Why is design important?

“Design is the skill of incorporating the human, cultural and aesthetic aspects of projects.”
~ The Design Institute of Australia

Design is an important element of innovation that is often overlooked.  It helps determine how we interact with, and experience, products and services and this, in turn, will affect which products or services we will buy and what we are prepared to pay for them.

Profitability and user satisfaction

“Design, as I see it, is arguably the number one determinant of whether a product-service-experience-brand proposition stands out…”
~ Tom Peters, 2004

Understanding the user’s actual needs, anticipating their future or hidden needs and ensuring they have greater and deeper satisfaction is the key to sustainable profitability.  Good design takes the user’s requirements and shapes the product or service to take into account what is affordable, useful, accessible and pleasurable.  By developing something that combines these elements, you will have a product or service that will sell and give continuing satisfaction.

Differentiation

“At Sony, we assume all products of our competitors will have basically the same technology, price performance and features.  Design is the only thing that differentiates one product from another in the marketplace.”
~ Norio Ohaga, former Chairman and CEO, Sony

Good design differentiates a product or service, turning insights into customer preference.  Properly applied, design can give you a sustainable advantage, help you command a premium price, gain market share and even reduce production costs.

Links to subsections of this topic

Why is design important?
Managing design
Case studies
Programs and Services