Abstract
Design is a ‘good thing.’ “Use it well,” companies are often told, and you will reap the many rewards. But how exactly is design ‘used’ by the commercial organisation during NPD? As a complex activity that deals with at least as many intangible as tangible factors, how can design be constrained by any business process? And if businesses should adapt to gain more value from designers, in what ways should they change? Based on the results of Design Drivers, a three-year EPSRC-funded investigation, these are some of the questions that this paper seeks to answer. Examining the way in which designers operate within different environments – either as an inhouse designer or outsourced consultant; with different sized companies; in different industrial sectors – we will attempt to illustrate how designers can bring real value to their clients and indeed, the entire supply chain through innovation.
Citation
Cooper, R., Wootton, A., Hands, D., Economidou, M., Bruce, M., Daly, L., and Harun, R. (2002) Design behaviours: the innovation advantagethe multi-faceted role of design in innovation, in Durling, D. and Shackleton, J. (eds.), Common Ground - DRS International Conference 2002, 5-7 September, London, United Kingdom. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2002/researchpapers/19
Design behaviours: the innovation advantagethe multi-faceted role of design in innovation
Design is a ‘good thing.’ “Use it well,” companies are often told, and you will reap the many rewards. But how exactly is design ‘used’ by the commercial organisation during NPD? As a complex activity that deals with at least as many intangible as tangible factors, how can design be constrained by any business process? And if businesses should adapt to gain more value from designers, in what ways should they change? Based on the results of Design Drivers, a three-year EPSRC-funded investigation, these are some of the questions that this paper seeks to answer. Examining the way in which designers operate within different environments – either as an inhouse designer or outsourced consultant; with different sized companies; in different industrial sectors – we will attempt to illustrate how designers can bring real value to their clients and indeed, the entire supply chain through innovation.