THE DESIGN AGENDA A Guide to Successful Design Management Rachel Coo ey eis Mike Pressleveloping the content and argument of our book we much to the many students, teaching colleagues, and industrialists with whom we have worked, is Hon! David Walker from the Open ments and suggestions provement, Danielle E| ind Jaret Sleath at dshire University for their encouragement and feed- Diana and Nigel Press for patient proof-reading and Nock for valued insights on fashion design, We also thank Steve Jobs for his Apple Macintosh, a con- minder of good design, without which the whole would have been a great deal move ardueus and i More consuming of paper [thanks ge to our partners, Cary Cooper.and Liz for stimulation, criticism, sympathy, sanity and Cooper and Mike Press ud Stoke-va.-TrenitIntroduction eee “How long will it take ony dnidlustey to realise that UK Lad Js cuncompotition becetse ils products ave uglier. clumaier and less appwaliing ta the buyer thei these of arr contpeFitars” | Tony Key, Comparate Head of Design, Onitish Telecou; 1903 “Desigat is a political act. Pucry Phare wae designe a predier we Are making a statement abort the fireetion fe warkt wilt move in” Stefine Matzatio, Piclips Corporate osign, 1903 Inanswer to My Key's chetorical question—at least 18D years ‘During a Parliamentary debate in 1839 on the problem of ‘Britain's declining export of textiles, Siy' Robert Peel blamed Poor designs. In the years following Peel, ihe design mes- Sage has boon pursued with increasing vigour by designers, enlighteted industrialists and the government. When Mrs Thatcher backed the message with hard cash, in the form af grants for design consultancy, iLappeared that the case for design had been won, The 1980s has been described as the “design decade, ith various events symbolising design's elevation to a promi- nent position in our industrial celine. Design consultancies Faced cach other for a listing on the stock: market ane! expanded into Europe and North Ametica. Sir Terence Conran built ap his Storehouse design-led yetailing empire and atiracted sponsors fora Design Museum overlooking IntioductiarLondon’s Tawer Bridge. The consumer boom created amar- kot for designer goods which were often the subject of crit- ical examination by a rising number of design journalists, The business of corporate iclentity transformed the once familiar faces of well-established enterprises and ulilities: and a new business discipline — design management - . way into MBA programines gn's rapid ascent aso significant economic and cultur- alaclivity made its collapse all the more dramatic, Michael Peters, the foremost consultancy of the new design indus- try, called in the rece erence Conran lost control of Storehouse and saw Habitat sold ta a Swedish company; the Design Museum ent back on ils staffing anda ivities In the face of Financial uncertainty: and Wally Olins redesigned British ‘Telecom's corporate identity, The prancing piper adorning public telephone boxes was seen to be playing design’s last post. Even the director general of the Design Council described it asa “trivial and irrelevant cliche”,' The consumer boom of the late 1980s enabled the design. industry te indulge in 2 superliciality and hype to which it ultimately fell victim with the onset of economic recession. ‘The 1990s poses our society with new problems and new challenges. Design t demonstrate that it remains a vilal economic and cultural resource rather than a stylistic fad To develop Stefano Marzano’s point, design must reflect and contribute positively to the changing social values that underlie (he future direction of the world in which we b Behind design’s somewhat tamished public profile is its reality asa resource of considerable benofit ta management en is Me pracess iafaction aid company profitability Hirovigh ti of major design elements (performance, quality, durebility, appearance, a. sf} iv connection with products, enyiron- ments, injaruiation, aed corporate identity™. As this definition indicates, design brings together the needs of consumers and the objectives of the firm in creat- 2 Thé Design Agendaroducts and secvices which perform appropriately, acommitment to quality, have positive aesthetic and can be produced efficiently. It is clearly an disciplinary activity of some complexity. s complexity requires that the design process is vtfoc~ ively managed. Like any other corporate activity, design equires monitoring, and control mechanisms. Standards icies are necessary to ensure that design is.consis- Land maintains a recognised degree of quality. Effective agement structures are needed to ensure that cle meets company abjectives and integrates appropriately “with other corporate activities. Overall, a strategic approach “to design at board level clevat design to an innovative process with a long-term horizon. _ Design management “is (he application of the pracess af “management to the processes of innovation and design’ ‘There 1s a consideral y of research which examines the dimensions and efficacy of design management. This search has shown that effective design management, ‘nota general panacea for industry, isa signiftcant enc to suceuss, deserving a place on the corporate “agenda. Companies large ane small, both manntacturing id service-based, all need aPesign Agenda However, acrucial argument developed in this book is that _ design, in its interaction between industry and society, pro- é$.a means for organisations not only to accrue profits also te manifest the social responsibilities increasingly sanded by the public. It must therefore be viewed from abroad perspective in order to appreciate its