Overview of design management methodologies

Overviewof design
management
methodologies
ADMIRE programme
Objective 1.1
Professor Alan Lewis
Darragh Murphy
Caroline Mougenot
The National Centre for Product Design & Development Research (PDR)
University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC)
April 2009

© University of Wales Institute, Cardiff 2009 2
CONTENTS
Foreword 3
Chapter 1 Introduction 4
1.1 Background 4
1.2 2008 DME Award criteria 4
1.3 Selection of sample 6
Chapter 2 Literature review 7
2.1 Defining a scope for design management 7
2.2 Design management models 8
2.2.1 Managing the design process 8
2.2.2 Levels of design integration within an organisation 8
2.2.3 Design management implementation 9
2.2.4 Value models for design 9
2.3 Review of DME34 selection criteria 10
2.3.1 Criterion 1: Leadership through design innovation 11
2.3.2 Criterion 2: Designing change through design 11
2.3.3 Criterion 3: Excellent in design co-ordination 12
2.3.4 Criterion 4: Strategic performance 12
2.3.5 A top-down implementation process 13
Chapter 3 Overview of design management methodologies 14
3.1 METHODOLOGY 1: Managing design in the new
product development (NPD) process 15
3.1.1 Using design management as a driver for new product innovation 16
3.1.2 Using design to enhance or improve product performance 18
3.1.3 Using design to build distinctive product identities 21
3.2 METHODOLOGY 2: Managing design as a strategic branding tool 24
3.2.1 Managing design to raise brand awareness in fast
moving consumer goods (FMCG) markets 25
3.2.2 Managing a concurrent design and marketing programme 28
3.3 METHODOLOGY 3: Managing design in the service industry 30
3.3.1 Designing the customers’ experience in service industries 31
3.4 METHODOLOGY 4: Managing design in design-led companies 36
3.4.1 Design publishing 36
3.4.2 Open source design 38
3.4.3 Design as a value added service 39
3.5 Main Findings 40
Chapter 4 Conclusion 42
References 43

Foreword
This report focuses on the latest theories and
practices in design management, and, in particular,
how design management is seen as having a positive
influence in the drive to successfully realise
innovation through design. Other approaches to
supporting innovation through design being
considered by the European Commission include
design support and promotions programmes, and a
design policy for Europe.
This report, along with an extensive range of related
actions as part of the PRO-INNO Europe ADMIRE
programme, is designed to help researchers,
practitioners and policy makers understand better
how innovative companies manage design. The
purpose of this co-ordinated approach is to uncover
practices and processes that support
competitiveness through innovation, and explore
how they can be more widely adopted within a
range of private and public sector organisations and
companies.
Design management is an intrinsic part of any design
and development process and its precise form and
characteristics within any one setting very much
reflects the nature of people involved and the aims
and culture of an organisation. This report shows
that companies apply design and the management
of design in response to their chosen strategies
rather than by sector, industry or product
specification. This provides opportunities for a cross
fertilisation of ideas and methods from across
different industries and sectors. But, as this report
shows, it is the collective vision, style and capability
of organisational managers who play the most
important role in the successful realisation of
innovation through design.
The form and structure of the 2008 DME Award
were devised to create both a credible award and a
source of reliable and meaningful data. Through the
process of setting the award criteria by a panel of
design management experts, presenting the entries
in a single format and selecting the winners by a jury of
design management experts; the selection of the
review sample can be presented in this report as
representing leading European design management
practice. This selection of 34 private organisations,
referred to in the report as the DME34, represent the
‘state of the art’.
The many different design management models
supported by leading researchers are reflected in the
wide range of practices revealed through the DME
Award entrants. Although many of the entries
assimilated recognised models there were many that
could not be easily categorised into predefined
models. Therefore, the assessment approach adapted
a broader review of the design strategies employed by
the entrants and to what purposes they were
intended.
128 companies and organisations were presented on
the 19
th
June 2008 for the DME Award jury day. The
entries represented a diverse range of applications
from public organisations to multi-nationals, small
businesses to charities, and manufacturing to service
sectors. The collection represented a unique insight
into how companies perceive design and how they
manage it. The winning entries demonstrated
sophisticated design management practices which
stood out from other participants.
Among the DME34 sample were several examples
demonstrating original interpretations of the design
process, new ways of designing. These examples
present new business models that exploit technologies
in innovative ways to provide fresh ideas and solutions
to their customers. They represent a form of
innovating innovation, applying design to design. Only
through identifying and disseminating these practices
can other entrepreneurs, managers and designers
develop new business models for themselves. The
DME Award serves a worthy purpose in rewarding
good design management practice, what was not
expected, is its ability to question how things are done.

Chapter 1
Introduction
The basis for this overview of Design Management
methodologies is the 2008 Design Management
Europe (DME) Award. This edition of the Award was
developed to provide a qualified sample of
companies whose design management practices
could be regarded as some of the best in Europe.
Several questions were addressed in order to qualify
a sample of good design management practice:
 What is good design management?
 How to find good design management?
 How to communicate good design
management?
 How to assess good design management?
In order to incorporate these questions into an
award process every effort was made to make each
step as transparent and logical as possible.
The DME Award was the vehicle for selecting the
sample companies. It provided a rich source of
material for analysis. As a result of the analysis a
DME Award jury selected a sample of 34 companies,
the DME34, as representing best design
management practice.
1.1 Background
When developing the 2008 DME Award the first
challenge was to determine how to award an activity
that is unique to each business but which cannot be
quantified without the danger of eliminating the
essence of that activity. It quickly became clear that
the challenge was twofold: What kind of information
should be gathered from the companies? And how
should this data be assessed?
A review of other management awards showed that
they all had something in common, and that was the
requirement for the entrants to openly express why
they should win an award, whether it was through an
essay, recommendation, presentation or interview.
With a European dimension to the DME Award and the
huge potential range of the subject matter, a format
needed to be identified that could facilitate each case
and provide a level playing field for entrants. The
poster format appeared to be an excellent solution:
not only had it proved being a successful medium in
the 2007 DME Award, but it also allowed for
companies to easily communicate their unique
practices through the aid of pictures, and simple text.
Attention was then turned to the development of the
assessment criteria. Due to the diverse nature of
design management, and the need to understand what
truly represents best practice, the only transparent
and fair method to select winners appeared to be
through a Jury process. Therefore, criteria had to be
developed to allow the Jury to arrive at their
judgements, and to provide a focus for the entrants in
developing their applications.
1.2 2008 DME Award criteria
Fig. 1: The expert panel assembled to determine the 2008 DME
Award criteria, Cardiff 21st
February 2008. Back row: Joao Mena de
Matos,(Portugal); Gert Kootstra,(The Netherlands); Dr. Thomas
Lockwood, (USA); Middle row: Darragh Murphy,( Ireland); Prof.
Robert Brown, (UK); Prof. Alan Lewis,(UK); Prof. John Boult, (UK);
Front row: Sally Brazier, (UK); Dr. Brigitte Borja de Mozota, (France);
Caroline Mougenot, (France).
The best way to set criteria for a design management
award was to gather professional and academic
experts in design management to discuss and agree
upon what qualities would be expected from a DME

Award winner. In addition, this open approach to
determining the criteria with third party experts
would promote transparency, gain endorsement and
build the credibility of the award.
On 21
st
February 2008, a small expert panel of
leading design management experts met at the
National Centre for Product Design & Development
Research (PDR), University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
(UWIC), UK. They were set the task of determining
criteria for the DME Award that could be applied
across all sectors, sizes, EU countries, and to both
public and private organisations.
Panel members all felt that those companies who
place a strategic advantage on design would be able
to identify with the criteria and react positively to
the challenge of submitting for the DME Award. The
criteria agreed by the panel of experts were as
follows:
 Leadership in Design Innovation: Defining and
implementing a vision for the whole
organisation.
 Driving Change through Design: Identifying
significant changes within an organisation
where design has played a major role.
 Excellence in Design Co-ordination:
Demonstrating capabilities, processes, skills and
resources.
 Strategic Performance: Demonstrating
performance based on objectives, deliverables
and results (tangible and intangibles).
With the criteria established, a set of guidelines
encompassing them, the description of categories as
well as the award deadlines could then be compiled
and published. A key facilitating element of the DME
Award was the network of partners across Europe to
nominate and facilitate entrants from their countries
to submit for the award. Through bringing their own
expertise to bear they made the criteria
comprehensible to the entrants and help them to
realise their applications.
A total of 128 posters were received from a wide
range of companies, organisations and sectors,
public and private, manufacturing and service.
Large company category
Open to private companies with 250 employees or more
or with an annual turnover in excess of €50,000,000.
Medium-sized company category
Open to private companies with 50 to 249 employees or
with an annual turnover not in excess of €50,000,000.
Small company category
Open to private companies with 10 to 49 employees and
Micro company category
Open to private companies with 9 employees or less and
Public or non-profit organisation (NPO)
Open to public or non-profit organisations such as
charities, government programmes, city councils or
schools and colleges.
First time design project
This category is specific to SMEs (less than 250
employees and a turnover not in excess of €50,000,000).
The purpose of this category is to showcase good
examples of organisations managing design for the first
time. This can either come from established
organisations or from start-ups.
Design strategy for sustainability
This category is open to private companies and public
organisations of all sizes. Sustainability relates to design
strategies encompassing social responsibility, improving
the environment or reducing ecological impact.
Fig. 2: Breakdown and description of categories of the 126 entries to
the 2008 DME Award

1.3 Sample selection
The DME Award Jury was selected to represent a
variety of business and design management
experience and expertise from across Europe and
beyond. All of the Jury members were nominated by
project partners of the ADMIRE programme and
went through a selection process before being
approved.
On the 19
th
June 2008, the Jury assembled at UWIC
to review the poster submissions and decide upon
the winners. Jury members were divided into two
groups of four and charged with judging one
category at a time per group. Different groups of jury
members were selected for each judging session
with regard to their specific expertise. At the start of
each category judging session, a moderator would
agree the session plan with the Jury and ask whether
there was a conflict of interest between any member
and the list of entrants in the category to be judged.
The judging sessions started with the Jury members
being provided with scorecards to assist them in
evaluating the entries according to the set criteria.
The marks they recorded were not intended to be
definitive results, but rather were designed to assist
the Jury in arriving at a working shortlist for further
debate. The Jury panel for each session was
empowered to decide on the number of honourable
mentions to be granted.
The criteria marking process proved itself through the
consistency of the scores given by each of the Jury
members. Furthermore, the final decision of the Jury -
which was based on discussion - was consistent with
their initial scores, thus reinforcing the validity of the
criteria for selection. However, the Jury members
regretted that not all of the companies followed or
demonstrated evidence of the criteria.
The moderators played a crucial role in focusing the
debate on design management and in delivering each
session on time, yet also allowing the Jury members to
freely express their opinions.
From the 128 entries, the jury selected 34 companies,
which met the DME Award criteria. These companies
are the sample (DME34) determined by the Jury to be
leading exponents of design management in Europe
and were analysed for this report. The objective of this
report is to provide an overview of the current state of
the art of design management as determined by the
DME Award. A literature review of design management
is conducted in Chapter 2 followed by the case study
analysis in Chapter 3.
Fig. 3: The 2008 DME Award Jury, 19th
June, Cardiff. Front row left to right: Prof. Robert Brown, UK (Moderator); Anna Wróblewska, Poland
(Juror); Joao Mena de Matos, Portugal (Moderator); Dr Maarit Lindström, Finland (Juror); Professor Saša Janez Mächtig, Slovenia (Juror),
Stephen Conlon, Ireland (Juror). Back row left to right: Dr Thomas Lockwood, USA (Juror), Xènia Viladàs, Spain (Juror); Darragh Murphy,
Ireland (Co-ordinator); Sir George Cox, UK (Juror); Prof. Dr. Eric Jan Hultink, The Netherlands (Juror); Michael Thomson, UK (Moderator).
Absent from photo: Dr Frank O’Connor, Ireland (Advisor).Photo by Glenn Edwards.

