For companies, this means we now have case-studies of design firms that understand commercial dynamics: manufacturing, material sourcing, brand story, global distribution. When an enterprise aligns with designers like Barber and Osgerby, it's not about making something pretty, it's about making something profitable, repeatable, and meaningful. In today's economy, that's a powerful proposition. And their approach demonstrates how design thinking can move seamlessly between art, manufacturing, and management: exactly the kind of hybrid intelligence that defines modern creative business.
Design is powerful as a catalyst for change. Design is powerful for developing innovative solutions. Design is powerful for driving exponential growth for businesses.Design is powerful in solving some of the world's most difficult problems. If design is so revolutionary, why do so few companies embrace design? I wrote about the failure of Fortune 500 companies to embrace design beyond their art departments, where most Fortune 500 companies still fail to even adopt a single design methodology in a meaningful
I'm the creative lead of a direct-to-consumer brand in India with a background in design education and professional experience in the creative field. Over time, I've realised that my inclination toward strategy and creative thinking has helped me solve larger customer-centric problems through design and create meaningful business impact. At the same time, it has taken me a while to grasp the other side of the equation - the marketing metrics, numbers, and data that drive business decisions.
In an uncertain economy, many organizations are looking to reduce costs. If you're seen as nothing but a cost with little benefit, your team may be on the chopping block. So if executive whims are throwing you around, don't just learn to follow orders or question them to the point of being seen as a roadblock. Learn to get executives to realize that what they're proposing is a bad idea on their own.