social, cultur- al, technological and commercial dimensions. Background to the Design Agenda This intreduction to design management arises from our teaching and research, buth jointly and independently, aver several years. At the Universities of Salford and aflordshire we have taught.a range of design students ranging [rom fashion and graphics to plass and insustrial -design, and mate particularly have developed undergradu-eouaby ubised oul spunowsyae2q yy Sensst osey UT Aisap po apa sy SpaMoy podojeaap stsaaruy 9s04 ak UOTE AOC UY pur juaudojaaap SrEOUaaA WO uALTUSANS edo} Pu LSM pug sy IweYTTSUoS ypuvasal & APOUO] SBA SS31q) 917A sasunos Udisap pur SMaTpayAVUL UG SUMILIVAY YIM IER ApUaTN] Yay “Wout eur st uo ajar yereosar podajasop ays usisap ‘sorpesd ay ysnoryy, “Tous sop ayde @ ese payeanpe sem uadoos pypey “ply aa wy spuind Suyaeys Uap Sa aod] AAP YAM Powatewea ualsap wo swoaMee pure sanyoedsaad ino sosisayyss pe s[Lstp 4aOT SIT, adeuvud gps asoyy yo pied ayy uO. ufisap jo Surpurysuapun We OF JeWuassa ane peuy SUOSUOUEp JeaNy[Ms aly] JO oS SLOPTsUOS wpuody usesacy ayy, “Taw Cadriiei uBisap MP S¥O0d 18yIO WEY OF AOI SALOP wes qe voy pur Ares! asta] dus surepdsa mpuaby wRSaCd MLL Aupqeygerd pur sod aye Lod WO yO WoEUCLETE aU OF aE aun yur pur woqssed yy Buarsog oq st UStsap fo UATE -UPUL aap, TMSULTO IG 104 wolssed P suanesidsy ateuy pau any so dygqenb many roy ‘sifunyy asae]y ash OU aidoad ayy 104 ossed & ay qadse offe ppNOYs welsop TET EMOTO AL ‘auriaq, oquy auos OF WuaYy oquue yey) spay Suzayjo ‘Sup 4a] Lossed & PHAPUL SL disaq) Tord pue uoissed waamjoq “AQRAMEUOD PUL SANY]NY JO SPLOM ayy Moaagog S71 wae] qypany say op yorer sey oseayd 8,04 {jy ‘op suauBisap eum yo uonduasap @ sy SPO Gab Laaagog PAMIradp OM, snail pequosap ayeAyal sassy Jausisop Sumypols a def AULD yay jo Aqqenb ayy Furacadir pue yeas Buyesuas yieq f 1 surajqoid yoitan aapos Wu sfuny ‘ueqoue pur SuTvaUs ayoae TUE sSkinyy “opeopTAENTO TET ssuilt ‘serosa jeu] SSuyya ~ S8uryy SOF uoissed e Suugpuryay ney JOH od Ou) ME payoor St pram pure Suita angy “Sra yn Sq, JO YAUAL “qhaluod ay — epuade uappiy & sey espe POC STU scloy ey spaau Sty) jaau o7 SURE Hob “play oy My HONEUEIApN] Jo sosaTINS JALIO Pe oqi| duLmors sig 0) opud & pue “sours pure A19oy pagar aoa. pun 7s] AgjonponuT Me LOf pau. 8 paguuept ant Stoen Shy Yeo, Vrs pUL uy suaRvueur toy Sujutes SUawAAE LEO UL PAA[VATL Waa spe aaey ayy '* LO -nys ssauisng pue USEp WAT Oo} porvod woag aAry Yat. -umuasvURUL USIsap Uo souuredteud 9 enpeagysod pur ayeand interesis that span a range af practices, the authors’ intentions were to exploit this diversity In a multiciscipli- “nary introduction to design management. ‘Using The Design Agenda 5 book is'an introductory text designed for students nidying, deen management at undergraduate and post radnate levels, together with practising managers who ish to develop an imberest in the field. Tris nota “how te" Kbuta “what you need to (hink about before yeu de ‘and where to get love detailed inlormation about it” book. Indetailing the relationship between design and manage- mentit aims to make business students and managers mort design aware, and design students nue business aware: Tr isan agenda of issues and possibilities that through further study and the practice of design management will lead ta an agenda of action, The Design Agende combines contextual analysts, relerence toresearch findings and other literature, relevant exemplars and summaries of practical methods and techniques that peabletesion tobe managed effectively, The book Falls inte ‘parts: Chapters 2, 3 and 4 provide a theeretical discus: ‘sion of design and its influences, while Chapters 5, 6 and 7 Jook at the practical issues of design and [he organisation hough the book is very much 4 joint effort, the overall ‘esponsibility for the first part was laken by Mike Press and that for the second part by Rachel Comper, Each of the six main chapters is structured to enable a rapid grasp of the issttes covered, provide contemporary illustration of its ments and promote farther study, Chapters start with saphic “map” of their content and themes, and end with “qgummary of conclusions and implications. one the usual bibliography of most texts, The “Desight Agenda concludes with a Resource Guide, which san annotated selected bibliography organised by a listing of periodicals and journals for those wish- maintain an up to date understanding of the ficld.a of organisations that suppor! and encourage design gement, and details of the main culucational and sh bodies involved.Structure of Content The Book Map indicates the themes covered by each chap- ter, and a summary of the main arguments that are drawn from them, chaper Themes Six perspectives ol design: as ar, ax what is design? |) problem solving, a3 a creative act, ae a farnily of prolessions, as an industry. as aprcours, The value of design to enienpeises Tne Nae rallonal econsaes, post-custial st deeen society, consumer Guliute ane social issues ‘Comparate design sialenies, Besign ang the orpanisabon Delining corporate strategy: designs Contribution to strategie goats; the dloments of desk sirregy Design and organisabonal funesioes organisational issues: design. quality NG naw prouct duvalogment The 1atianala, methods and auledme ot senign auditing techniquas, ‘Checklists ol Beat praatea int dovitoping ‘dasign goals, stanagies, plans and . ‘A guide ta the Heralure, organisahans design mananerert. References Letter to Desigir Week, 30 fuly 1993, pl 24 Sepiembee 1995, ube en + 2 a a & AHL Relocted sttat foal, Je of Heap, 1 (1989) Innaesat ion and Desigu; Cassell, Lorton, (198) Iooey Manito, Litthe, Brown, Boston, Mass . p19 6 The Design Agenda