THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ :
PERSPECTIVES ON DESIGN INDUSTRY BUSINESS
MODELS
Dr Emma Murphy, Glasgow School of Art, UK
Dr Martyn Evans, Lancaster University, UK
#1 EVOLVING CONTEXTS
#2 IMPLICATIONS FOR DESIGN
#3 DESIGN 2020
#4 DESIGN BUSINESS MODELS [X4]
#5 REFLECTIONS
BUSINESS MODEL
…how to create, capture and capitalise upon
organisational value…
EVOLVING CONTEXTS
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Focus on design consultancy in the UK
From the tangible to intangible, from tactical to strategic
More, more, more…
Less, less, less…
Increasingly design-savvy clients and consumers
Increasingly distributed design ecosystem
EMERGING ISSUES (in 2008)
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Changing attitudes towards materialism and the refocus of
design towards quality of life.
Design and self-actualisation with a focus on the top layers
of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and an emphasis on
socialisation, tribal connectivity and quality of life.
Ecological design in which designers are looking at
systems/structures and solutions to enable us to live more
sustainably.
EMERGING ISSUES (in 2008)
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The emergence of two types of designers: designers who
continue to design products, and facilitation designers who
design the systems, processes, software, that enable people to
make their own things.
Bespoke design with products that evolve and adapt with
you and your life changes and that reflect your personal
requirements.
Localisation of manufacturing increasing digital design and
rapid manufacturing enabling designers to help people
design and manufacture for themselves; and consumers even
taking charge of their own design process.
Cooper et al (2009)
MORE, MORE, MORE
The ever evolving context design operates in…
DESIGNERS & THE
DESIGN DISCIPLINE
USERS OF DESIGN: THINKING, SILENT,
CO-OPEN, ORGANISATIONAL…
BENEFICIARIES OF DESIGN:
CLIENTS, CITIZENS, POLICY, SOCIETY…
DESIGN BUSINESS MODELS
Money makes the (design) world go round…
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS
FOR DESIGN BUSINESS MODELS?
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS
FOR THE SKILLS OF DESIGNERS?
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR
THE TIME-FOR-FEES MODEL?
DESIGN 2020
The future of the UK design industry…
DESIGN 2020
The future of the UK design industry…
THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES
FACING THE UK DESIGN INDUSTRY
DESIGNERS, CLIENTS, POLICY MAKERS
10 POTENTIAL BUSINESS MODELS FOR DESIGN
DESIGN STRATEGISTS
Top-level service designers resonate with this model as the focus is
on strategic innovation and design management leadership. The
extension into non-design and service sectors means greater
engagement with other business disciplines and therefore there is
opportunity to nurture ‘designerly skills’ in non-designers.
Aligning this model (but not pigeonholing it) with service design
may enable a coherent approach to teaching these skills. For
example, by recognising this business models as aligned to service
design, this could give it a place on the curriculum and CPD as a
skill set that designers should develop in themselves and in others.
Examples: Snook, IDEO, LiveWork, Engine, Participle, DUCO
INDEPENDENT SPECIALISED
INNOVATION SERVICES
Independent micro enterprises (1-10 employees) working with
specialist freelancers that are often personality led and regionally or
sector focused. They work with diverse yet specialist disciplines such
as engineering, software development, and service design. Highly
focused aimed at niches with fewer clients and maintain leading
edge capabilities to ensure their sustainability. Adopt a loose
affiliation model, e.g. where these businesses can co exists as
independents, but could collectively come together to provide a
comprehensive one-stop-shop. Not specific to any design sector but
has parallels with the traditional fees-for-time model.
Examples: Scott Sherwood, Dynamically Loaded
OWN BRAND ENTPRENEURS
Design-led entrepreneurs who operate design-manufacturing
collaborations around luxury, craft, homeware and apparel sectors.
The focus is on early stage design-led start-ups that increasingly
utilise the Internet to secure investment via crowdfunding funding a project by raising many small amounts of money from a
large number of people. Often based around a personal passion or
‘pet-project’ these design-led entrepreneurs can supplement their
income via freelance or consultancy roles and develop their ownbrand on a part-time basis. Collaboration with manufactures to
develop own brands often in niche areas can complement
crowdfunding models. This model resonates with the open design
movement.
