBOOK
+acq. Teehan+Lax 2015
+acq. Frog Design 2004
■ FLEXTRONICS
+acq. Method 2011
■ GLOBALLOGIC
■ FACEBOOK
+acq. Sofa 2011
■ GOOGLE
+acq. Mike & Maaike 2012
Fourteen
■ BBVA
+acq. Spring Studio 2015
+acq. TAT 2010
■ RIM
■ MCKINSEY
+acq. Lunar Design 2015
■ FACEBOOK
+acq. Bolt Peters 2012
■ OCULUS / FB
+acq. Carbon Design 2014

Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @gigaom #DesignInTech
Tech companies, and investors, are increasingly seeing the value of designers who
know how to work with and within the constraints of the tech industry.
https://gigaom.com/2013/11/09/with-moores-law-receding-design-is-how-we-decide/
As the marginal return on more computing power (a la Moore’s law) continues to diminish, a new kind of design will matter more than Moore.
5
The solution to every new
problem in tech has been
simple: more tech.
Why Are Tech Companies Acquiring Design Agencies?
1
A better experience was
made with a faster CPU
or more memory.
2
Moore’s Law no longer
cuts it as the key path to a
happier customer.
3
the old way of thinking the new way of thinking

Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk co-founded Airbnb in 2008.
Brian and Joe are graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
The WSJ reported that in October 2014 the valuation of Airbnb was at $13B — up from $10B in April of that year.
6
[Silicon Valley] didn’t think a designer could build and
run a company. They were straight up about it. We weren’t
MBAs, we weren’t two PhD students from Stanford.
Being designers they thought we were people that worked
for people that ran companies.
—BRIAN CHESKY Co-founder of Airbnb
via Dezeen
http://www.dezeen.com/2014/01/28/silicon-valley-didnt-think-a-designer-could-build-a-company-interview-airbnb-co-founder-brian-chesky/ http://www.wsj.com/articles/airbnb-mulls-employee-stock-sale-at-13-billion-valuation-1414100930
“
”
What was it like before all this heat around #DesignInTech?

Source: @designerfund @kpcb @johnmaeda @jshoee @raphaelschaad @ﬂipboard #DesignInTech
27 startups that were co-founded by designers have been acquired since 2010
by companies like Google, Facebook, Adobe, LinkedIn, Dropbox, and Yahoo.
http://designerfund.com/infographic
Designing for mobile brought new design and engineering constraints compared with the desktop: 1. Limited computing power, 2. Smaller display →
harder to read, 3. Can't rely on network connection, 4. No ‘hover’ state (no mouse), 5. Hand covers screen when using, 6. Apps silo user data.
7
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 to the Present
Fab
Level Money
Polar
Ultravisual
WillCall
Beats
Readmill
Simple
Sold
Tumblr
Pulse
Mailbox
Foodspotting
Forrst
Behance
Acrylic Software
Sparrow Mail
Slideshare
Instagram
OMGPOP
Posterous
Gowalla
Hunch
Push Pop Press
Daytum
about.me
Songza
+acq. for $1.65B
Mobile was the
inflection point
for #DesignInTech
Mint
+acq. for $1.0B
#DesignInTech M&A Activity
YouTube
Vimeo
Flickr
Android
NUMBER OF
DESIGNER
CO-FOUNDED
TECH COMPANIES

Source: @cbinsights @designerfund @kpcb @johnmaeda @jshoee #DesignInTech
Five (20%) of the top cumulative-funded VC-backed ventures that have raised
additional capital since 2013 have designer co-founders.
http://www.kpcb.com/design
More design-led startups include Flipboard, Gumroad, Path, Tradesy, Segment.io, Quirky, StoreHouse, The Grommet, SOLS. And startups are bringing
design expertise in-house earlier: Ionic Security, ZenPayroll, Remind, and aboutLife are a few startups that had design leads in their ﬁrst 10 hires.
8
Cumulative funding for
CB Insights “Internet
Sector” category and
US-only startups
$1.2B
0
2013 2014 2015
#DesignInTech Funding Activity
Each blue dot represents a top
funded VC-backed startup
CUMULATIVE
FUNDING
Fab.com
1
Pinterest
2 Airbnb
3
Vice
Media
4
Lynda.com
5
April 2015

Sand Hill Road
Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @designerfund @collabfund #DesignInTech
There were no designers on Silicon Valley’s fabled “Sand Hill Road” until January of
2014 when I arrived at KPCB. Since then, six more have now joined VC ﬁrms.
VC ﬁrms with designers include: Google Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Greylock Partners, True Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures. Seed
funds for designers include Designer Fund and Collaborative Fund. Accelerators with designers include: Y Combinator and Samsung Accelerator.
9
How is Venture Capital Embracing #DesignInTech?
Sand Hill Road
New
Design
Partner
in VC
JANUARY 2014
Sand
Hill
Road
After
JANUARY 2014
Sand
Hill
Road
With new designer
partners born away
from Sand Hill too:
Google Ventures
has the largest
design team,
founded by Braden
Kowitz in 2010.

Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @jshoee #DesignInTech
Businesses started by designers have created billions of dollars of value, are raising
billions of dollars in capital, and VC firms increasingly see the importance of design.
If there’s any company or deal that we’ve missed in the #DesignInTech report, please tweet @kpcb any new information. Thank you!
10
27 startups co-founded by
designers and 13 creative
agencies were acquired by
tech in the last 4 years.
#DesignInTech by the Numbers
1
5 startups co-founded by
designers have raised
more than $2.75 billion,
and more are out there.
2
6 venture capital firms
invited designers onto
their teams—for the first
time—in the last year.
3

Design in the tech sector is sparking new and extending existing economic growth.
Expect more value creation by designers in the coming years as tech matures.
If there’s any company or deal that we’ve missed in the #DesignInTech report, please tweet @kpcb any new information. Thank you!
11
M&A activity of designer-led
businesses will likely grow.
» Older user experiences will improve.
#DesignInTech Predictions
1
Designer-led startups will have
increased access to capital.
» Designers will grow as executives.
2
Design in VC is not about
pretty—it’s about relevance.
» Design’s business value will evolve.
3
DE$IGNDESIGN

12
2
A few thoughts about Design,
Tech, and Business

Design is a cost.
To leverage design successfully in tech, don’t spray design on at the end.
B E G I N N I N G M I D D L E E N D
D E S I G N AT T H E V E RY E N D
( o r “ C O S M E T I C S U R G E RY ” )
D E S I G N A S “ B A K E D - I N ”
$
$ $ $ $
DES I GN
Start with design, rather than just end with it.
an investment.
Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @wsj #DesignInTech
http://blogs.wsj.com/accelerators/2014/02/21/john-maeda-three-principles-for-using-design-successfully/
13

To achieve great design, you need great business thinking/
doing — to effectively invest in design — and you need
great engineering — to achieve unflagging performance.
http://kpcb.com/design
14
Great design is not just about “design.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJx6cF-H__I
15
Combining Design, Tech, and Business: Example 1 (21st c)
Thursday, August 04, 2011
Katie Marsal, AppleInsider.com
Ultrabook Makers squeezed by Apple's
Control of Metal Chassis Supply
November 03, 2011
Adam Satariano and Peter Burrows, Bloomberg
Apple's Supply-Chain Secret? Hoard Lasers
June 25, 2012
Jay Yarow and Seth Fiegerman, Business Insider
How Apple's Decision To Buy
Aluminum From Australia Forced
Microsoft To Build Its Own Tablet
Apple’s Macbook unibody was released in 2008 and enabled removing nearly 50% of the parts needed from the previous generation.

Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @thonet_gmbh @VDM_News #DesignInTech
http://www.design-museum.de/en/collection/100-masterpieces/detailseiten/sessel-soehne.html
Michael Thonet’s achieved a vertically-integrated, global furniture company with patented technology for bending wood with steam in the 1800s.
Thonet had distributed manufacturing across Eastern Europe and sales oﬃces from Hamburg to Rome to Moscow to New York by the 1870s.
16
Combining Design, Tech, and Business: Example 2 (18th c)
50,000,000
Thonet No.14 chairs have
been sold since 1859
36 Thonet No.141 chairs
could be disassembled
to ﬁt into a 1-meter cubic
shipping container.
The “Vienna
coffee house chair”

17
3
Why should you (and businesses)
care about #DesignInTech?

18
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
I returned to MIT after art school
to start research at the Media Lab.
1 9 9 6
Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @gewang #DesignInTech
My Journey Began in the 90s
My journey from combining art and technology as a practicing designer in tech, to understanding how industry can leverage design and tech at the
Media Lab, to decoding the language of finance through further studies ... led me to choose a different path than I had expected.
Later I got my MBA to
understand $$ stuff ...
2 0 0 4 +
The dotcom crash showed me how
tech x creativity wasn’t invincible, yet.
2 0 0 0
NASDAQ

19
Is there a justiﬁable case for creativity in tech?
Source: @risd @kpcb @johnmaeda #DesignInTech
the world?
I’ve always felt that the younger generation is the best judge of “where to go” because they have the biggest stake in our future direction. It is from
them that I learned how “buildilng a justiﬁable case for creativity in our world” is an important endeavor to achieve some day.