Chapter 2
Literature review
Literature published on design management
provides models for implementing design
management processes and further explanation on
the various benefits design management may
provide to companies. While in its most basic form,
design management consists in the management of
design projects
1
, at a higher level, design
management is also concerned with the whole of
the organisation and shapes the widest range of its
activities. Managed effectively and strategically,
design should enable a company to enhance
financial performance, increase customer
satisfaction, but also improve internal processes and
create shareholders value
2
.
A major issue in investigating design management
lies in the lack of an agreed definition for the
discipline; this ultimately results in an ill-defined
scope for design management research. The first aim
of this chapter will therefore be to review the
available literature in order to provide a clear
definition of design management. Secondly; an
overview of the main design management models
will outline the process of design management as
regarded by respected researchers in the field.
Finally, a literature review of the DME34 selection
criteria will provide a further understanding of the
context of the sample.
2.1 Defining a scope for design
management
Design has now been widely acknowledged as being
one of the major key factors in driving today’s
economy
3
. Aside from enabling businesses to add
value to products and services, well-managed design
should enable strategies, build brands, create
1
Best (2006, p.6)
2
Borja de Mozota (2005)
3
Cox (2005)
innovation; and, ensure customer satisfaction
4
.
Furthermore, they should enable a company to enter
and / or create new markets, facilitate innovation,
improve differentiation and increase customer
satisfaction. Companies such as Apple and Sony have
demonstrated evidence of the significance of design in
standing out and thriving in a fast-changing,
increasingly competitive global marketplace
5
. Since
design can greatly enhance businesses’
competitiveness, strong emphasis is being put on the
need for companies to further integrate design in their
activities. Further research has stressed that although
collaborating with designers would not be enough to
achieve success, design management is critical in
exploiting and further maximising the potential of
design resources for business advantage
6
.
One of the most basic functions that design
management performs relates to the management of
design projects. However, restricting the subject to just
a form of project management would be mistakenly
limitative
7
. Increasing emphasis is put on the need for
businesses to understand and use design management
as a strategic business tool
8
. Gorb
9
, in defining the
practice as relating to “the effective deployment by
line managers of the design resources available to the
organisation in the pursuance of its corporate
objectives” already highlighted the corporate
implications of managing design. This was further
explored by Topalian
10
who identified two levels of
design management: the corporate level and the
project level. This greatly widened the scope for design
management: as well as being a basic tool for
businesses to integrate when undertaking new
projects such as developing new products and / or
services, design should also be considered at an
organisational level. Cooper and Press
11
further
investigated the hierarchic responsibilities for
managing design within an organisation. Three main
levels were identified: the board / top management
level would be responsible for setting a strategic
design vision; middle / functional managers should
4
Kootstra and Wolf (2007)
5
6
7
Best (2006, p.6)
8
Best (2006, p.16)
9
Cited in Best (2006)
10
Cited in Cooper and Press (1995, p.224)
11
Cooper and Press (1995)

implement the design strategy and develop design
projects, while operational managers should be
accountable for managing the design projects. This
provided the ground for developing the three-level
model further used by Borja de Mozota
12
and Best
13
to explain how design management organises itself
within an organisation, emphasising the strategic,
functional / tactical and operational dimensions of
design management. The definition of design
management that has been set for the purpose of
the ADMIRE project and agreed by the consortium
reflect these findings and is as follows:
“Design management is the cultural, strategic and
operational use of the design resources (internal and
external) available to an organisation directed
towards the creation and attainment of business and
organisational objectives.“ (Kootstra and Wolf)
14
By emphasising the cultural and strategic
implications of design management, the definition
emphasises that the discipline of design
management goes beyond the management of
design projects and has a significant role to play at
an organisational level in enabling the overall
business strategy.
SCOPE
Corporate level
Project level
Topalian
Board level – strategic design vision
Middle functional managers – implement design
strategy and develop design projects
Operational manager – design projects
Cooper & Press
Cultural
Strategic
Operational
Kootstra & Wolf
12
13
Best (2006)
14
2.2 Design management models
The wide range of existing design management models
suggests the variable scope for the subject. Some of
the models thus aim to further explain the essence of
design management, to classify practices, to examine
the extent to which these practices are integrated;
and, to map out the wide range of benefits resulting
from good practice. The following presents an
overview of some of the major models explored by the
literature.
2.2.1 Managing the design process
Essentially concerned with best practice in initiating
design projects, managing and monitoring the design
process, such models demonstrate mostly prescriptive
and sequential processes to be followed to manage
design projects, from opportunity identification to
launch and evaluation. Competencies required include,
inter alia, identifying design opportunities, writing
design briefs, selecting designers, managing budgets,
monitoring the design process, and evaluating the
outcomes
15
. One of the main advantages of such
models lies in the fact that they do not tend to assign
responsibilities to various management levels, thus
relating to any kind of organisation the smaller they
may be. On the other hand, they may leave out the
wider implications of managing design and not stress
enough emphasis of the significance of implementing a
fully integrated design process in line with other
corporate objectives.
2.2.2 Levels of design integration within an
organisation
The ‘Design Ladder’, developed by the Danish Design
Centre, is a four-step model that identifies the extent
to which design is integrated in a company’s activities:
non-design, design as styling, design as process; and,
design as innovation. The higher on the ladder a
company is, the more strategically design is used
16
.
Although such a model is not explanatory in terms of
design management methodologies, it tends to
15
Bruce and Bessant (2002)
16

suggest a relationship between the skills involved at
the different levels of the ladder and the three levels
of design management previously explained.
The DME staircase, developed by Kootstra and
Wolf
17
for the purpose of the ADMIRE project,
demonstrate similar views but stresses greater
emphasis on management implications by
proposing a shift from ‘design levels’ to ‘design
management levels’. Based on the ‘Process Maturity
Grid’ model developed by Moultrie and Fraser, the
model aims to rank companies on a four-level scale
according to the extent to which they use and apply
design management principles. The levels, being
respectively ‘no design management’, ‘design
management as project’, ‘design management as
process’ and ‘design management as culture’
suggest a learning curve in implementing design
management within an organisation. Interestingly,
the three upper levels of the models appear to
directly coincide with the operational, tactical and
strategic dimensions of design management.
Companies on the second step of the ladder and
staircase would mainly demonstrate operational
skills; on the third step, they should master both
operational and tactical skills, while top companies
should master the coordination of strategic, tactical
and operational skills.
2.2.3 Design management implementation
A top-down implementation of design management
processes is commonly recommended to achieve
effective practice and maximise the potential of
design resources. Emphasising the need for the
process to start at the top of an organisation with
the setting of a strategic vision including design
goals, lower levels should then be accountable for
implementing strategies, initiating and running the
design projects. As previously mentioned, three
major levels of design management are commonly
highlighted in the literature: strategic, functional and
operational
18
. These levels correspond to
hierarchical positions within an organisation. The
higher the positions, the more strategic the design
17
18
decisions to be taken. Best
19
further interprets this by
suggesting the roles of the design leader, design
manager and designer to respectively relate to vision,
process and content.
Cooper’s implementation model considers the process
for implementation and highlight that good design
management practice requires planning and organising
for design, implementing processes and monitoring the
impact / outcomes. At an organisational level, this
could be understood as planning for the future,
organising how the change will take place,
implementing actions, monitoring and evaluating.
2.2.4 Value models for design
The ‘value models’ for design essentially aim at
highlighting the various benefits resulting from
implementing good design management practice.
From basic benefits such as design improves economic
performance and commercial success – design is good
business
20
. Borja de Mozota then emphasises the
significance of design in generating increased customer
value, in improving internal business processes, and in
providing strategic value for the organisation –i.e.
design as vision
21
. Hayes
22
also identifies four main
assets resulting from implementing design processes at
the organisational level; they are qualified as follows:
design as facilitator -e.g. improve cost, quality, time-to
market; design as differentiator –creates
differentiation and adds value; design as integrator –
e.g. better coordination between R&D, design and
marketing; design as communicator –e.g. enables
translating values, mission into tangible identities.
Another perspective derives from Drucker’s paradigm
of change model
23
, which suggests that any
organisation operates in three time zones: past,
present and future. Based on Flaherty’s interpretation
of the model, Best identifies the role of design in
helping organisations improve the current operations
of the organisation (managing the traditional
business), address new opportunities (managing the
transitional business), move towards a new vision of
19
Best (2006)
20
Potter et al. (1991)
21
22
Cited in Kootstra and Wolf (2007)
23
Cited in Best (2006, p.31)

itself (managing the transformational business). By
considering the widest range of impacts design can
have on an organisation, such models widen the
scope for design management and are useful in
providing insights as to the areas that should be
considered when planning for design.
2.3 Review of DME34 selection criteria
In order to assess applicants for the 2008 Design
Management Europe (DME) Award, a set of criteria
was developed. To achieve this, a ten-strong panel
of both academic and professional design
management experts from Europe and the US were
assembled. The meeting resulted in the following set
of four criteria drafted and agreed unanimously by
the experts.
 Leadership in design innovation: Defining and
implementing a vision for the whole
organisation integrating design across a wide
range of activities.
 Driving change through design: Identifying
significant changes within the organisation
where design has played a major role.
 Excellence in design coordination:
Demonstrating capabilities, processes, skills and
resources in support of the application of
design.
 Strategic performance: Demonstrating
performance based on objectives, deliverables
and overall effect on the organisation.
Most importantly, these criteria represent the
experts’ expectations of the best design-managed
practices in Europe and thus set standards for state-
of-the-art design management. By providing a
framework for the applicants to communicate their
unique design management practices, the criteria
verify a common collective of the current state-of-
the-art in design management.
INTEGRATION
Design management as culture
Design management as process
Design management as project
Kootstra & Wolf
Design as innovation
Design as process
Design as styling
Non design
Danish Design Centre
IMPLEMENTATION
Strategic
Functional
Operational
Borja de Mozota
Design leader – vision
Design manager – process
Designer - content
Best
Planning and organising for design
Implementing processes
Monitoring impact and outcomes
Coopers
VALUE
Economic performance
Commercial success
Improving internal processes
Strategic value
Customer value
Borja de Mozota
Design as facilitator
Design as differentiator
Design as integrator
Design as communicator
Hayes
Managing the traditional business
Managing the transitional business
Managing the transformational businesses Best

