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Designing Demand
United Kingdom
Designing Demand is a national programme developed by the Design Council in England and delivered by the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), to support businesses in becoming better purchasers and regular users of design through a number of differing business growth services. The main objective of the programme is to embed effective processes for the management of design in businesses and technology start-ups in order to help businesses become more competitive, increase their profits and boost their performance through the strategic, effective use of design.
Pilot programmes ran from 2002 – 2005 and the programme started to roll out nationally in 2006. Initially four regions delivered the programme (South Yorkshire, South West, West Midlands and South East) with the remaining five now signed up to provide it before 2010. To date over 900 companies have participated within the programme which covers all industry sectors.
Designing Demand is one of the major programmes currently being run by the Design Council, and is essential to their four year plan. The core team based at the Design Council continue the management and development of the programme, its content and the service experience. A regional delivery team appointed by the RDA implement the delivery and day-to-day management of the programme roll out. The programme budget is approximately £20m and is funded by the RDAs, some of whom use EU grant funding.
The programme deals with both the demand and supply areas of design. It also helps to embed design understanding, design management skills and design processes within the companies involved, which can all provide short and long term benefits. The clients are then in a better position when purchasing design or managing design projects and understand all the areas where design can provide business benefits.
The tools & methodologies provided to the Design Associates and the use of Design Associates themselves are key factors to the success of the programme although its resource intensive nature is a possible disadvantage in the long term. An evaluation framework has been developed which is used in each of the regions delivering the programme which is helping to capture the qualitative and quantitative impacts of the services on the participating companies.
To meet the demands of different businesses the programme consists of four elements:
Designing Demand Workshops, Designing Demand Generate, Designing Demand Innovate and Designing Demand Immerse.
Designing Demand Workshops are fast-paced, practical one-day sessions showing SMEs what design investment could do for them. There are three sets of workshops: for Designers, Business Advisors and businesses. These workshops raise awareness of the value of design and what it can do for business.
Designing Demand Generate – a support service to help both established businesses and start-ups get a design project moving by helping them make strategic design decisions, set up and manage design processes and run successful design projects. Companies get up to five days’ free, dedicated, one-to-one support from a Design Associate, an experienced design manager appointed from a Design Council approved roster. They help the company identify and run the right project to move the business forward. With the Design Associate, the management team explores potential design opportunities for the business and chooses a design project to exploit. The Design Associate advises on how to choose, brief and work with designers, and they work with the company to keep the project on track. This process can take up to six months.
Designing Demand Innovate – a specialist design innovation service offering sustained support to technology businesses, specifically start ups, helping them use design to turn their ideas and technology into products, reduce time to market, create compelling brands and attract investment. A Design Associate provides support across the business helping to embed design thinking and management skills over a 1 year to 18 month period. This programme begins with the one-day Technology Venture Workshop, run by a Design Associate, which through case studies and exercises introduces the companies to how using design can turn their business into a better investment prospect. Participants who apply successfully for the next level of Innovate begin with a three-day workshop, in which they work with their peers and a Design Associate to explore potential design opportunities and prepare ‘innovation roadmaps’ to implement projects over the short, medium and long term. During the workshop, they are introduced to Matchbox, a unique Design Council tool to help integrate design into decision making. Participants receive a Matchbox set to use with colleagues. The business then works on its design projects for 12 months with help from the Design Associate, who advises them on matters such as choosing and briefing designers and keeping the project on track.
Designing Demand Immerse – the most intensive service, aimed at mature businesses with the appetite for strategic change, helping them grow by using design as a business development tool. It gives companies the chance to work with leading designers to investigate how design can tackle core strategic issues and make a lasting impact on performance. Immerse begins with a high-impact Immersion Day, held at the company premises and run by a Design Associate – a Design Council-approved design manager selected for their experience in tackling business issues. The management team works with a group of design experts to examine key aspects of the business in depth, from its strategy, offerings and markets to its objectives, challenges and working culture. The day ends with the design team highlighting a range of opportunities for design to improve the company performance. This is followed up by a formal report on the design team’s recommendations and the thinking behind them. In the next stage of Immerse, the company decides which opportunities to take forward. Then, all businesses taking part in Immerse in the region come together to share their plans and objectives. Over the next 12 to 18 months, the companies implement design projects with close support from the Design Associate. During this implementation phase, a series of NetWorkshops™ cover key design themes such as brand, new product development and customer focus. In all, the companies receive eight days of face-to-face support from the Design Associate.
Some results of the Innovate and Immerse programmes are outlined below:
Examples:
Smartsensor: Now a credible business proposition with new investment of £200,000.
"The programme put me in a position where I have a usable product, a clearly communicable market need, a story to give to investors and risk has have been mitigated across the board."
James Jackson, Chief Technology Officer
Ceres Power: Investing in design has helped Ceres Power to secure vital funding for a successful AIM flotation.
"We’re a small start-up dealing with big corporations and need to be able to punch above our weight. That means establishing a strong brand to keep us ahead of the competition. Design is central to this."
Peter Bance, Chief Executive
Oxford Biosensors: Spin-out invested £200,000 in product design, resulting in winning a development contract with Pfizer in December 2004.
"The integration of design thinking is simply a part of how we do business, influencing strategy, marketing, brand and of course product development."
Kevin Lorimer, Managing Director
Synature: Placing design, prototyping and user needs at the centre of their business strategy helped to clarify the value proposition and cut the time taken to attract clients and investment. As a result the team have created a new company with ANGLE Technology Ventures, following a high-quality pitch which included an eye opening user walkthrough of Synature’s visual interface.
Owlstone: Investing in their brand and building scenarios that positioned their product different market contexts helped to secure strategic partnerships earlier:
"Design has remained core to our business processes, crossing a spectrum of activities from understanding fast changing market landscapes to delivering products to meet the most challenging user demands every time, first time. Thanks to our embedded design process we have secured four new collaborations and have product revenues, all within an 18 month period."
Billy Boyle, Director, Owlstone
KeCrypt: Investing in user research helped KeCrypt to release the next generation Biometric Signature product.
"There has been a cultural change – we are a bunch of engineers so think about solving technical problems. It is about thinking about how to appeal to a particular kind of person. It is a better style of thinking and with our design mentor, we have found new ways of understanding what are target users want."
John Dale, MD, KeCrypt
Accuscene user research led to a shift in business strategy and new insights to feed into the early product development stages:
“Our main distributor in Los Angeles… is anticipating this new product with interest and discussions over pricing, margins, exclusive distribution rights, stock levels etc. are hotting up even before they see the product! The design of this product can be attributed to the Design Innovation Service and in particular to our design mentor’s valiant efforts to cajole, persuade and push us into bringing certain aspects of our ‘design footprint’ up to par.”
David Macintosh, MD, Accuscene
For more information on the programme go to www.designingdemand.org.uk
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© Design Wales 2007
