Design strategy

Design strategy is a discipline which helps firms determine what to make and do, why do it and how to innovate contextually, both immediately and over the long-term. This process involves the interplay between design and business strategy.

While not always required, design strategy often uses social research methods to help ground the results and mitigate the risk of any course of action. The approach has proved useful for companies in a variety of strategic scenarios.

Design strategy can play a role in helping to resolve the following common problems:

Many schools have pioneered the thinking that has contributed to the theory and practice of design strategy, most notably IIT Institute of Design which offers a Dual Degree program in which students receive both a Masters of Design and an MBA, The California College of the Arts' MBA in Design Strategy, Parsons School of Design MS in Strategic Design and Management, The Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm (The Ulm School of Design: 1953-1968), Centre for Design Management - The London Business School,Stanford Joint Program in Design, Strategic Product Design at Delft University of Technology. Those in academia having a significant influence on the field include: Tomás Maldonado (1921- ) at Ulm, Peter Gorb at The London Business School,Jay Doblin and Patrick Whitney (1937–present) at IIT Institute of Design and Rolf Fäste (1943-2003) at Stanford. 1994 onwards Naomi Gornick and David Walker MA Design Strategy & Innovation at Brunel University, UK.

It is important to note that traditional art and design schools typically will not offer programs based on strategy.

Several notable design-related consulting firms have made design strategy part of their overall practice.

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