2.3.1 Criterion 1: Leadership in design
innovation
In order to identify the most relevant literature
related to ‘Leadership in design innovation’, the
criterion is broken down into two main concepts:
design leadership and design innovation.
Referring to design leadership, Turner and Topalian
24
firstly suggest a distinction between design
management and design leadership. According to
them, while ‘management’ essentially aims to
address set issues, design leadership should aim at
setting a direction for the organisation, thus playing
an essentially pro-active role.
Design leadership and design management could
thus be seen as relating respectively to the strategic
and tactical roles of design management, strategies
aiming to be proactive, and tactics to react to given
business situations. This firstly suggests the link
between the strategic level of design management
and the first criterion. Design leadership therefore
also appears closely linked to strategic management
in the sense that they both aim at ‘envisioning’ the
future and planning accordingly. Cooper & Press
25
further stress this by qualifying the executive board
level of management to be accountable for setting a
design vision, strategic direction and approval, and
creating a supportive environment for the company.
The aim of design leadership should thus be to
determine a direction for the whole organisation.
Turner and Topalian provide further indication as to
the role of design leadership: it should aim at
“envisioning the future, manifesting strategic intent,
directing design investment, managing corporate
reputation, creating and nurturing an environment
of innovation; and, training for design leadership.”
2.3.2 Criterion 2: Driving change through design
In a fast-paced and ever-changing environment,
there is an opportunity as well as a need for
organisations to embrace change to keep ahead of
the competition. Driving change through design
24
Turner and Topalian (2002)
25
Cooper and Press (1995, p.226)
relates to organising how change will take place in
order to achieve the overall strategy / vision. Change
may be externally driven, and / or take place internally.
Changes may apply to products, services, processes, or
the corporate environment.
Suggesting that this should be achieved through design
emphasises the need for a specific design strategy. This
is where design managers should apply tactical DM
principles and translate the vision into design
strategies
26
. Cooper and Press
27
specify the roles of
middle management to implement and monitor the
design strategy, create management structures,
develop projects and evaluate outcomes.
In explaining the role of design leadership and design
management, Turner and Topalian also stress that
businesses need design leadership to ‘know where to
go’, and design management to ‘know how to get
there’. They further highlight the role of design
management as being to “facilitate a change process”.
This implies that once the strategic vision has been set,
tactical skills are needed to implement the necessary
changes to achieve the strategy.
Cooper and Press emphasise the role of functional
managers to implement the strategy and initiate
design projects, the criterion appears to coincide with
the tactical design management level. Best then
suggests the role of design as being to help the
organisation address new opportunities.
Models dealing with new product development,
innovation processes and creativity techniques are
tools and methods useful in enabling and achieving
such change. Best
28
further reflects on the
opportunities for design as a change agent. The author
suggests that design could “contribute to improving
the current operations of the organisation” i.e.
managing the traditional business; “help the
organisation to address new opportunities” -managing
the transitional business; and, last but not least, “help
the business move towards new vision of itself” -
managing the transformational business.
29
26
27
28
Best (2006)
29
Based on Flaherty’s interpretation of Drucker’s paradigm of
change (Best 2006)

2.3.3 Criterion 3: Excellence in design
coordination
Echoing Thakara’s “Good design management is
perfect orchestration”
30
, this criterion relates to the
operational level of design management, i.e. design
management at the level of managing design
projects. According to the Report on Innovation
Management’, by the European Commission’s
Directorate General for Industry and Enterprise, the
main goals of design management methodologies
include:
“. . . help new products meet the specifications
related to customer needs, quality, price,
manufacturing, recycling, etc; reduce development
costs and time necessary for commercialisation;
coordinate and schedule the activities involved in the
design and development of products within the
entire set of activities, taking account time, tasks,
resources, manufacturing, etc, all in the context of
the company; integrate the above objectives into a
development strategy in line with the company
abilities.”
31
To achieve this, Turner and Topalian
32
identify the
five major roles of design managers. They should
manage “design people, design budgets, design
timetables, design work and design infrastructure”.
Cooper & Press
33
further define the objectives of the
Design activity level: “Managing design, identifying
skills, implementing, monitoring and evaluating
design work, informs vision”. Models relating to
managing the design process provide useful
indications as to the various stages involved in the
process, how they relate to each other and with
regard to the steps to be taken for an effective
development of the projects.
The ‘New product development model’
34
, highlights
the various roles of the project team with regard to
the different stages of the design process. The ‘fuzzy
front end’ would therefore require ‘preliminary
project planning management’, research and
30
Cited in Cooper and Press (1995)
31
Directorate-General for Enterprise (2004)
32
Turner and Topalian (2002)
33
34
monitoring of technological, economic and social
developing trends, the idea development phase then
needing feasibility studies and risk management to be
undertaken, as well as developing an ‘end-user value
model’. Market testing also appears critical before
launching any new products. Excellence in design
coordination also require multi-disciplinary teams and
integrated R&D and marketing functions in order to
achieve developing products that will be successful in
the marketplace.
2.3.4 Criterion 4: Strategic performance
This criterion relates to evaluating the relative
performance of the firm with regard to set targets and
objectives. While this stage certainly involves specific
skills such as monitoring, what really matters here is to
understand the breadth of benefits that can be gained
from effective design management practice. ‘Strategic
performance’ firstly suggests the need for businesses
to align the design strategy with business objectives
and use design as a strategic tool to achieve company
goals, beyond economic performance. Targets may
thus relate to increasing customer appraisal /
satisfaction, improving sustainability, enhancing
product success, reducing costs, adding value to the
company offerings, improving brand image, etc. The
value models previously reviewed provide insights as
to the various benefits that should result from good
design management practice. Cooper & Press
35
yet
suggest that “evaluating the management of design
and design projects is frequently forgotten, yet this
activity provides essential information for continuous
improvement in the use and management of design”.
The outcomes of such process should not be
considered as an end, rather as something that should
be fed back to the process in order to plan and
organise for future improvements.
35

2.3.5 A top-down implementation process
An exploration of the extent to which these four
criteria cohere with previously established design
management models provides primary insights into
the core information they convey. The diagram
opposite illustrates how the DME criteria fit onto the
design management models outlined earlier in this
chapter.
The near complete coverage of the criteria in the
design management models illustrates its validity
among current design management thinking.
Furthermore the three non-covered items; ‘Design
as styling’, ‘Non design’ and ’Design as
communicator’; demonstrates the focus of the
award and of the DME34 sample being focused on
the strategic value of design and not on the final
output.
KEY:
Leadership in design innovation
Driving change through design
Excellence in design coordination
Strategic performance
INTEGRATION
Design management as culture
Design management as process
Design management as project
Kootstra & Wolf
Design as innovation
Design as process
Design as styling
Non design
Danish Design Centre
IMPLEMENTATION
Strategic
Functional
Operational
Borja de Mozota
Design leader – vision
Design manager – process
Designer - content
Best
Planning and organising for design
Implementing processes
Monitoring impact and outcomes
Coopers
VALUE
Economic performance
Commercial success
Improving internal processes
Strategic value
Customer value
Borja de Mozota
Design as facilitator
Design as differentiator
Design as integrator
Design as communicator
Hayes
Managing the traditional business
Managing the transitional business
Managing the transformational businesses Best

Chapter 3
Overview of design
management
methodologies
All of the private organisations selected for the
analysis demonstrated their own unique design
management practices. The sample of companies
short listed for the 2008 Design Management Europe
(DME) Award also drew attention to the common
characteristics they shared, characteristics that
highlight the optimum conditions for design to be
integrated into an organisation. These conditions
have been recognised and promoted by design
researchers, practitioners and agencies for many
years and include:
 The management of design is orchestrated at
the top of the company;
 There is a clear strategy for design that is
integrated in all activities of the company;
 Design is regarded as a critical function in the
operation of the business;
 Design and innovation are part of the culture
and attitude of the company;
 Directors and managers are passionate about
design and its possibilities.
As well as the operational characteristics outlined
above, the DME34 demonstrated the following
market orientated characteristics:
 Growth exceeds national sector performance by
200%
36
;
 Growth is closely associated with innovation;
 Strong capability to innovate and confidence to
continue innovating;
 Ability to venture into new markets or address
new challenges;
36
24 private DME Award short listed companies with three years
data to compare against the performance of their sector in their
country.
 Clear market differentiation from their
competitors.
The companies have a common approach to design
and enjoy similar success; the main differences
between them are their markets, market position,
strategy and design capabilities. This would explain the
wide range of design management practices observed
among the DME Award winners.
The design management practices observed among the
DME34 can be categorised into four main
methodologies:
 METHODOLOGY 1: Managing design in the new
product development (NPD) process;
 METHODOLOGY 2: Managing design as a strategic
branding tool;
 METHODOLOGY 3: Managing design in the service
industry;
 METHODOLOGY 4: Managing design in design-led
companies.
Within some of these four categories are sub-
categories that represent the different strategies
adopted by the DME34 companies. The first category
represents traditional new product development
practices associated with manufacturing, while the
third category provides an insight into the rapidly
developing discipline of service design. As expected
strategic branding is a tactic followed by all of the
companies but in this case the category represents
those organisations that have placed their design
investment largely on a branding strategy. The fourth
category highlights new possibilities in using design as
a strategic tool, i.e. the ability of entrepreneurs to
respond to market changes and opportunities with
new approaches to the design process.
The categories highlight the role of design above and
beyond simply designing individual products. The need
to adapt management approaches to suit the aims and
abilities of the companies is demonstrated by the
various design management strategies adopted,
ranging from the development of high added-value
products to the design of user-centred services; from
creating strong and powerful identities to establishing
new, innovative business models.

Launch
Stimulus / trigger
Design brief
Concept generation
Evaluation
Project planning
Sourcing design
Concept development
Concept development
Evaluation / selection
Prototype and testing
Market & Technical dev.
Detailed design
3.1 METHODOLOGY 1: Managing
design in the new product
development (NPD) process
NPD processes have been widely documented and,
although the stages are likely to differ slightly from
one application to another, the overall process is
generally similar. Such models are especially useful
in guiding companies through their design journey
and provide them with stage gates (structured
decision points) to review the design work and
proceed, or not, to the next phase. The model is the
industry standard for industrial design consultancies
with each stage gate acting as a payment point.
Rothwell’s model
37
provides a detailed approach to
the NPD process.
Fig.4: NPD process adapted from Rothwell, 1972
37
Bruce and Bessant (2002, p.39)
The two first phases; ‘Stimulus / trigger’ and ‘Concept
development’; correspond to the front end of the
design process, sometimes referred to as the ‘fuzzy
front end’. The ‘Stimulus / trigger’ relates to the stage
where market opportunities are investigated. Spotting
new opportunities relies on reviewing one’s
environment, understanding the commercial context,
keeping track of the latest developments in the field,
investigating user needs, listening to customers, etc.
Specific methods which could be used include
undertaking a Political, Economic, Social,
Technological, Legal and Environmental (PESTLE)
Trends analysis which investigates trends in order to
give rise to new ideas on unexplored market
opportunities. Equally useful are Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)
analyses. Such analytical techniques assist companies
in strengthening their position in a market, and in
addressing their shortcomings in order to minimise
threats. Portfolio analysis and other marketing tools
such as the Ansoff matrix may also assist in highlighting
possibilities available to a company when diversifying
into new markets or developing new products.
CURRENT
PRODUCTS
NEW
PRODUCTS
CURRENT
MARKET
MARKET
PENETRATION
PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
NEW MARKET
MARKET
DEVELOPMENT
DIVERSIFICATION
Fig. 5: The Ansoff Matrix38
Once the product opportunity has been defined, and
the planning of the project established, a design brief
should be drafted. The ‘Design brief’ is a critical
element in the NPD process as it is the reference point
for the rest of the design process. The design brief
should describe in as much detail as possible the
product specifications, market positioning and project
constraints e.g. budgets and deadlines. The design
brief is a working document that is regularly revised as
the project continues.
39
38
Ansoff (1957)
39
For more information about design briefs, refer to Design
Management (Best 2006).

