Tag Archives: strategy

Designers think through problems from the “outside in.”

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Catriona Cornett • 3 Comments

“Designers spend much of their time thinking through problems from the ‘outside in.’ Contrasted with the ‘inside out’ approaches that typify corporate business agendas, this methodology focuses on the perspective of customers and end users when analyzing and crafting solutions. Applying this perspective to strategic work creates more genuine relevance.” - Luke Wroblewski

“Designers spend much of their time thinking through problems from the ‘outside in.’ Contrasted with the ‘inside out’ approaches that typify corporate business agendas, this methodology focuses on the perspective of customers and end users when analyzing and crafting solutions. Applying this perspective to strategic work creates more genuine relevance.” – Luke Wroblewski

This quote is from Luke’s article “Influencing Strategy by Design: Design Skills” which discusses his thoughts on the attributes central to design that provide unique value to strategic decision-making.

Filed Under: Luke Wroblewski

Designers understand the interrelationships that factor into success or failure

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Catriona Cornett • 0 Comments

“Savvy design strategists, design researchers, and designers not only seek to deeply understand the client’s business and the end user’s needs of the product, but they also try to deeply understand the connected (and not so connected) interrelationships that factor into the success or failure of the potential offering.” - Tom Dair

“Savvy design strategists, design researchers, and designers not only seek to deeply understand the client’s business and the end user’s needs of the product, but they also try to deeply understand the connected (and not so connected) interrelationships that factor into the success or failure of the potential offering.” – Tom Dair

Read more about how a hollistic view of design can help solve problems through Tom’s excellent story about designing a toaster in his article “A Design Parable: The Toaster and the Toast.”

Filed Under: Tom Dair

Design thinkers look past a project to the next step in the strategy

Posted on May 29, 2009 by Catriona Cornett • 1 Comment

“Design thinkers look past a project to the next project, to the next step in the strategy. They look sideways to the tangents that are affected by the result, and longer term to the investment required as a result of solving the problem currently in front of the team. No problem is solved in isolation—either from the past, or from the future.” - Mark Dziersk

“Design thinkers look past a project to the next project, to the next step in the strategy. They look sideways to the tangents that are affected by the result, and longer term to the investment required as a result of solving the problem currently in front of the team. No problem is solved in isolation—either from the past, or from the future.” – Mark Dziersk

Mark’s quote is from the Fast Company article “Ten Things to Demand from Design Thinkers.”

Filed Under: Mark Dziersk

Design strategy is about understanding and meeting needs and aspirations

Posted on May 6, 2009 by Catriona Cornett • 0 Comments

“Design strategy is about serving people... The real challenge is in trying to solve the human problem. It’s about understanding their needs, their aspirations, and then meeting them in some way. So we are serving them. But sometimes their needs are to be surprised and delighted, and they can’t tell us how to surprise and delight them. That has to come from us as creative people in our profession.” - Chris Hosmer

“Design strategy is about serving people… The real challenge is in trying to solve the human problem. It’s about understanding their needs, their aspirations, and then meeting them in some way. So we are serving them. But sometimes their needs are to be surprised and delighted, and they can’t tell us how to surprise and delight them. That has to come from us as creative people in our profession.” – Chris Hosmer

This quote is from the Design Strategy Group Continuum‘s excellent video on design strategy.

Thanks to a tweet from @tyeshasnow for sharing this video.

Filed Under: Chris Hosmer

Design is everyone’s job. It takes a commitment from everybody in the company.

Posted on April 17, 2009 by Catriona Cornett • 0 Comments

“Successful businesspeople in all fields endeavor to understand that they are in the business of designing a total customer experience. We call this the customer experience supply chain. The physical product or service is a central part—but, alone, not a sufficient part—of the equation for lasting success. Design is everyone’s job. Doing good design takes more than good designers. It takes a commitment from everybody in the company—soup to nuts, end to end.” - Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company by R. Brunner and S. Emery

“Successful businesspeople in all fields endeavor to understand that they are in the business of designing a total customer experience. We call this the customer experience supply chain. The physical product or service is a central part—but, alone, not a sufficient part—of the equation for lasting success. Design is everyone’s job. Doing good design takes more than good designers. It takes a commitment from everybody in the company—soup to nuts, end to end.” – Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company by Robert Brunner and Stewart Emery

Purchase the great book Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company for more thoughts on the idea of a “customer experience supply chain.”

Filed Under: Robert Brunner, Stewart Emery

Experience should not be sacrificed for growth–it should drive growth

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Catriona Cornett • 0 Comments

“You don’t sacrifice the experience for growth; you drive growth from the quality of the experience.” - Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company by R. Brunner and S. Emery

“You don’t sacrifice the experience for growth; you drive growth from the quality of the experience.” – Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company by Robert Brunner and Stewart Emery

I highly recommend Robert and Stewart’s book Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company. In this book, they explain how great design is about creating a deep relationship with your customers by creating a complete “customer experience supply chain.”

Filed Under: Robert Brunner, Stewart Emery