"“Customer centricity, the thing that IDEO has always stood for, just seems like it's table stakes now,” Peng tells Fortune. “Just saying that you're customer centered alone isn't enough. So many companies, over 50%, already believe they are customer-centered.”"
"Before IDEO's current CEO, Mike Peng, took over the agency last year, it had reportedly cut a third of its workforce, closed its Munich and Tokyo offices, and seen its revenue decline to less than $100 million, from $300 million four years prior."
"But, in recent years, the storied design agency has faced a crisis. Companies brought design in-house, copying IDEO's approach without needing to hire the agency. Executives pressured design teams to deliver results. Other companies saw design as a costly distraction amid an even costlier push to adopt AI. Last year, job postings in product design fell by 18%, and graphic design by 57%, according to Fast Company."
"Peng's response is to revamp IDEO's value proposition. Instead of designing individual products or services, he wants the agency to teach clients how to design products on their own."
IDEO’s customer-first design theory shaped product and service development for decades, influencing major brands and expanding into areas like revamping EV factories. Recent years brought a crisis as companies brought design in-house, copied IDEO’s methods, and demanded faster results. Design also faced pressure from cost-cutting and AI adoption, with reported declines in product and graphic design job postings. Before IDEO’s current CEO, the agency reportedly reduced staff, closed offices, and saw revenue fall sharply. With AI raising questions about what innovation means, the focus is shifting from individual projects to helping clients build internal design capability through teaching clients how to design.
#human-centered-design #customer-centricity #design-strategy #ai-and-innovation #business-transformation
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