http://www.kpcb.com/internet-trends
INTERNET TRENDS
D11 CONFERENCE
5 / 29 / 2013
Mary Meeker / Liang Wu
INTERNET TRENDS
D10 CONFERENCE
5/30/2012
Mary Meeker
1
INTERNET TRENDS 2014 –
CODE CONFERENCE
Mary Meeker
May 28, 2014
kpcb.com/InternetTrends
1Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.
INTERNET TRENDS –
Web 2.0 Summit
San Francisco, CA
Mary Meeker (marym@kpcb.com) – October 18, 2011
www.kpcb.com/internettrends2011
Morgan Stanley does and seeks to do business with companies covered in Morgan Stanley Research. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could
affect the objectivity of Morgan Stanley Research. Investors should consider Morgan Stanley Research as only a single factor in making their investment decision.
For analyst certification and other important disclosures, refer to the Disclosure Section, located at the end of this report.
Internet Trends
June 7, 2010
CM Summit – New York City
mary.meeker@ms.com / scott.devitt@ms.com / liang.wu@ms.com
www.morganstanley.com/techresearch
Economy + Internet Trends
October 20, 2009
Web 2.0 Summit – San Francisco
mary.meeker@ms.com / scott.devitt@ms.com / liang.wu@ms.com
www.morganstanley.com/techresearch
affect the objectivity of Morgan Stanley Research. Investors should consider Morgan Stanley Research as only a single factor in making their investment decision. Customers of Morgan Stanley in
the US can receive independent, third-party research on companies covered in Morgan Stanley Research, at no cost to them, where such research is available. Customers can access this
independent research at www.morganstanley.com/equityresearch or can call 1-800-624-2063 to request a copy of this research.
Technology / Internet Trends
November 5, 2008
Web 2.0 Summit – San Francisco
mary.meeker@ms.com / www.morganstanley.com/institutional/techresearch
affect the objectivity of Morgan Stanley Research. Investors should consider Morgan Stanley Research as only a single factor in making their investment decision. Customers of Morgan Stanley in
the US can receive independent, third-party research on companies covered in Morgan Stanley Research, at no cost to them, where such research is available. Customers can access this
independent research at www.morganstanley.com/equityresearch or can call 1-800-624-2063 to request a copy of this research.
Technology / Internet Trends
October 18, 2007
Web 2.0 Summit - San Francisco
mary.meeker@ms.com / david.joseph@ms.com / richard.ji@ms.com
Compiled by Morgan Stanley Global Technology Team
Morgan Stanley does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the
objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision. Customers of Morgan Stanley in the United States can receive independent,
third-party research on the company or companies covered in this report, at no cost to them, where such research is available. Customers can access this independent research at
www.morganstanley.com/equityresearch or can call 800-624-2063 to request a copy of this research. For our latest industry research, please visit www.morganstanley.com/techresearch.
For analyst certification and other important disclosures, refer to the Disclosure Section.
The State of the Internet, Part 3
The World’s Information is Getting
Organized + Monetized
web 2.0 – 11/8/06
mary.meeker@ms.com / david.joseph@ms.com
www.morganstanley.com/equityresearch or can call 800-624-2063 to request a copy of this research. For our latest industry research, please visit www.morganstanley.com/techresearch
For analyst certification and other important disclosures, refer to the Disclosure Section
Please see analyst certification and other important disclosures starting on page 42.
Internet Trends
October 12, 2005
mary.meeker@morganstanley.com
brian.pitz@morganstanley.com
brian.fitzgerald@morganstanley.com
richard.ji@morganstanley.com
www.morganstanley.com/equityresearch or can call 800-624-2063 to request a copy of this research.
1
Internet Trends
The Kelsey Group: Interactive Local Media 2004
Mary Meeker
mary.meeker@morganstanley.com
November 2004
Morgan Stanley does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a
conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision.
The Internet – A Perspective
Mary Meeker
June 2002
July 2001
The State of Capital Markets and An
Update on Technology Trends
Mary Meeker
Presented at
The Industry Standard’s Internet Summit 2001, Carlsbad, Ca.
THESTANDARDINTELLIGENCE FOR THE INTERNET ECONOMY
INTERNET
SUMMIT
2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 7 2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 2 0 1 3 2 0 1 4
Steve Jobs’ design
aesthetic was second
to none
2 0 1 1
”
“mobile products with
extraordinary ease-of-use
2 0 0 8
“
”
20
Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends Reports tracked the Ascent of #DesignInTech
2 0 0 1
Internet “Winners” in
User Interface: AOL,
Microsoft, Yahoo!
“
”
usage growth tied
to user experience
2 0 0 4
“
”
The importance of a quality user interface as the next key to growth was made clear to me when Mary asked me to make Slide 83 of her 2014 Deck,
which was entitled: “R.I.P. Bad User Interfaces.” Mary’s work on the Internet Trends Reports were the inspiration for this report.
2 0 1 4 Page 83

