Design-led firms gain a business advantage
A design-led practice in an organisation is where Design (thinking) is seen as a strategic differentiator for the organization. Formal design processes are established for marketing, product, and customer experience initiatives. Whereas, design thinking is integral to shaping digital and offline customer experiences (CX) and is involved at every stage when strategy is being set.
Embedding design thinking for tangible business benefits
The study found that companies that embed design thinking in digital CX strategy achieve tangible business benefits. Moreover, we found that the more that design is embedded in digital CX strategy, the more these benefits are achieved.
Three key findings from the Forrester’s study:
1.
The impact of collaborative
design processes
The impact of collaborative design processes, which are embraced and facilitated by users and leadership alike, is broad-reaching in a differentiated practice.
In design-led firms, design permeates the organization beyond the product teams; it’s embedded in the culture. And there is an ambition to always do better.
2.
Overall employee belief in the value of design in business
Design staff, leaders, and overall employee belief in the value of design are all important components of a design-led organization.
These companies support a range of skills, from more senior or more strategically oriented designers to more junior or more tactical designers. Teams use collaborative processes and tools to unify working groups.
3.
Design-led firms embed design across the user experience
Design-led firms embed tactical and production-level design from strategy through application across the user’s experience.
Design is used both at the strategy-setting level and to tell a consistent story across the user experience. Design focuses on experience design as much as visual design, and there is a shared brand vision among employees, who internalize design as a core value of the organization.