The next step is to ‘source design expertise’. While
some businesses may choose to work with an in-
house design department, some may prefer to turn
to external consultancies. Other companies may
combine both. Running design competitions has also
proved to be a successful course of action for some
companies.
After such expertise has been identified and the
design brief has been set the core design process can
commence. Concept generation is the first phase of
the process and consists of generating product
concept ideas. Methods to assist the idea generation
phase include brainstorming, lateral thinking,
synectics, Six Thinking Hats, metamorphosis analysis,
etc.
40
The designer will then sketch the ideas, turning
them into tangible product concepts. This will allow
for the concepts to be assessed, reviewed against
objectives, and evaluated in order that a selection
can be made for further development. Prototypes
will further assist in reviewing and testing the
product, leading to manufacturing ramp-up and
product launch. In acknowledgement of the iterative
nature of product development, throughout this
process the specification is reviewed and updated to
include the latest data informing design
development.
As an innovation process, the NPD path applies a
methodology to realise creativity in the form of a
marketable product. The following case studies
demonstrate how the NPD process provides product
innovations, improve product performance and build
distinctive product identities.
40
For more information, refer to Proctor (2005) and Higgins
(2005).
3.1.1 Using Design Management as a driver for
new product innovations
The companies reviewed as part of this section apply a
strategy focused on new product innovation to gain an
advantage over their competition. The management
role of the company is to assist the NPD process to
arrive at new products for their existing market that
can be sold at a high margin.
Although different in nature and in their products,
three of the companies nominated for the Award
shared a common approach: all of them demonstrate
the drive to innovate and invest heavily in design to
achieve their objective. Design management is the
force that drives the projects, enables the companies
to generate innovative ideas and to carry them
through to deliver products that differentiate from the
competition by the means of greatly enhanced
functionality, quality and aesthetics and of innovative
features. For those companies design creates value.
Fig. 6: The CafeSoloTM
by Eva Solo, Denmark
Danish company Eva Solo started in the 1960’s as a
manufacturer of kitchenware accessories. Since its
creation, the focus of the company has always been on
the development of innovative products that
presented a high added value. This philosophy remains
stronger than ever and they continue to compete
through design, developing desirable products that
truly appeal to their target market, and adding
innovative features to their products to constantly
surprise their customers.

Fig. 7: The Vacuum Wine Saver by VacuVin, The Netherlands
VacuVin define themselves as a manufacturer and
distributor of innovative food and wine-related
products for home and professional use. Their
products are characterised by their practical
application in daily life; they distinguish themselves
by means of improved functionality, originality and
quality.
Magnus Olesen realised that, to stay ahead of the
competition, the company had to innovate. Bringing
in some more design expertise appeared as the right
strategy to achieve their objectives. Yet, while some
companies would restructure their design
department, revisit their processes or bring in a
consultancy, Magnus Olesen took a radical
approach: they bought out a freshly established
furniture design-led company, D’nmark and
introduced the newly acquired designs in their
product range.
Where do companies get their ideas from?
These companies get their new ideas from challenging
the existing. Eva Solo systematically assesses existing
products. They apply their “Yes but” strategy that aims
to challenge conventions, push the boundaries a little
further, and enables them to continuously surprise
their customers by offering products that always
demonstrate new and innovative features.
“The first trendsetting Eva Solo products were launched
in 1997 – functional design with an edge. Traditional
product concepts for the entire home – both inside and
out – were rethought to produce new and unique
solutions in highly original shapes, different materials
and with exceptional functionality. Once again, a
continuation of the “Yes but” strategy. Hygienic silicone
for pot holders, insulating neoprene covers for jugs
holding hot or cold drinks as well as glass and stainless
steel as recurring materials characterise the Eva Solo
products.”(Eva Solo)
New technologies also provide inspiration for fresh
ideas. Such an example is reported in the Magnus
Olesen / D’nmark case, “By using laser cutting, it was
possible to create a new expression in the metalwork.”
An obvious but rarely exploited opportunity for
developing new ideas can come from listening to
customers. VacuVin takes special care of reviewing
customers’ feedback to improve existing products and
develop innovative new products to address unfulfilled
needs and wants.
“Combining customer service with quality control
enables VacuVin to improve their products when
necessary. Customer suggestions are researched by
R&D and implemented when valuable.” (VacuVin)
Fig. 8: The Day Bed, acquired by Magnus Olesen through buying out
it’s creator company D’nmark.

What kind of design expertise do they use?
Some businesses may choose to implement an in-
house design department; some may turn to
external consultancies or freelance designers.
Different sources of design can suit different
demands of the company.
VacuVin opted for a combination of extensive in-
house expertise, supplemented by students from the
Technical University of Delft as well as several other
colleges. The benefit of this approach is the
generation of very fresh and raw ideas, tapping into
the creativity of students which has not been diluted
by industrial experience. Colleges and Universities
are always receptive to industrial collaboration as it
enhances their teaching and research, it can lead to
valuable student placements, portfolio work and, in
some cases, it can lead to royalties for both the
student and college.
Some companies may chose fairly radical
approaches towards enhancing their design and
innovation capacities. In the case of Magnus Olesen,
they were a very traditional furniture manufacturer
who wanted to attract a different type of customer
and market. Rather than redesign their range or
learn a new style they decided to buy a newly
established furniture company; D’nmark; that
already attracted the market they were aiming at.
“In January 2008, Magnus Olesen A/S bought the
young Danish furniture company D’nmark.
D’nmark was founded in the beginning of 2005. The
vision was to create a new generation of Danish
furniture, that could compete with the old Danish
design classics and stimulate the creation of new
Danish products. The D’nmark products were well
thought out, with regards to functionality,
construction and aesthetics and they took their own
unique origin in new production methods and social
responsibility. The buying of D’nmark was the perfect
match to improve and strengthen the design values
and product line at Magnus Olesen A/S.” (Magnus
Olesen)
Eva Solo source their creative input from an
extensive collection of freelance designers. This
approach maintains a high quality of work from
designers keen to earn a royalty fee and allows the
company to pick and chose the work they think suits
their business. The model also permits the company to
expand or reduce their design capability to react
quickly to the fluctuations of the market.
What do the companies get out of being innovative?
Aside from being able to sustain a significant
competitive advantage, companies have also enjoyed
several benefits as a result of their approach to
innovation. Significantly, the generation of original
new products allows the companies to protect their
investment through intellectual property rights
measures such as patents and design registrations.
VacuVin even applies this principle to some of their
older products for which the patents are running out.
They review the ageing products in order to develop
improved functionalities which will enable the patents
protection to be prolonged.
The companies also enjoy worldwide recognition, Eva
Solo are proud to reveal that, over the last 10 years,
the company has received over 130 Danish and
international prizes.
These three cases demonstrate the role of design
management as a driver for the development of
product innovations. Not a chance process, there are
specific methods in place to assist companies in
developing innovative products. Design creates value
by enabling companies to offer added value products
to their customers. Leadership in design innovation will
therefore enable companies to constantly keep one
ahead of the competition.
3.1.2 Using design to enhance or improve product
performance
This section illustrates businesses that compete on
performance, outperforming the competition by
developing products that demonstrate greatly
enhanced reliability, features and efficiency. The role
of design management in such a case is to consider
every aspect of an existing product in order to develop
improved, faultless products that compete more
successfully in the market.

Aside from enabling the development of new
products, the NPD process can also be utilised by a
company in order to significantly improve the
performance of existing products. Such products,
which provide users with greatly enhanced features,
can be a significant source of competitive advantage
for a company. It allows them to compete more
aggressively in a market they know, and with a
product they have confidence in. This is the strategy
that has been adopted by Thrislington Cubicles,
Performance Health Products (PHP), Senz Umbrellas
and Curana. Bound by the same motivation to
continuously outperform their peers, these four
companies have created for themselves impressive
market space within mature markets by turning
some of the most common products into desirable
devices of outstanding performance.
Thrislington Cubicles are a “toilet cubicle
manufacturer with an uncommon passion for
design”. Through paying special attention to detail
with regard to everything they develop, from
products to company literature, website to
promotional gifts, Thrislington have achieved
worldwide recognition for premium quality. By
producing products that are sleek and beautifully
engineered they attract the attention of architects
willing to specify their products to compliment their
building. Thrislington applies their high design values
across all activities of the company to communicate
to their customers and potential customers that
design matters to them.
Fig. 9: A hinge detail from one of the Thrislington Cubicles, UK,
range of products.
SENZ Umbrellas was born from a frustration with
existing umbrellas, providing three friends with the
ambition to develop the ‘ultimate umbrella’. An
umbrella that doesn’t break, is comfortable in use,
does not contain dangerous tips that can poke people
in the eyes, and provide the users with good product
experience.
Fig. 10: The original SENZ umberella
Performance Health Products (PHP) designs and
manufactures equipment for the disabled, the elderly
and infirm with a special emphasis on products for
wheelchair users. PHP’s core concerns are the
improvement of comfort, function and quality of life by
the comprehensive management of posture in seating.
Fig. 11: The V-Trak system developed by Performance Health
Products, UK
Curana specialise in the development of innovative
mudguard systems for bicycles. Curana reports that
their products differentiate from the competition
thanks to distinctive designs, and the innovative
concept of being able to attach to most bicycle frames
without the need for any tools.