After the TV
Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @heif #DesignInTech
Before the TV After the PC
and Laptop
In the age of Mobile ...
Tech is no longer for Tech-ies, because Mobile is for Everybody (Right) Now
The smartphone revolution brought design’s value into the foreground. We want to do in our palm, while walking, what we used to do
on a big screen while sitting down at a desk. The interaction design challenges presented by that shift are huge.
21

Text
22
8AM 4PM
once in
the morning
once in
the evening
User Experience matters so much, because we are Experiencing so much.
A pain point can become a “pain plane” on mobile. That’s a lot of ouch.
150 unlocks = checking your phone every 5.6 minutes
one interaction, one “ouch” just two ouch points
The mobile paradigm should be thought of as “the always with you and in your face” paradigm. For that reason, a bad design will not just hurt
once, but the hundreds of times you might use the bad design in a single day. That’s a lot of unnecessary “ouches.”

23
95 96 97 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 141995 2014
browser invention and
broadband penetration
increase desktop utility
less desktop usage but
increasing soaking by
smartphone screen
TIME
USAGE
SCALE
1
4.75
3B users
Users x Usage reveals the Real Speed of Change, or “Usage Inﬂation”
# users
If we re-think the idea of “number of users” as not just about the quantity of users, but the quantity of time that users will be accessing digital
information, the “users x usage” curve can look quite diﬀerent depending on where you stand.
USERS
from the viewpoint
of a 1996 person

Federal Highway Act of 1952
Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @wikipedia #DesignInTech
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0
1
2
3
1925
1928
1931
1934
1937
1940
1943
1946
1949
1952
1955
1958
1961
1964
1967
1970
1973
1976
1979
N U M B E R O F
C A R S O W N E D
P E R AV E R A G E
U S FA M I LY
When Usage Increases Dramatically, Design’s Strategic Value is Leveraged
The advent of the Interstate Highway system enabled driving as a lifestyle choice — versus just ﬁlling the need of utility. GM hired the ﬁrst VP of
Design in the 50s to elevate the importance of design in driving and addressing new consumer demands for automobile designs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950s_American_automobile_culture http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Transportation_Deployment_Casebook/History_of_the_Automobile:_Ownership_per_Household_in_U.S. http://cta.ornl.gov/data/chapter8.shtml
First VP of Design in
Corporate America
Harley Earl
Via the USDOT Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Census Bureau
THE FIRST INTERNET OF THINGS?

25
4
How do you become a
#Design(er)InTech?

Capital is being superseded by creativity and the ability to
innovate — and therefore by human talents — as the most
important factors of production. If talent is becoming the
decisive competitive factor, we can be confident in stating
that capitalism is being replaced by ‘talentism’ ...
—KLAUS SCHWAB Founder of the World Economic Forum
via HuffPo
Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @boloh @wef #DesignInTech
http://www.huﬃngtonpost.com/klaus-schwab/end-of-capitalism----_b_1423311.html
26
“
”
It’s Easy to Forget that #DesignInTech happens with #DesignersInTech

27
What is Design?
line, form, color, hierarchy, typography, composition, structure, planning,
thoughtfulness, orderly, clever, obvious, simple, complicated, powerful, dream,
mindshare, simple, minimalist, functional, utilitarian, pleasing, emotional, smile-
inducing, better, purposed, functional, provocative, considered, crafted, problem-
solving, innovative, useful, intuitive, legible, engaging, delightful, personal, beautiful,
simple, informative, usable, crucial, relevant, clean, efficient, appealing, choice,
function, beauty, elegance, empathy, functional, beautiful, exploratory, elegant,
visual, communicative, customer-centered, functional, empathetic, simple., human,
engaging, attractive, appealing, fluid, timeless, bold, kinetic, intentional, engagement,
craft, thoughtful, empathic, understanding, empathy, ease, emotional, habit-forming,
beauty, logical, balance, needed, forgotten, necessary, focused, hard, mixed, cohesive,
humane, essence, idealistic, discrete, simple, imaginative, elegant, transparent,
transformative, engaging, discovery, accessibility, use, focus, play, learn, pleasure,
power, control, deep, enthusiasm, invisible, unity, collaborative, open-ended, fuzzy,
clarifying, emergent, usable, beautiful, on-brand, delightful, inspiring, simple, useful,
effective, memorable, subtle, clear, thoughtful, deliberate, essential, communication,
testiment, obvious, ocd, empathetic, human, creative, emotion, function, form,
solution, intuitive, minimal, usable, delightful, creative, expressive, thoughtful,
constrained, deliberate, intentional, considered, crafted, functional, desirable,
insightful, iterative, obvious, understandable, contextual, holistic, planning,
experience, care, awareness, process, playful, experimenting, delightful, emotional,
natural, form, function, relationship, meaning, change, create, thoughtful, utlity,
delight, solution, invisible, visible, craft, appreciation, creation, individualistic,
subjective, objective, inception, magical, simple, clean, working, elegant, beautiful,
no-nonsense, timeless, deep, intentional, hierarchy, aesthetics, elegant, delightful,
engaging, empathetic, respectful, disruptive, subtle, functional, graceful, meaningful,
inspirational, intentional, empathetic, purposeful, elegant, natural, enduring,
intuitive, efficient, sensual, tactile, minimal, functional, sensible, psychological,
empathy, visual, interactive, interface, scenarios, synthesis, creative, voice, freedom,
segregated, misunderstood, elitism, focused, transformational, redeeming,
meditative, chicago, nike, jordan, stanford, believe, communication, conceptual, craft,
bridge, empathy, considered, collaborative, inventive, creative, refine, improve,
optimize, compromise, negotiated, vision, solution, system, constraints, guides,
efficient, business, capitalism, money, commerce, impactful, evolving, everything,
thoughtful, innovative, goal-driven, observation, analysis, invention, creation,
aesthetic., deliberate, thoughtful, inclusive, details, selfless, optimistic, hopeful,
accommodating, intentional, purposeful, disruptive, gracious, creative, resourceful,
dynamic, cooperative, discovery, adventurous, incisive, language, translation, open,
Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @luminosoinsight @havasi #DesignInTech
From a study of 110 top designers in the tech industry.
27