Example: INSTRMNT
SIG NICHE NETWORK
Based on the expertise of special interest groups (SIG) – a
community with a shared interest in advancing a specific area of
knowledge - this model exploits social media to support
communication creating hubs and communities. Involves co-design
and participation between design communities and special interest
groups. The designers’ role is as facilitator and mediator. Income
model would be based on scale of contribution and would be reliant
on long tail economics, outsourcing production and distribution.
High public sector engagement such as the redesign of services,
empowered communities, and local authorities. This approach is
aligned with the co-design movement.
Example:
IMPLICATIONS
Changing contexts = implications for the design industry…
FLEXIBILITY, COLLABORATIVE
PARTNERSHIPS, EMERGING SPECIALISMS
CONSOLIDATION LEADS TO
NEW BUSINESS MODELS
RECOGNITION OF DESIGN AS
STRATEGIC RESOURCE INCREASING
IMPLICATIONS
Changing contexts = implications for the design industry…
SAY YES, THEN FIGURE OUT HOW?
BARRIERS TO ENTRY
LOWER THAN EVER BEFORE
EVOLUTION Vs. REVOLUTION
REFLECTIONS
SO WHERE ARE WE NOW…
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Power of the crowd and democratisation of design
Non-hierarchal fluid collaborations
Increasing need for agility and fluidity
Designers assisting clients in the development of newbusiness models (business model canvas, business model
generator)
Designers as strategists, change managers and improvers of
quality of life
SO WHERE ARE WE NOW…
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Recognition of design as strategic innovation tool –
integration into corporate strategy…
In-house vs. Consultancy – manufacturing to service (and
experience) – from tangible to intangible
Increasing concentration of design as a ‘conductor of
experiences’ – ever changing digital landscape
Blurring boundaries between design business models
Development of design awareness in business including in
non-designers = ‘design attitude’
DESIGN ATTITUDE
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Embracing uncertainty and ambiguity;
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Engaging deep empathy;
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Using the power of five senses;
Playfully bringing ideas to life;
Creating new meaning from complexity.
Bason (2014) citing Michlewski (2015)
DESIGN ATTITUDE
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A passion for seeing ideas brought into concrete form;
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Risk taking;
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Delight in engaging all the senses when exploring a
problem;
An ability to see the whole situation;
Empathy for the organisation as well as the user.
Buchanan (2014) citing Michlewski (2015)
SO… BACK TO BUSINESS MODELS
The four business models outlined can be likened to particular
movements in design:
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traditional design practice
co-design models
service design models
open design models
Part of our ongoing research – the development of a taxonomy of
design business models
CONCLUDING REMARKS
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A additional aspect of design attitude… taking the time to
understand the context before reacting
The rise of the importance and involvement of the nondesigner
The skills needed to support these emerging business models
are vast – how to we educate designers in this way?
Impact of digital technologies profound
SO… A FINAL REFLECTION
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Design as a strategic resource a ‘megatrend’
Designers becoming increasingly entrepreneurial– starting
design and non-design businesses
Need for in-house design teams will grow
Need for small boutique design studios – serving a niche
Freelance designers will continue to serve small businesses
Digital vs. print- digital dominant force
Digital design – shift from responsive to modular
Sharing digital data with the public
SO… A FINAL REFLECTION
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Design becoming increasingly multidisciplinary –
crowdsourcing increasingly important – from visionary
creative to facilitator of ideas
From problem solving to problem finding – using designers
in strategic foresight
Reduction of technical design curriculum while number of
design courses grow
Designers need to continually upgrade technical skills –
importance of masters of design
Professional doctorate in design – next step for MBAs to
embed design thinking and innovation
SO… A FINAL REFLECTION
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Design as a strategic resource and design-driven solutions
will grow and address societal challenges of global
significance
Highly specialised services provided to governments and
multinational-NGOs
Design in social innovation and contemporary global
problems
Need for designers that can apply research in the definition
of strategy – what should we do rather than how we do it? –
move up change of management
SO… A FINAL REFLECTION
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Design at a crossroad – designers as social scientists and
strategic entrepreneurs
Gjoko Muratovski—Auckland University of Technology, “The
future of design and business: a global perspective”
THANK YOU
Dr Martyn Evans, Lancaster University, UK
@martyn_evans | [email protected]
Dr Emma Murphy, Glasgow School of Art, UK
@emmaleemurphy | [email protected]