Fig. 12: The B”lite mudguard by Curana, Belgium
How do the companies achieve superior product
performance?
The energy and effort to make the best product
cannot be underestimated. The challenge for
management is to balance the cost of development
against the estimated value the exercise will add to
the product. To do this, management has to decide
on the optimum method to develop the product and
have confidence in it to invest significant time and
money. Management has another key role in clearly
communicating to the rest of the business how the
product should be improved. Four such approaches
are mentioned by the companies:
 Attention to detail
 Radical new product concepts
 Use the expertise of third parties
 Exploit changes in regulations.
In order to gain significant improvements in a
product, the DME companies have a common
willingness not to take any aspect of their product or
service for granted, and address every detail with a
view to improving it. Thrislington reports several key
success factors in achieving outstanding
performance, including the ability of a company to
constantly raise their own standards through good
design and communication.
“Make your first project to the best standard that fits
your business. Then make the rest of the areas catch
up. Then constantly do the same, find your best
element of design in your business and benchmark it
against other design disciplines.” (Thrislington
Cubicles)
Sometimes established products have inherent
problems which are taken for granted because they
have been around for a long time. That is, until
someone addresses the problem with a revolutionary
new product concept. Senz addressed the age old
problem of umbrellas breaking in the wind and applied
aero dynamic principles to the humble umbrella to
create a radical new and effective product. Based on
the shape of the optimum volume/drag coefficient of
the tear drop, the designers explored the potential of
applying this shape to an umbrella. In addition, they
addressed several other problems with conventional
umbrellas that people had previously tolerated i.e.
sharp points, difficult release mechanism.
Fig. 13: Different simulations for the testing
and development of the SENZ umbrella
Product performance can also be enhanced when
specialist third parties are involved during the
development process. They bring with them specialist
knowledge which the designer learns and apply. They
also provide a different viewpoint of the performance
and production of the product.
“In order to keep the flow of innovative ideas alive,
creative sessions are held regularly. Once checked if
they are valuable, a first feasibility study is done by
simple handmade models, from which a lot can be
learned for the further process. During concept testing,
styling and system design, there is a constant
interaction with production partners, knowledge
centres and mold makers”. (Curana)

Thrislington Cubicles undertakes extensive research
and involves ‘specifiers’ such as architects to make
sure concepts are commercially viable. Through the
involvement of the end specifier, the design
managers can avoid time and costs being spent on
concepts that will not attract customers.
SENZ Umbrellas made excellent use of third party
expertise to bring their radical umbrella concept to
market readiness. They recognised the importance
of working with technology experts from the Delft
University in the Netherlands in order to assess,
revaluate, develop and test their unique umbrella
concept. They utilised several types of testing
methods available at the university to ensure their
product met their high standards and vision of an
unbreakable umbrella. The ability to test and
measure the performance of their design allowed
the product to evolve into a true manifestation of
the original concept.
Another driver for change can be inspired from
unexpected opportunities. PHP believes in
regulations being a catalyst for beneficial change, a
trigger for product improvement.
“Many opportunities for product improvement and
appeal lie within burgeoning regulation. By the
design team members attending international
events, advance knowledge of new Crash Test
standards enabled the company to be the first in the
world to achieve compliance with these new
standards at a time when they became crucial to
product acceptance.”
(Performance Health Products)
The key to developing outstanding product
performance seems to rely on the willingness of a
company to go further, push the limits and question
the obvious. It has to be directed from the top of the
company in order to secure significant investment
and ensure its delivery across the whole company.
Although the investment is significant at the start of
the process it is good value compared with the costs
associated with launching the wrong the product
onto the market.
3.1.3 Using design to build distinctive product
identities
In highly competitive markets the ability to design and
produce leading products has to be matched by a
distinctive product identity that communicates the
qualities of the product and values of the company.
The objective of this aspect of design management is
to generate a recognisable product language that
supports the company’s brand message and that can
be consistently applied across the entire range of
products. This practice of design management is
predominately the domain of large manufacturing
companies.
KTM Motor Sports had been a motorcycle
manufacturer since 1953. Yet, in 1991, the company
faced bankruptcy due to the motorcycles not standing
out from a crowded market. At that time KTM had no
clear vision or design strategy. KTM therefore
implemented a new vision that would drive the
business forward: ‘leading KTM back to success,
becoming a leading manufacturer in the off-road
segment, expanding in the on-road segment, to then
expand in the 4 wheel segment, and thus become the
leading European motor sports manufacturer’. In 2007
the company had a turnover in excess of €500m and
over 1900 employees. To start their long path to
recovery they reflected their ambitions with the core
brand message ‘Ready to race’ which served as a
reference point for every activity thereafter.
Fig. 14: The RC8 motorbike by KTM, Austria, designed by KISKA
Design agency
Karcher was founded in 1935 by inventor Alfred
Karcher. In 1950, they implemented the first European
hot water high pressure cleaner. Focusing their
strategy on the core business, high pressure cleaning,

they developed in 1984 the world’s first portable
pressure washer, enabling Karcher to enter the
consumer market. Since then, the company’s
objectives have been to continuously increase the
water processing segment. The company now has
more than 6500 employees, 41 subsidiaries, more
than 2000 products, and 342 patents.
Fig. 15: The K7.85M Pressure Washer by Karcher, Germany
Labinprogres is a large Croatian company that was
founded in 1974; the company produces agricultural
mechanisation such as tractors, two wheel tractors,
motor hose and motor mowers along with a range of
attachments. Until 1990, the company remained a
leading manufacturer for small-sized agricultural
mechanisation, with over 300,000 machines sold.
But the break up of Yugoslavia in 1991 made the
company lose 80% of its market. To remedy this, the
company implemented a new strategy that aimed to
enable the company to regain market share and to
export. In 2007 the company had a turnover in
excess of €10m with 294 employees.
What are the key elements of this strategy?
Each of the three companies highlights the
importance of developing a strong corporate identity
that will be reflected in their products. This forms
the basis for a consistent identity throughout the
product range. In order to make effective use of the
corporate identity and visual product language,
Karcher and KTM develop design guidelines which
will guide the designers in modelling their projects.
Fig. 16: The Tuber 40 Tractor by Labinprogres, Croatia
“Corporate Product Identity: Unexceptionally all our
products follow certain design rules that make them
look “Kärcher“. The CD-handbook is a working tool for
all our designers.” (Karcher)
Within a company that already possesses its own
design guidelines, the designer will probably be part of
a large design team with clear processes documented
and supervised. In some cases, the concept for the
product would be already created, the technological
constraints defined and the designer’s task would be
to synthesise all the information into an accurate
design.
“The role of the designer is to design products that
have all the necessary features and compelling extras
so that target customers will be impelled to buy. In this
case, the designer is a craftsperson. S/he has a brief
and applies a distinct skill set to the task.”
41
Fig. 17: Karcher’s design process stages
Design identity guidelines are characteristic of
companies with sophisticated, well defined design
processes and stage gates that support a constant flow
of product development. These processes are most
41

likely integrated with the marketing, engineering and
manufacturing departments. The details of these
processes are unique to each company, and even
factory, but all follow the form of Rothwell’s model
42
.
What are the benefits of this strategy?
The continuity of a successful design identity,
reinforces the brand values of the company and can
have a positive affect on customers and the work
force. In the case of KTM, their revamped product
image was initially met with mixed reactions from
their existing customers but was successful in
attracting new customers. For the development staff
at KTM, it allowed them to focus more clearly on the
product and concentrate on building their racing
pedigree.
Fig. 18: KTM’s new management strategy – Integrated Design
Development
The distinctive product identity of KTM and Karcher
allowed them to move into new markets with their
own set of company values, rather than having to
reinvent themselves. Another advantage of
developing design guidelines is the ability to
maintain continuity of the product identity during
transitional stages of the company design process.
Increased differentiation from competitors and
distinctive brand identity provided the companies
with new competitive advantages. In the case of a
re-positioning exercise, companies have regained a
significant share of market. Labinprogres and KTM,
through their reinvention, have turned their fortunes
around and are now both leading manufacturers in
their markets.
42
Fig. 19: KTM’s strong visual product language
The reinvention of Labinprogress also coincided with a
dramatic change in its circumstances. In 2001 the
business was bought by the Slovenian company
CIMOS. The addition of Labinprogress to the group
created another outlet for their first tier automotive
factories. As a strategic addition to their automotive
operations, CIMOS invested heavily in Labinprogres to
bring their products into the 21
st
Century and ensure
new market opportunities. To reflect the new
investment in technology, research and design they
introduced the Tuber 40 tractor, a mid range four
wheel drive agricultural tractor designed to meet the
needs of an average farmer in the Adriatic region
where farms rarely exceed three hectares. The new
design vision and strategy provide the company with a
direction and focus to move forward with.
“For Labinprogres, the re-branding and the
implementation of design strategy into the business
process led to:
 The development of a new corporate identity;
 The modification of existing and development of
new products;

 Recognition, quality and coherence in our
product lines;
 Better communication with customers;
 Increased sales and new markets.”
(Labinprogres)
These cases demonstrate design as a crucial element
in the process of reinventing an established
company. Where radical new product innovations or
improved product performance are not part of the
strategy but simply re-establishing the company
within its market. It is more than a cosmetic design
exercise but a re-evaluation of all products that are
brought into line to communicate the company’s
values. Through the development of colour, font,
motto and high key designs the company can avail of
trademark mechanisms to protect its investment.
Design cannot achieve this alone, but it is an
effective tool in delivering a new long term vision.
This approach requires a design strategy integrated
with the business strategy from the very start of the
process and requires strong design management
leadership, and design processes to deliver it
successfully.
3.2 METHODOLOGY 2: Managing design
as a strategic branding tool
Brands are strategic and valuable assets. They consist
of both tangible and intangible strands.
While the brand message is intangible (i.e. a promise
made to the customers and the perception of the
message by these same customers), brand identities
are tangible ‘touch points’ between business and
customers. Identities should support and reflect the
company’s offerings and values. Keys to building a
strong and consistent brand identity lie in the ability of
a company to genuinely recognise its values and
translate them visually.
Fig. 20: Brand touchpoints43
As stated by Wheeler
44
, the process of designing brand
identity starts by conducting research: market
knowledge, product analysis, competitor analysis,
customer and stakeholder audits and interviews with
top-level management. All are essential for the
identification of company competitive advantages and
values. This enables the definition of the strategic
position to be adopted by the company to stand out
among the competition, and facilitates clarification of
the design objectives.
“Companies use their identities as a basis for credible
market communication.”
45
43
Wheeler (2007)
44
Wheeler (2006)
45

Literature on branding classifies the elements that
influence and communicate the ‘profile’ of
companies into four categories:
 Product design – the core product
 Information design – all visual elements that
support identification of the products’ and
company’s existence and meaning: logotype,
brochures, uniforms, signs, transit, etc.
 Environmental design –all visual environments
and surroundings where the product is
manufactured or purchased: offices, factories,
retail outlets, etc.
 Behaviour – how people behave and treat
customers is a visual trait that will affect the
perception of a company’s identity.
Brand identities do not create brands; rather, they
visualize the brand’s message. They will improve
product recognition and raise the prospects’
awareness. They are meant to communicate the
essence of the brand, whether it is to customers,
stakeholders or employees. Pickton and Broderick
46
add that consistency, clarity and continuity are the
three prerequisites that will have to be followed to
achieve an efficient brand system.
The two following sections will outline two different
applications of design as a strategic branding tool
that can both create and add value to customers
47
.
3.2.1 Managing design to raise brand awareness
in the fast moving consumer goods markets
“It is virtually impossible to detect quality differences
between the products of major financial service
companies, or petrol retailers, or the various
chemical companies, for instance. This means that
companies and their brands have increasingly to
compete with each other on emotional rather than
rational grounds. The company with the strongest,
most consistent, most attractive, best implemented
46
Pickton and Broderick (2005)
47
For more information on designing brand identities, also refer
to Wheeler (2006)
and manifested identity will emerge on top in this race.”
48
All fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) markets are
dominated by large multi-national conglomerates. New
FMCG start-up companies are competing with the
sophisticated marketing campaigns and distribution
networks established by household brands.
Entrepreneurs who recognise these challenges place
equal importance on developing their brand as well as
their product. Their objective is to create market space
through raising awareness of their products by
establishing effective brand identity systems.
From the DME34 selection, three companies operating
in mature FMCG markets demonstrate a very similar
approach to using design to create strong brand
identities, but employ different methods of managing
the process. In these cases, design is used mainly to
create a powerful brand image and support it through
a range of touch points i.e. logo, graphics, packaging
and advertisements. Two of the cases represent bold
new start-up companies, and the third an established
FMCG company aiming to expand their market share.
Fig. 21: Package design for a fruit smoothie produced by SóBor,
SóBor is a start-up which manufactures and packages
fruit smoothies for the bar and club market in the UK.
The concept is a new one for the market: selling
48
Olins cited in Bruce and Bessant (2002, p.87)