28
To learn more about #DesignInTech, we reached out to 110 designers working in
tech to learn from them. There’s still so much data we’re going through ...
Clare Corthell, Deena Rosen, Parul Vora, Analia Ibargoyen, Jennifer Etter, Sarah Alpern, Kaaren Hanson, Fernanda Viegas, Kristy Tillman, Valerie Casey, Angel Steger, Karin Fong, Dawn Danby, Tina Roth Eisenberg, Jules Pieri, Sally Carson, Megs Fulton, Kegan Schouwenburg, Maria Giudice, Lindsay Mindler,
Sarah M Oppelt, Candice Tse, Catherine Courage, Juliana Rotich, Tina Roth Eisenberg, Margret Schmidt, Helen Walters, Jeniece Primus, Nancy Duarte, Rochelle King, Cat Noone, Scott Dadich, John Maeda, David Schultz, Matias Duarte, Morgan Knutson, Alex Tam, Diogenes Brito, Dave Evans, Etan
Lightstone, Peter Cho, Gentry Underwood, Dave Young, Johnnie Manzari, Marcos Ojeda, Ian Storm Taylor, Dan Harrelson, Tad Toulis, Max Gunawan, Doug VanderMolen, Chris Robinson, Randy J. Hunt, Dantley Davis, Chris Moeller, Jason Mayden, Joe Gebbia, Brian Schmitt, Mark Bauer, Damian Madray,
Sean McLeary, Darren Chan, Jesse Harding, John Cary, Ethan Bodnar, Harold Hambrose, Wesley Yun, Rich Gioscia, Randall Hom, Uday Gajendar, Matthew Beebe, Dave Lippman, Jesse Pollak, Martin Wattenberg, Ronald Ro, Phil Gilbert, Andrew Hessel, David Dat Nguyen, Moses Ting, Jonathan Chen, Ivan
Bercovich, Harper Reed, Kelly Sutton, Alessandro Sabatelli, Raphael Schaad, Donnie Dinch, Tim McCoy, Sash Catanzarite, Matt MacQueen, Marcos Weskamp, Ethan Trask, Bob Baxley, Justin Maxwell, Jonathan Lieberman, Mark Kawano, Tyler Murphy, Cap Watkins, Gilles Poupardin, Dominique Leca,
Mike Davidson, Osandi, Scott Belsky, Michael Owens, Andrew Crow, Doug Evans, Sahil Lavingia, Brian C. McDonald, Stefan Klocek, Koen Bok, Raghava KK, Brandon Velestuk

29
Engineering / Science
Fine Arts / Design
Can an Engineer Become a Designer?
Over a third of successful designers surveyed in the tech industry
had formal engineering/science training, and over a half had formal
art/design training. There are those who can do both.
50%0%
with Fine Arts /
Design ~50%
with Engineering /
Science ~33%
> 1
3
> 1
2
From a study of 110 top designers in the tech industry.

Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @zsims @codecademy @twitter @typeform #DesignInTech
30
Coding skills aren't important.
Coding skills are unnecessary.
“Coding skills can be useful.” “Coding skills are absolutely essential.”
+
–
“ ”
“ ” J U N I O R M I D S E N I O R
99
93.5%of 370 designer respondents
were overall in favor of coding
42.7%
of Codecademy learners surveyed
on March 2014 identified
themselves as designers
23 million people learn how to
code on Codecademy
Is Learning to Code of Use to a Designer?
Online study participants: Manuel Covarrubia, Tyler Howarth, Robb, Kenny Chen, Myriam Picovschi, Adeel Khalid, Ben Lee, Ruchi, Sam E, Sebastian, Alfred Lui, Rob Krugman, Kamel Kondili, Chris Long, Jairo Avalos, Mason Hastie, Abishek Raju, Chris Henderson, Morgan Vanderson, Mihai Vladan, Matias Kiviniemi, Jocelyn Lin, w, Fibinse Xavier, Barron Roth, Strahinja Todorovic, Mark Roland, Ian Goode,
Jay Bowles, Claudius, Hoi Kee Wong, Sang Hyo Lee, Sohel Golwala, Rob Van Varick, Shar McLeod, Karen Chang, Nathan Garvie, Chris Chiusano, Ben Patterson, Gregg Bernstein, Riccie Janus, Anne-Marie C, Ege, Martha Willis, Jacqueline Minkler, Miquel Mora, Mathieu Parent, Veronica Ramos, Jonathan Kempf, Calvin Cheng, David Gelb, Caroline Konarkowska, Millie Lin Xinmin, Dan Parham,
Neighborland, gareth price, MiHyun Kim, Greta Castellana, Pizza, Jeremy Zilar, Austin Bernales, Jim MacLeod, Jennifer Williams, Ercument Gorgul, Robert Manukyan, Ryu, Pierre Rañon, Patrick Morrow, Daniela Pardo, JR, John Cross Neumann, Alie Jackson, Prithika Mohan, Gavin Wassung, Heath Montgomery, @monicaxmetal, Laura McGuigan, Marc Shillum, Jsheps, Asako Nagata, Chauncey Peppertooth,
Nick Shank, Chris Brennand, Priscila Mendoza, Matt Rolandson, François Chay, Rob Hennigar, Anderson Bordim, Willem Van Lancker, Asutosh Kar, o, Zachariah Mattheus, Danny Tamez, Hilary Vlastelica, Jessica Jacobs, Chad Engle, Jesper Bröring, Gerard Dolan, David A. Holland, Michael J. Morgan, Mahir Yavuz, Ana Lisa Alperovich, Jeff Vlahos, Kelly Ann Art, Jason Scott, Alex Lloyd, Amy Ngai, Mark
Haddon, K Markandeya, Georg Duemlein, Sandijs, Mara Sandoval, Subhrajit Das, francesca giordano, sarah withers, Giorgia Lupi, Lucy. P., guipei, Eric Keezer, Umesh Pandya, Divya Viswanathan, André Sirgado, Carolina Mora, Charles Smith, BadGenius, siuming, Matt Leach, Gopika Prabhu, Ken Hejduk, Nuno Belmonte, @pabsanch, Michael Held, Jae Johnson, Celia, J.B. Chaykowsky, Ti Chang, Andy
Cowles, Jack Curry, E, Mark Jenkins, Jyothish Nair, Jessie McGuire, Mb, Chad Lockart, Manlo Ngai, Julie Bakopoulou, oriol, Andrea Limjoco, Willis, Vivek Sahi, Michael Seifert, Michele, Giorgio Martini, Harrison Telyan, William Deegan, Kim Goldberg, Robert Suarez, Jess Wainer, Andrea Small, Martina Maitan, Kelly Ann McKercher, Joe Beirne, Joel Califa, Madeline Gannon, Ning Fang, Timothy Mohn, Mark
Breneman, Takashi Okamoto, Gaurang Gupta, Wilbert Baan, Allison Druin, Aran Rhee, Sidney Blank, Mlbm, David Hoogland, Surbhi Bindlish, Fredy, Nicholas Evans, Jackie Lee, Cas Lemmens, Mae Reed, Aakash Kumar, Deanna Wood, Hawk Thompson, Linda Yang, Diane Menyuk, Peter Gahnström, Brian Clark, Sakura Moses, Nina Dinoff, Michelle Knoernschild, Molly Wilson, Bridgette Engeler Newbury,
Reilly P. Brennan, Emily Tregunno, Michael Ryan, Jen Leonard, Kapil Solanki, Geoffrey Long, Matt MacQueen, Jackie Jantos, Anne Moreau, Todd Walker, Lynda Brown-Ganzert, Mary Deelsnyder, Sandra Colley, Emelyn, Bill Abel, Emily Privot, Jared Fanning, Liz Schmidt, Jeanny, Samantha Clark, Shani Sandy, Seth Hunter, Onur Umut, Andrew Conn, Kevin Dodson, Managing Director - Saltbox Studio, Austin,
Stephan Ritter, DF Hobbs, Naveesh Khattar, Dave Rich, Steve Pell, Maxim, Tim Knowles, Michael Robertson, Pierre-Denis Autric, Neil Ramsay, Mike, Rocio Lopez, Roham Gharegozlou, Raj Yadav, Rimma Boshernitsan, Ahmed Riaz, Dakeisha Jenkins-Jenkins, Sadia Harper, Kafin Noe'man, Mokryun Baik, Seth Taylor, Christian Talmage, Priya Prakash, D4SC @priyascape, Yiming, Erick Mohr, Lisa Stuardi, Lisa
Kay Solomon, Melanie Kahl, Indy Sen, Lori Landesman, Gaurav Anand, Gregory Bowler, Adam Harrell, Ana Medina, Doug Evans, Sachsé Jean-Baptiste, Saurabh Datta, Markus Hoppe, di wood, Jonathan Zong, Bö, Alex Tam, Christopher Smeder, Rishabh Sethi, Andrew Green, Arjun Sarode, Javier Diaz, Jon Alling, Rodrigo Del Castillo, p, Eivind Ingebrigtsen, Laurence Berry, Geremy Mumenthaler, Lukasz
Lysakowski, Emilie Jacob, Darren Chan, Harley Donaldson, Gökcen Keskin, Alisa Tribuleva, Lissa Streeter, sanjaya, Silvia, Saneef H. Ansari, Krozz Wu, Jacqueline Stetson Pastore, Kyungseok Hahm, Claudia, Enrique Allen, Fredrik Hurtig, Jonathan Bobrow, Peter Cuhalev, Ste Everington, Sofie Lindblom, Jason Herring, Maurice, Stuart Griffiths, Michael Lee, Gabriela Iglesias, Aaron Perry-Zucker, Kathryn
McElroy, Reed Reibstein, Laura Martini, Jess Greco, Todd Zaki Warfel, Patrick N. Lewis, Tefo Mohapi, Bryan Chang, Brandon Nieves, Ben Weeks, Ivana Preiss, Jenelle Huddleston, Sian A. Morson, Andy Van Solkema, Borahm, Mark Chichester, Bethany koby, Valeska O'Leary, Prince Boucher, David G Nix, Robert J Neal, and a hundred more anonymous folks ...
370 designers were surveyed on whether coding was useful or not, and the response was overall favorable. If you asked me how designers might
answer that question ten years ago, I would say that the answer would not be nearly as favorable — maybe 5%!

