Strategic Design

Design professionals are no longer just executors of new product/service design briefs but are increasingly involved in the crafting of these briefs and in the strategic decisions leading to these briefs. In order to effectively play this strategic role, design professionals need to master a set of strategic practices - i.e., routinized strategic actions and ways of working. However, since the strategic role of designers is a relatively new development, many designers lack knowledge on specific practices for acting effectively on a strategic level in innovation projects. In this book we provide an overview of these practices, of tools supporting these practices, and of case examples in which companies and designers have effectively used these practices. This book will help design professionals to become familiar with effective practices and tools for strategic innovation projects and give them a set of guidelines for easily and quickly applying these practices and tools. The cases in this book will refer to companies of different size and age, operating locally or globally, and offering products and/ or services. It will be aimed at design professionals who are or want to be involved in innovation on a strategic level (e.g, co-development of design briefs, innovation portfolio management, growth strategy, business model innovation). These design professionals might be working for design/innovation consultancies or as design/innovation managers within a company.

“"Finally there is a practical book on strategic design. . . . The content comes from the best possible mix of leading academics and seasoned practitioners, who not only have the advanced experience, but also the talent to clearly communicate about these matters" -Cees de Bont, Dean of School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University”

Finally there is a practical book on strategic design. . . . The content comes from the best possible mix of leading academics and seasoned practitioners, who not only have the advanced experience, but also the talent to clearly communicate about these matters
-Cees de Bont, Dean of School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Giulia Calabretta (Author)

DR. GIULIA CALABRETTA is Assistant Professor of the Strategic Value of Design at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology. Giulia received a Master s Degree in Management and Marketing from Bocconi University (Italy). She also holds a PhD in Management Science from ESADE Business School (Spain), and a Post Doc from BI Norwegian School of Management (Norway). Giulia believes that using design and design practices is the best way for companies to become more innovative in nature and structure, and will prepare them to embrace the behavioural, technological and cultural revolutions of the future. Her current research focus is on understanding how design practices and capabilities can be eff ectively and permanently integrated into a company s innovation strategy and processes. Additionally, she is interested in what makes a great Chief Design Officer, and why each company (and institution) should have one. Her research has been published in such journals as Organization Studies, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Journal of Service Management.

Gerda Gemser (Author)

Prof. Gerda Gemser is Full Professor of Business and Design at RMIT University of Technology and Design, Melbourne, Australia. She is one of the distinguished full professors appointed by RMIT University to stimulate design research. Gerda earned her PhD degree at the Rotterdam School of Management (The Netherlands). She has conducted different studies on the effects of design on company performance (in cooperation with the European governments and design associations such as the Association of Dutch Designers (BNO) and Premsela). She has held positions at different universities in The Netherlands, including Delft University of Technology and Erasmus University (Rotterdam School of Management). She has been a visiting scholar at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (US) and Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia (Canada). Her research is focused on management of innovation and design in particular. She is part of the editorial board of Journal of Design, Business and Society, is co-chair of the Advisory Board for the annual Design for Business research conference as organized by Agideas (Design Foundation Melbourne), and is part of the Executive Board of RMIT's Design Research Institute. She has published in journals such as Organization Science, Organization Studies, Journal of Management, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Long Range Planning, and The Design Journal, International Journal of Design and Design Studies.

Ingo Karpen (Author)

Dr Ingo Karpen is an Associate P

If you are a designer and want to better understand and develop your strategic potential, this book is for you! This book off ers eight strategic design practices for design professionals who seek to grow or have already grown into a more strategic role in innovation. These practices have been distilled by expert strategic designers (from, for instance, Philips, Fabrique, npk design, Lifework, Reframing Studio) and researchers in the field of strategic design. The practices are illustrated through tools, methods, cases and guidelines that together will enable you to quickly familiarize with them and get ready to apply them in your next strategic design project.

The role of design professionals' in innovation is growing towards a more strategic one. They are no longer just executors of new product and/or service design briefs but are increasingly involved in the crafting of these briefs and in the strategic decisions leading to these briefs. In order to effectively play this role, design professionals need to master a set of strategic practices - i.e., routinized actions and ways of working. However, since the strategic role of designers is a relatively new development, many designers lack knowledge on specific practices for acting effectively on a strategic level in innovation projects. This book proposes eight strategic design practices for design professionals who seek to grow or have already grown into a more strategic role in innovation. The practices are explained through tools and methods, and through case examples in which companies and designers have effectively used them. Additionally the book provides a set of guidelines that will enable design professionals to easily and quickly apply these practices in their next strategic design project.

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