smoothies that can be drunk on their own or mixed
with alcohol. SóBor uses design as a strategic tool to
raise awareness of the brand and to influence buyers
and stakeholders to buy and store the products.
Through working with a design consultancy and
design advisor, SóBor established a powerful identity
for the products, which also reflects the brand
values: indulgent, healthy, natural, delicious,
sophisticated, and versatile.
Fig. 22: Product range by Madara, Latvia
Madara started with the association of four friends
who shared a passion for organic products. Their
complementary skills and backgrounds enabled
them to develop and launch a range of organic
cosmetics for the Latvian market. Successful and
ambitious, Madara now seek to further expand
through exporting their products.
Voslauer is an Austrian brand for mineral water. The
company uses design to position the brand and
strengthen its position as market leader in the
Austrian market.
A challenge specific to FMCG companies lies in the
fact that products are generally non durable. This
results in products that can scarcely be ‘designed’
and which cannot stand alone or impel
consumption. Companies must therefore rely on
their brand identities to convey their message and
values in a meaningful way so that the public
understands the benefits of the core product.
What key success steps did the companies recognise
in designing strategic identities?
First and foremost, all companies have to identify
and understand their intended market. Madara
made the choice to develop products for customers
that they would like to buy for themselves. From this
starting point, they presumed their customers would
have a similar profile to them i.e. concerned with both
beauty and ecology, and with a high income and who
share a passion for design.
Fig. 23: Advertisement for Voslauer Mineral Water, Austria
With the potential consumer in mind, the next stage is
to define appropriate and authentic values for the
brand that represent the company, its product and
appeals to the target customer. These values should be
a reference point for every activity the business
undertakes. SóBor brand values, ‘indulgent, healthy,
natural, delicious, sophisticated, and versatile’, are in
line with their product offering, and with the
anticipated target market’s expectations.
“The brand values associated with SóBor are integral to
our philosophy, and we are committed to adhering to
these throughout our marketing literature and
promotional activities. We understand that these
underpin the value of the brand and in order for us to
do that, we are currently in the process of writing a
brand handbook that will include rules and regulations
to ensure that we all understand our common
philosophy and that the brand design will remain
coherent in literature.” (SóBor)

“When we first started making organic cosmetics 3
years ago, we decided there are going to be no weak
points in our venture. We wanted to design a
company which is great both in function and form.
Logical, perfect in every detail, each function
designed with care. Beautiful, green and alive. Like
the flower (Madara) that has inspired our brand. . .
Together we share the passion for MADARA – the
humble flower form our meadows that has inspired
our brand with both its beauty and unbelievable
logics. Because we grew out of ‘madara’, we have to
be ‘madara’. We are truly MADARA, and that is why
our customers believe us” (Madara)
Fig. 24: Strap line for SóBor brand
The challenge for companies developing brands for
the first time is justifying the associated design costs.
Is there a direct correlation between this investment
and return? How much time is required to
understand the ambitions of the company, and to
translate them into a successful identity and tangible
products? On a design consultancy basis this can be
a very expensive exercise and if managed poorly can
generate the wrong result.
In order to get the most cost effective branding
exercise for his company, the founder of SóBor
enlisted the advice from a design advisor from the
local design advisory service. Without having any
experience in design or branding the founder applied
text book practices to the exercise along with the
expertise of the brand advisor.
“The design advisor’s role was to advise me on the
design issues such as constructing a design brief, and
issues surrounding design. Her role was emphasised
on giving suggestions rather that making the final
decisions as this was my role and duty. With the
advisor I had a process of gathering her thoughts on
design issues; for example deciding on the small
changes to the packaging, her experience gave me
confidence to make key decisions such as:
 Presenting a design brief;
 Choosing design and copywriting agencies;
 Evaluating brand concepts and designs.” (SóBor)
Madara adopted a different approach to enlisting a
designer to develop their brand and products. They did
not have enough funds to employ the services of a
design consultancy. However they recognised the
importance of design in their venture and enlisted an
experienced designer as one of the four start-up
partners. By including a design partner as one of the
main stakeholders in the business, it allowed a fully
considered brand to be developed. The designer could
invest enough time to fully perceive the values to be
communicated and translate them into an effective
visual concept.
Important to any branding exercise is to apply the
identity and communicate the values consistently cross
all brand touch-points. MADARA takes further
advantage of every tangible element to reflect and
apply the core values, allowing for the brand to convey
its authenticity.
Fig. 25: Principles of the Madara brand
Developing a brand is a different application of design
to product development and requires different skills
and knowledge to manage. In a market where every
business understands the importance of the branding
exercise it is more and more important to be able to
mange and inspire this aspect of design.

3.2.2 Managing a concurrent design
and marketing programme
In the absence of true innovation, companies turn to
design in order to repackage a range of products and
attract attention in the market. To maximise the
investment in design, some companies combine this
activity with a new marketing campaign, the two
disciplines – design and marketing – working
together. Different from an all encompassing
branding exercise, this activity develops a range of
products in line with a campaign for a short term
impact. The role of design is to develop a consistent
identity system addressing both the product and its
promotion.
Vipp was established in 1939, when a waste bin unit
designed by its founder was put into production
after receiving significant interest from the Danish
medical sector. The bin has been the core product of
Vipp since that time and has undergone few
modifications. The unexpected success of the waste
bin, led the company to grow and market a wider
range of (bathroom) products. The company uses
design to develop a ‘living’ range through the
integration of design, promotional material and PR
opportunities.
Fig. 26: A collection of products from VIPP, Denmark
Hisar manufactures flatware and tableware
products. During a restructuring of the business
several years ago, they recognised the potential
advantages of integrating a ‘design culture’ into the
business and took the strategic decision to establish
the ‘Hisar studio’, a work group of marketing and
design consultancies.
Fig. 27: Sketch development work of cutlery for Hisar, Turkey
Cifial, a Portuguese company, has two core product
ranges: complete bathroom solutions and integrated
door systems. Cifial’s success heavily relies on their
integrated design strategies to regularly introduce new
products and to create a consistent identity through
promotional material, corporate identity,
environments, exhibitions.
Fig. 28: The Technovation 35 by Cifial, Portugal
How do design and marketing complement each other?
There are many activities that transfer expertise from
one discipline to the other and have resulted in several
recognised and established practices.
Market research methodologies are used to
understand further a consumer’s perception of the
company’s products and brand. Surveys and focus
groups provide a wealth of information to contribute
towards the NPD process and inform the development
of both the products and its packaging. It is particularly
useful when companies plan to attract a new target
audience or introduce new products.
Point of sale displays and store interiors are the face of
marketing and design. The challenge for the design

manager is to co-ordinate the two disciplines in
order to maximise the impact on the consumer and
maintain continuity of the brand within the retail
environment.
Fig. 29: VIPP point of sale displays
Traditionally, marketing and graphic design usually
results in an extensive and well executed
communications programme covering marketing
literature, website, advertising, transit liveries and
other campaign extensions. However, two of the
case study companies demonstrate product design
that has been influenced by marketing forces.
Fig. 30: Cifial marketing material
Despite having strong design capabilities, VIPP and
Hisar decided to collaborate with famous designers
and brand names in the development of their
products. Introducing influential designers into a
company on a short term exercise can have a
positive or negative short term result in sales, but
the objective is often to bring recognition to their
design intent, attract a more discerning customer and
offer high value added products. World famous
designers are by their nature very independent of
thought and confident in their work. It is down to the
skill of the design manager to get the best value out of
the designer and make the investment pay off. The
exercise is largely influenced by the brief set to the
designer, it can either be a very tight brief or a very
open brief it depends on the aspirations, risk
averseness and budget of the company.
“Artists such as Philippe Starck, Mauricio Clavero, Ron
Arad and many more have been unleashed with no
restrictions in order to execute their interpretation of
Vipp products. Their design and work of art form the
basis of exhibitions at prestigious places such as
Carrousel du Louvre in Paris held in 2006.” (VIPP)
Fig. 31: VIPP promotional image of designer Ron Arad with a
modified VIPP product
“We add more brightness to our products range by
using Swarovski trademarked Signity stones for the
first time in the world.” (Hisar)
Design is best utilised when it is integrated across all
activities of the company. Where companies do not
have a strong engineering or R&D department the
emphasis of the business model is on marketing and
that often reflects in the way design is managed.
The examples in this section provide an insight into the
many graphic design outputs of a marketing based
design strategy; brochures, identity continuity,

branding, marketing material, advertising, liveries
and other promotional devices. The
marketing/product orientated design strategies tend
to concentrate on cosmetic revisions to established
products. A guest designer’s knowledge of any
company and its specific market and technical
requirements will always be limited. Their lack of
specific knowledge can be an advantage and it is
down to the design manager to continue their strong
concepts all the way to production.
Not to be confused with brand development,
concurrent marketing and design strategies
strengthens a company’s brand through
differentiation and can add further value to its
overall offering.
Fig. 32: “We add more brightness to our products range by using
Swarovski trademarked Signity stones for the first time in the
world”, Hisar
in the service sector
For companies operating in the service sector,
“designing the customers’ experience” is now
recognised as a critical factor for success. From
corporate identity to staff behaviour, website to
environments, every consumer ‘touch-point’ must be
considered to offer customers a consistent and
enjoyable experience throughout their ‘journey’. As
has long been recognised in more traditional product
development, companies must learn how to manage
design to deliver high quality services that will satisfy
or exceed in their customers’ expectations. In general,
service development follows the NPD process, what
includes research, brief, concept development, testing
and implementation stages. However, unlike
manufactured goods, services are intangible by nature,
and therefore companies face particular challenges in
design to manage such experiences. Service design
relates to the process undertaken to develop or review
new and existing services. Hollins
49
highlights five
major singularities inherent to services:
 Customer contact - Generally, in manufacturing
the customer is probably unaware of how the
product came about. In services, production and
consumption tend to occur at the same time.
 Quality - In manufacturing, measures tend to be
quantitative, and quality tends to be measured
against pre-conceived specifications (e.g. technical
drawings). The measures of quality in a service
tend to be qualitative. As a result, there is a wide
variability as it is more difficult to control the
quality of a service – as it is often down to the
individual person supplying it.
 Storability - Because services tend to be intangible,
it is usually impossible to store them. For example,
a car in a showroom if not sold today can be sold
tomorrow but an empty seat on an aeroplane
loses its value once the plane has left.
 Tangibility - One can physically touch a
manufactured product but most services are
intangible. One cannot touch legal advice or a
journey, though one can often see the results.
49
Hollins (2006)