Source: @kpcb @jshoee @johnmaeda @wsj @dukembadesign @lbs #DesignInTech
http://www.wsj.com/articles/do-business-school-rankings-matter-1425517222
7 out of 10 in the BW Top Ten US Business Schools have student-led design clubs
7 out of 10 in the FT Top Ten Global Business Schools have student-led design clubs
31
Students in Business Schools are embracing Design wholeheartedly
BusinessWeek (US) 2014 Rank FT (Global) 2015
Duke (Fuqua) 1 Harvard
Pennsylvania (Wharton) 2 London Business School
Chicago (Booth) 3 Pennsylvania (Wharton)
Stanford 4 Stanford
Columbia 5 INSEAD
Yale 6 Columbia
Northwestern (Kellogg) 7 IESE Business School
Harvard 8 MIT (Sloan)
Michigan (Ross) 9 Chicago (Booth)
Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) 10 Berkeley (Haas)
Stanford 4 Stanford
Columbia 5 INSEAD
Yale 6 Columbia
Light blue implies
having a student-
led design club
Stanford 4 Stanford
Columbia 5 INSEAD
Yale 6 Columbia
MBA partnership with
Art Center College
d.schoold.school
and/or design partnerships.
Almost unanimously

Source: @kpcb @jshoee @johnmaeda @poptech #DesignInTech
http://kpcb.com/design https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-tips-building-amazing-team-jackie-xu?trk=prof-post
32
For Early Stage Startups, what is an ideal ratio of Designers : Engineers?
From a study of 110 top designers in the tech industry. 27% of those surveyed were Early Stage (capital raised of <$10M), and reported
designer:engineers ratios of 1:4 to 1:5. According to KPCB Talent Partner Jackie Xu, this ratio used to be closer to 1:15, or even 1:30.
1:4 to 1:5
Designer:Engineers
Early hires heavily influence the
company culture. So hire wisely!”
“
—Jackie Xu, via LinkedIn
D e e e e D e e e e e
note that this is a recent development
RATIO FOR EARLY STAGE,
DESIGN-CONSCIOUS STARTUPS

Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @danemhoward @beckybermont @ebayinc #DesignInTech
http://designobserver.com/feature/building-a-design-culture-in-an-end-up-technology-world/38473/
33
When the CEO cares about Design, Progress gets made Fast
Top-down sponsorship AND bottoms-
up effort is essential to make meaningful
culture transformation progress.”
—Dane Howard, via LinkedIn
“
Stanford Graduate School of Business Case Study is forthcoming in 2015. Key leaders: John Couch, Uris Dacosta, Dave Lippman, Billy Seabrook.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
NUMBER OF EBAY INC.DESIGNERS, RESEARCHERS, PMs,
WRITERS, EXECUTIVES ENGAGED OVER 2014
Google “design playbook”

35
27 startups that were co-founded by designers have
been acquired since 2010 by companies like Google,
Facebook, Adobe, LinkedIn, Dropbox, and Yahoo.
Good mixes the Old with the New

Source: @kpcb @johnmaeda @fortunemagazine #DesignInTech
http://fortune.com/fortune500/
36
Industry’s Indication of Design’s Value sits at the Very Top in the Old (and New)
1 Wal-Mart Stores, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Berkshire Hathaway, 5 Apple, Phillips 66, 7 General Motors, 8 Ford Motor, 9 General Electric,
Valero Energy, AT&T, CVS Caremark, Fannie Mae, UnitedHealth Group, McKesson, Verizon Communications, Hewlett-Packard, J.P. Morgan
Chase & Co., Costco Wholesale, Express Scripts Holding, Bank of America, Cardinal Health, 23 International Business Machines, Kroger,
Marathon Petroleum, Citigroup, Archer Daniels Midland, AmerisourceBergen, Wells Fargo, Boeing, 31 Procter & Gamble, Freddie Mac, Home
Depot, Microsoft, Amazon.com, 36 Target, Walgreen Co., WellPoint, 39 Johnson & Johnson, American International Group, State Farm
Insurance Cos., MetLife, 53 PepsiCo, Comcast, United Technologies, Google, ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical, Caterpillar, United Parcel
Service, Pﬁzer, Lowe's Companies, Intel Corporation, Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., Cisco Systems, Inc., Enterprise Products Partners L.P.,
Aetna Inc., 58 The Coca-Cola Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Best Buy Co., Inc., The Walt Disney Company, CHS Inc., Sysco
Corporation, FedEx Corporation, Merck & Co., Inc., INTL FCStone Inc., Safeway Inc., Johnson Controls, Inc., Ingram Micro Inc., Plains GP
Holdings, L.P., World Fuel Services Corporation, Prudential Financial, Inc., Humana Inc., The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Tesoro
Corporation, Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc., Honeywell International Inc., United Continental Holdings, Inc., HCA Holdings, Inc.,
Deere & Company, Delta Air Lines, Inc., Oracle Corporation, Morgan Stanley, Hess Corporation, Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., E.I. du Pont
de Nemours and Company, Sears Holdings Corporation, New York Life Insurance Company, Mondelez International, Inc., American Express
Company, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., The Allstate Corporation, Tyson Foods, Inc., Supervalu Inc., TIAA-CREF, Massachusetts Mutual
Life Insurance Company, CIGNA Corporation, DIRECTV, General Dynamics Corporation, Philip Morris International Inc., 101 3M Company,
Time Warner Inc., Halliburton Company, Publix Super Markets, Inc., International Paper Company, McDonald's Corporation, Macy's, Inc.,
The TJX Companies, Inc., Fluor Corporation, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company,Inc., Tech Data Corporation, American Airlines
Group Inc., The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., The Travelers Companies, Inc., 115 Nike, Inc., Occidental Petroleum Corporation,
Avnet, Inc., Rite Aid Corporation, Exelon Corporation, Qualcomm Inc., Emerson Electric Co., Northrop Grumman Corporation, Duke Energy
Corporation, 124 Capital One Financial Corporation, Aﬂac Inc., Raytheon Company, Staples, Inc., EMC Corporation, ...
2014 Fortune 500 list (excerpt)
Thirteen (10%) of the 2014 Fortune 125 companies have executive-level positions or CEO support for design. Note that Nike’s CEO is a designer.
Apple uniquely has the only SVP of Design

1st gen was about Computing for Tech-ies. Those days are all over.
37

Source:
Text
Text
Text
38
New gen is about Computing for Regular People. They all like #DesignInTech.
38

39
Disclosure
This presentation has been compiled for informational purposes only and should not be
construed as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell securities in any entity.
The presentation relies on data and insights from a wide range of sources, including
public and private companies, market research firms, market research firms, and
industry professionals. We cite specific sources where data are public; the presentation
is also informed by non-public information and insights.
This is an inaugural publication of the Design In Tech report. We will post any updates
revisions or clarifications on the KPCB website.
KPCB is a venture capital firm that owns significant equity positions in certain of the
companies referenced in the presentation, including those at kpcb.com/companies.
Sand Hill Road
@kpcb
Sand
Hill
Road

Design in Tech Report 2015

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Design in Tech Report 2015