There's plenty of talk these days about the need for Canadian business to increase its
productivity in order to thrive in the ruthlessly competitive 21st century. Put more bluntly, it seems that companies must either
innovate or face extinction.
Innovation can be defined as the act of applying new or different knowledge and skills in order to solve problems. And based on my early studies in architecture school, the practice of innovation is synonymous with the discipline of
design.
Regrettably, many people equate design with 'styling' – the surface appearance or visual appeal of an object. But as I alluded to in an
earlier blog, great design involves much more than merely visual delight.
I believe that great design involves
the development of creative solutions that effectively address all the relevant needs of all the relevant constituents connected with the problem at hand. As trained problem-solvers, designers are adept at considering and balancing these often-competing needs and perspectives.
For instance, suppose a designer is developing a new smartphone. The relevant
constituents would begin with the phone's
end-user(s), then its
purchaser, then the
retailer who sold the phone, the
wholesaler who shipped and warehoused the phone, the
manufacturer who built the phone, and potentially even the
communities where the raw materials used to create the phone were extracted. All have a stake in the overall quality of the design solution.
More obviously, our phone designer would need to consider all the relevant
needs of these diverse stakeholders. Again using our smartphone example, this involves not only how good the phone
looks (its aesthetic or 'cultural' appeal) and how well it
works (its functionality), but also how cost-efficiently the phone was
manufactured and
packaged, and how big an
environmental footprint it leaves (the choice and quantity of materials used in its manufacturing, its energy consumption during operation, and the ease of its disposal at the end of its working life).
Such a broad perspective of considerations can – and should – be applied to the development of intangible services as well as the creation of tangible goods.
So where does
marketing fit into all of this? As 'experts on the consumer,' marketers have the task of identifying – ideally anticipating – the needs or wants of the consumer, then translating these into a clear problem statement that designers can easily work with. Then, once the product or service has been completed, marketers lead the charge in launching and promoting it in the marketplace, helping drive consumer engagement and ultimately sales on behalf of 'the client.'
If Canada is serious about boosting our national productivity and fostering innovation, then I believe
design need a stronger role in the equation. Getting corporations (and other organizations, for that matter) to recognize and appreciate the vital contribution that talented designers can make to their success is one of today's most pressing challenges.