 Transportability - Most services cannot be
transported and therefore, exported (though
the means of producing such services often
can). It is currently estimated that only 11% of
services are exportable.
“A service is any activity or benefit that one party can
give to another that is essentially intangible and does
not result in the ownership of anything. Its
production may or may not be tied to a physical
product.”
50
3.3.1 Designing the customers’ experience in
service industries
Although the main product of these four case study
companies presented below is a service (transport,
courier, culture) they have applied design principles
to develop user-centred and innovative ways of
delivering that service to the customer. The
objective in investing in core service development is
to provide an experience that will retain customers,
attract new customers and or increase the service
value.
Fig. 33: Images showing the extent of the work of a service design
manager in Virgin Atlantic, UK
50
Kotler (1986)
Without the benefit of a tangible product, the
challenges presented to a design manager of a service
company are different from those in a traditional
manufacturing environment. The following case
studies provide useful insights into the different
methods used to generate and execute leading edge
services and experiences.
Virgin Atlantic is a leading airline provider in Europe.
They differentiate themselves in a very competitive
market through offering a high and innovative
standard of service in both economy and premium
classes. In order to design and shape their customers’
experience of Virgin Atlantic’s services, the company
integrates design across all business functions. This
ensures that their brand values are reflected in every
touch-point, from booking the flight through to
arriving at their destination and returning home.
“To inspire change with considered innovation,
creating functionally excellent ground and air
environments and products.” (Virgin Atlantics’ design
mission statement)

Fig. 34: Images showing the extent of the design brief for DSB,
Denmark
Their integrated design unit supports the company’s
manifesto “to grow an airline with which people love
to fly and where people love to work”, and allows for
the company to clearly differentiate themselves
from the competition.
DSB, the Danish State Railway, carries 168 million
passengers every year, while operating
approximately 80% of passenger train services in
Denmark. DSB has been an independent public
corporation since 1999, wholly owned by the Danish
Ministry of Transport. DSB provides urban, intercity,
regional and international passenger rail services
within Denmark, and across international borders.
The design department of DSB Design, is responsible
for the company's visual appearance in all aspects.
To achieve this, DSB Design works closely together
with the entire organisation.
Fig. 35: Point of Sale concept for TNT post, The Netherlands
TNT Post is a specialist in collecting, sorting,
transporting and delivering letters and parcels and is
also a leading force in data and document services,
direct mail, e-commerce and international mail.
Processing around 16 million postal items a day and
delivering these to more than 7.6 million addresses in
the Netherlands, the company is now broadening its
horizons through acquisitions in Europe and Asia. TNT
Post has tackled the challenge of maintaining its
position in today’s shrinking market by concentrating
its focus on the customer. The strong design policy
plays an essential role in company strategy which sets
clear targets for operational excellence, customer
intimacy and product leadership.
The MuseumQuarter Wien is one of the largest urban
areas for contemporary art and culture worldwide. It is
a 3D cultural district with a wide variety of activities;
visual art, architecture, music, fashion, theatre,
literature, children’s culture and digital culture. It is an
“art space” with museums and other spaces for
exhibitions and events, an urban “living space” and
meeting point for Vienna culture aficionados. It is also
a “creative space” for the 50 resident cultural
initiatives of the city.
Fig. 36: The front façade of MuseumQuarter Wien, Austria
How do service companies achieve success through
design?
Whether a company is providing a product or a service,
design management should invariably aim at
implementing design strategies that support the
company’s vision and enable its strategic objectives.
Only through articulating the design strategy, and its
position in the company framework can senior
management and operational staff start to maximise
its potential.

Fig. 37: Management structure of Virgin Atlantic illustrating the
decision making hierarchy, cross discipline integration and
company values.
Virgin Atlantic’s long term manifesto (see fig.37)
reflects the company’s main strategic objectives,
namely growth, customer satisfaction, and employee
satisfaction. It is the reference point for the whole
company. The annual business objectives are then
determined which are then translated into the
divisional plans. The divisional plans detail all
projects, their timescales and budgets, including
Product and Service Divisional plans. It is the role of
the design manager to deliver these objectives with
his team whilst ensuring the brand values of the
company are integral to the solutions developed.
The management structure is clear, the decision
making hierarchy is transparent and the position of
design in this line of command is close to the top
level of decision making. One of the advantages of
having a clear structured approach is the clarity in
which projects are briefed and executed. In a large
business with many projects in progress at any one
time, only a formal system can work effectively. This
is contrary to most beliefs that design is a random
creative activity. It is the challenge of the design
manager to interpret divisional plans into projects
that his design staff can work to. Inspiring them to
deliver creative, innovative user centred solutions.
A key component in service design is reviewing
existing services and identifying problems that
customers experience. These problems represent
opportunities for improvement. Inhouse design teams
face a unique challenge when identifying problems,
their familiarity with the business conflicts with an
objective view of how it is run. To overcome this
barrier, research methods adopted from other
disciplines as well as employing external designers are
some of the methods used to overcome this myopia,
e.g. hiring ethnographers to carefully observe the
lifestyle of their customers and gain a further
understanding into their needs.
Fig. 38: ‘Service keys to give our staff some guidance on how to
deliver the Virgin difference’, Virgin Atlantic
Although it is possible to design every system and
touch point between the customer and the company,
the most valuable part of this interaction is the
member of staff delivering the service. To ensure
consistency within the service delivered by its staff,
Virgin Atlantic has developed a set of cards to train

staff on how to act / react and welcome the
customers. Standardisation of the service ensures
consistency throughout the company and every
operating site.
DSB has its own design department, DSB Design. The
stages involved in DSB’s core ‘service design’ process
follow classical design and NPD processes. They see
their main activities as being twofold: problem
defining and problem solving. A major issue in
defining a problem is to avoid developing ideas
based on internally held beliefs and assumptions. To
overcome this, DSB carry out extensive user
research, identifying user needs by a variety of
qualitative and quantitative methods including
observation, shadowing, diaries, in-depth interviews,
scenarios, role playing, and personas.
Fig. 39: The design process at DSB
Out of the 29 key service elements DSB Design
develop; 19 of them are communications related.
Every opportunity to reinforce their service and
corporate image is reviewed and developed:
 before the journey (websites, magazines);
 at the station (train station, signage system);
 on the platform (Traffic information systems);
 on the train (pictograms, uniforms, interior);
 behind the scene (intranet, work environment;
internal stakeholders / staff).
Fig. 40: Personas created and employed by DBS
One of the many techniques employed by DSB Design
to research user needs is the use of personas. This is a
technique where the designer reviews the product or
service through the eyes of the user. In the case of DSB
they created several different personas representing a
wide range of their user group and reviewed every
aspect of their service from the perspective of each
persona. The methodology provides a deep insight into
how the user perceives the service and how it meets
their expectations. This results in an extensive and
detailed review of the company’s services and provides
a basis for further development.
In order to communicate their mission across to the
public - being an “art space, a urban living space and a
creative space” - MuseumQuarter Wien use renowned
artists, designers and architects to design unique
environments that are conducive to creativity and
performance. These include everything from
commissioning progressive architecture to an original
signing system, internal and external pieces of
furniture that represent a different way of living and
learning. Their promotional material and advertising
communicated a fresh and eye-catching approach to
going to the museum and experiencing culture for
everyone.

Fig. 41: Progressive architecture and promotion at MQW
As portrayed in the image campaigns of MQW
above, the communication element of the service is
the most effective way to promote the brand values
and identity of the company. In a service design
capacity the communication element has to be user
centric as well, therefore special attention has to
make sure that all of the touch points work and
enhance the customer’s experience
Fig. 42: The TNT rebranding exercise covered every aspect of the
business.
When TNT Post underwent a re-branding exercise and
became TNT Post, it had to reinforce its new found
values (accessible, engaged, alert, reliable and leading)
through how it communicated and engaged with its
customers. This was followed by an extensive refit of
the new logo across the entire business; shops,
transport fleet, uniforms, advertising, operational
equipment even post man bags.
The company had to support its new image with a
service that matched it. The TNT Post Office was
reinvented to concentrate solely on providing mail-
related products and services catering to the changing
needs of its customers in the major towns and cities.
The new formula was developed through reviewing the
tasks required, concentrating on the brand values and
designing a shop system which enhanced the function
for both the customer and staff members, thus
providing a more efficient, clear and professional level
of service.
The remit of service design is to extend to every touch-
point between a company and its customers. One
weakness in the interaction can undermine the efforts
of the whole process. Service design is the design
process applied to add value to intangible products. It
can be developed by an in-house team or external
consultants, but as with product development, the
exercise is best executed when it falls in line with the
company strategy and is close to the decision making
process. The discipline requires a new and wider range
of skills including behaviour analysis, anthropological
methods as well as traditional design practices. This
adds more challenges to the design manager’s role but
also increases their importance within an organisation.
More and more service sector companies are
recognising the value service design can add to their
business and can see the return on its investment. For
those companies (service and manufacturing) who
value their customers and employees and want to
differentiate themselves from the competition it is a
new opportunity to exploit.

in design-led companies
As expected, the DME34 group of companies
reaffirmed several common design management
practices. In addition there was a significant number
of applicants demonstrating news ways of managing
design and integrating it into their business.
These cases consist of companies where design is
the core activity of the business and demonstrate
new business models that manage the NPD process
in a different way to achieve original solutions for
their market, new ways of designing.
3.4.1 Design publishing
As the title suggests, the design publishing model
allows the work of independent designers to be
produced and marketed through a ‘publisher’ who
has confidence in selling their work to the consumer
market. The design management role in this case is
to develop a structure for the business to operate,
attract and to commission the right designers whose
work can contribute to the success of the company.
While most companies develop their products
according to specifications they have previously
defined, the design publisher can choose to publish
existing designs that they select from a designer’s
portfolio. In some cases, the designers would
independently develop products considering the
qualities and characteristics of the publisher and sell
the concepts to the publisher. In other cases, the
publisher would approach a designer and advise on
what they are looking for. Publishers distinguish
themselves from the market with original and
desirable products, therefore the brief is deliberately
loose to encourage creativity. It is often the case
that the publisher does not pay for the design
development work but remunerates the designer on
a royalty basis.
The main challenge of a publishing model lies in
building a network of external designers who can
produce original work in order to sell premium
products.
Fig. 43: Deer, designed by Big-Game for Vlaemsch( ), Belgium
Vlaemsh( ) is a design publisher brand who specialise
in conceptually strong design that can appeal to a wide
audience. Their products have a unique identity and
are described as having a ‘Flemish’ feeling, hence the
company name. This identity has been carefully
articulated through the collections complied by the
founder and curator of the company. The products’
selection process is mostly subjective but some factors
must be considered: originality, price and whether the
products can be produced locally (due to corporate
social responsibility reasons). The company is small
(two full time employees) but works with an extensive
range of contractors (lawyer, accountant,
photographers and stylists) and eight freelance
designers.
Fig. 44: Creemy Tea&Coffee collection designed by Karim Rashid for
Gaia & Gino

Gaia & Gino is another example of a design
publisher. The company started by publishing
designs around the ‘Turkish theme’ for which the
designs had to reflect the country’s culture. They
worked with both Turkish and international
designers to produce their collections. In addition
the company is now experimenting and
implementing a new approach; working with design
colleges in the development of products for dogs,
the ‘Gino the Dog’ range.
Fig. 45: A selection of concepts that reached production stage for
Industreal, Italy.
The Italian company Industreal took a unique
approach to developing products. Initially
specialising in 3D modelling and rapid prototyping
activities, the company started to produce ‘calls for
proposals’, calling for designers to submit designs
that the company would then prototype and exhibit
in research exhibitions. Expanding their know-how in
prototyping and manufacturing, the company then
took some of the designs into production. The
company now manufactures over 70 products and
has significantly increased their prototyping and
manufacturing capacities / abilities. More than 70
professionals feature in their network of designers.
What process do the companies follow to achieve
their objectives?
As with any publishing enterprise the selection of
the authors and their work determines the success
of the company. To spread the risk, design
publishers create large networks of designers to
work with. Whether this is achieved through regular
‘calls for proposals’, word of mouth, through using an
existing network of independent designers, or running
design competitions, such networks are at the core of
the design publishing activity. On an individual basis
the designer has to be inline with the aspirations and
theme of the publisher as well as have their own
unique style and interpretation of design.
Fig. 46: Some of the many designers who worked with Industreal
To bring structure to their collections, and to guide the
designers in their commission, the design publisher
works to their own design ‘philosophy’ which is applied
across a wide range of products, materials and
processes. Although it is open to interpretation, these
philosophies are essentially brand values.

“Flemish tradition, humour, simplicity, no-nonsense,
reliability, quality and surrealism.” (Vlaemsch( ))
“Dynamic, organic, emotional, multi-disciplinary, and
multi cultural. “ (Gaia & Gino)
“Relevance and meaning also suggest completeness,
completeness suggests simplicity. We aim for this
sense of completeness.” (Industreal)
Where Gaia & Gino and Vlaemsch ( ) turn to their
cultural heritage for inspiration, Industreal aim to
exploit the possibilities of new rapid manufacturing
techniques through research and creative
workshops. To do this, they publish a carefully
crafted ‘call for proposals’ to attract and challenge
designers. Continuing the research exercise, the
work is then exhibited and future products are
selected. This approach to open source innovation is
methodical and transparent where as the selection
processes used by Gaia & Gino and Vlaemsch ( ) are
subjective.
The design publishing model is successful in
producing and rewarding original work. In the
absence of a tight brief, the designers have the
opportunity to express their creativity and
demonstrate new forms. Their products can outline
future trends and influence other companies in the
way haute couture catwalks influence prêt a porter
collections. For the design publishers their design
investment is kept to a minimum through a royalty
agreement. The model can be a win-win
arrangement for both parties but their success is
ultimately dependent on the receptiveness of the
market for radical new products.
3.4.2 Open source design
Contemporary culture is increasingly embracing
open source media through internet developments
such as YouTube, where individuals can broadcast
their own work. These developments increase
expectations of products, as opportunities are
available for companies who can cater for even more
demanding customers. As an example, the US sports
company NIKE addressed this opportunity several
years ago with their NIKEiD website whereby
customers can create their own unique running shoes
based on a wide range of colour, style and cut options
presented to them. Where NIKE has developed a mass
customisation system around their core business, it
presents the possibility of developing new business
models that exploit the technology further.
Designers and design managers respond to cultural
and technological developments with innovative new
ideas which can broaden their services/products and
improve the way they work. In this example, a cluster
of construction businesses lead by an architecture
practice opened up the NPD process to involve the
customer at the very start of each project.
Fig. 47: A home designed by the customer, built by a consortium of
businesses under the Plusarchitects tradename, Finland.
Plusarchitects have developed the PlusVilla concept,
an innovative service concept that enables customers
to design themselves a villa via a web platform.
“Adding and creating value through combining design,
technology and service innovations.” (Plusarchitect)
The PlusVilla collection offers a selection of leisure-
time homes and sauna that the customer can
customise and compare on the PlusVilla internet user
interface. The customer can use the user interface to
view the layout and perspective of the model he/she
has designed. A detailed breakdown of the material
and construction costs can then be provided upon
request.

Fig. 48: A schematic of the Plusarchitect cooperative.
The ability of the technology platform that
Plusarchitect developed to deliver a fast and
accurate interface to the customer is the result of a
lot of design and development work. Although the
customer feels they have designed their own villa, it
has only been possible through extensive design and
development work done by Plusarchitect
beforehand. They had to design a Villa system that
can provide all the living needs and construction
requirements but can also provide a wide range of
options for the customers choose from and that the
cluster can produce. In addition, they had to design
parametric software that could translate the 100’s of
Villa possibilities into working drawings, construction
plans and bill of items for fast quotation and
construction.
Fig. 49: A page from the Plusarchitect website illustrating the
design developed by the customer through the on-line design
process.
This investment in the product and service
development was high, but, by preparing all the
common specifications and production set-up
beforehand, they can turn bespoke design and
production around faster and at a lower price than
other design and build construction companies. The
real time interaction with the interface allows
customers to view their options and see exactly what
they want without the need to involve a design/sales
representative.
3.4.3 Design as a value added service
Grupo Vangest is a Portuguese tooling company
specialising in manufacturing plastic-injection moulds.
In the early 1990s, the company recognised that the
production of tooling alone would not remain a viable
strategic direction in the marketplace. Therefore, they
restructured their organisation to offer NPD solutions
as an integral part of their service. They established
their own in-house design studio and was able to offer
subsidised deign consultancy work (dependent on
tooling and manufacturing requirements) to attract
customers. The outcome of this has been to provide
the entire design, prototyping, tooling and production
facilities under one roof, which allows the company to
control the quality, cost and timescales of the entire
exercise and thus take this level of project planning
away from the customers.
Fig. 50: Diagram of the process structure of Grupo Vangest and the
position of design as part of its range of services.
Over the last decade, the integrated design
consultancy within their business has proved effective
enough for large customers to sub-contract the
development of major products. Many other tooling
agencies now offer design consultancy as part of their
service, but Grupo Vangest have benefited from

pioneering this model and establishing a credible
and successful design consultancy working for clients
such as Black & Decker.
By having a design studio within the company, it has
also allowed Grupo Vangest to develop its own
original range of products to promote their technical
expertise and R&D base to potential customers.
A common feature of the business models
represented above is a recognition of the
shortcomings and limitations inherent in the
traditional business and design models that applied
to their respective markets. They demonstrate how
design can be used to shape much more than the
image and product offerings of a company; it can be
used to shape the business itself and design the
business model.
Design managers have synthesised all the factors,
applied the creative design process and formulated
new business models with design at the core of the
business. They have created new ways of designing.
Innovation has come from changing elements of the
NPD process and exploiting new technologies e.g.
mass customisation, technology platforms or
internet. Another key development has been the
change in design sourcing e.g. Industreal utilising an
open source of innovation, design publishers looking
for complete designs, manufacturers looking for
component suppliers to provide design
development.
3.5 Main Findings
The case studies outlined in this chapter further
support the importance of design in the creation of
value by enabling companies to offer added value
products and services to their customers. They also
demonstrate the role of design as a facilitator of
innovation. Whether it is radical or incremental
innovation, the design process can channel ideas and
creativity towards a commercial product.
Design alone did not achieve the products and results
illustrated in this chapter. The case studies showed the
importance of design being aligned with the strategy
and management approaches of the company in order
to maximise its contribution. There are different design
strategies for different business objectives. These are
the business objectives addressed through the case
studies:
 To produce new and original products (Eva Solo,
VacuVin, Magnus Olesen, Vlaemsch, Gino & Gaia);
 To produce a solid base from which to expand into
new markets (Karcher);
 To produce products with a superior performance
(SENZ Umbrellas, Thrislington Cubicles,
Performance Health Products, Curana);
 To reinvent a failing company and turn its fortunes
around (KTM, Labinprogres);
 To create a brand (SoBor, Madara, Vosleur Mineral
Water);
 To launch a new marketing campaign (VIPP, Hisar,
Cifial);
 To improve customer experience and customer
satisfaction (TNT, Virgin Atlantic, DSB,MQW);
 To exploit new technological opportunities
(Industreal);
 To form a co-operative and offer a turn-key
building solution (Plusarchitect);
 To avoid competing on price but instead to offer
value added service (Grupo Vangest).
Although the respective design strategy of each of the
above examples are tailored to the individual demands
of the company they can be categorised into four
methodologies:

 METHODOLOGY 1: Managing design in the new
product development (NPD) process;
 METHODOLOGY 2: Managing design as a
strategic branding tool;
 METHODOLOGY 3: Managing design in the
service industry;
 METHODOLOGY 4: Managing design in design-
led companies.
This study found that many of the case study
companies have a design strategy closely integrated
into the main business strategy. It can be argued
that this is the case in most successful companies
using design. There are also companies where
design is part of the core function of the business
and their design strategy can sometimes be their
business strategy.
The design/business strategy relationship is taken
further by a different set of companies who base
their business around original design strategies. This
report showcased several companies who adopted
new approaches to the design process to develop
new business models. They have demonstrated that
new opportunities are open to those who can
change the way design is used, sourced or managed.
Whether this is through harnessing new
technologies, changes in the market, open source
creativity or social developments, the application of
design is different from conventional models. They
represent a significant opportunity for innovation,
and, introduce new ways of designing.

Chapter 4
Conclusion
The first challenge in documenting the ‘state of the
art’ in design management in Europe was to qualify
and identify a sample from which to analyse best
practice. Other than an appointment of familiar
companies, the sample had to be a point of
reference for future reviews of design management
in Europe. The 2008 Design Management Europe
(DME) Award was an ideal vehicle from which to
qualify ‘state of the art’ design management
practices.
The poster format of the award provided a unique
insight into the design management practices of
companies from a wide range of sectors across
Europe. Significantly, the entrants to the 2008 DME
Award articulated in their own words what design
meant to them and how they managed it. The next
challenge was to interpret these stories into a
coherent report on design management in Europe.
Although the company posters described their
design management activities in some detail, they
did not conveniently categorise themselves into
different types of methodologies.
The four key design methodologies outlined in this
book are not derived from theory or literature but
determined from the evidence of the companies.
The methodologies and their variants were
formulated from objectively reviewing the posters
and considering the aims of the company and how
design supported those aims.
The examples explored in this report are only
representative of one edition of the DME Award and
therefore provide a snapshot of design management
in Europe today. Not until the next edition of the
DME Award will it be possible to see if these
methodologies are consistent or whether a
completely new set of strategies will appear. From
the benefit of experience it is the opinion of the
authors that the four main methodologies will still
be evident but will collect new and interesting variants.
It is important to highlight that the effectiveness of a
design strategy is dependent on how well it is planned
(design leadership) and how well it is executed (design
management). This brings an additional contributory
factor to the success of a design strategy, i.e. the
abilities of the managers. Although the characteristics
of the individual or team are not covered in this report
it is explored further in the Design Management
Staircase
51
model developed for the ADMIRE survey.
The potential combination of these studies is further
proof of the invaluable source of information the DME
Award is, and the importance of maintaining the award
for further research in this field of design and
innovation management.
The insights gained from companies describing their
design strategies in detail cannot be under-estimated.
On one level, businesses can benefit from learning how
other companies use design; on another level,
researchers can build new understandings to educate
students, inform policy makers and advise company
managers. Therefore this report recommends the
continuation of the DME Award as a valuable metric of
design management success, and a source of best
practice data which can be exploited by researchers,
practioners and policy makers.
51

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The National Centre for Product Design &
Development Research (PDR),
University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC),
Western Avenue,
Cardiff,
CF5 2YB
UK
Tel: +44 (0)29 2041 6668
www.pdronline.co.uk
www.uwic.ac.uk
www.designmanagementeurope.com
The ADMIRE programme and DME Award are
made possible with financing from the European
Union through the PRO INNO Europe initiative.

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