The UK-based Design Council has put up an interesting site called Managing Design. It’s appears to be an effort to sell design to the MBAs who might be saying, “yeah, but how will it improve my bottom line?” The site includes some interesting articles on the design process as well as some profiles of companies that have used design to boost business.
The site features a number of companies that are lauded for their exemplary design: Alessi, BSkyB, British Telecom, LEGO, Microsoft –
Microsoft? Really? Did the world turn upside down while I was sleeping? Is day now night? Up down? Red states blue? (that last one just might be happening, so perhaps MSFT has a chance!)
The article, which reads a bit like an MSFT public relations production, doesn’t do much to convince me. I can’t hear them talking because their products shout too loud.
Maybe Microsoft has bought into the gospel of design. Maybe Steve Balmer will be screaming “Designers! Designers! Designers!” at the next company meeting. We’ll see. But if the Vista user experience (from the packaging to the user interfarce) is any indication, what they appear to have bought into is the gospel of window dressing.
The Wow may start now, but it only goes skin deep. Whereas true, revolutionary, growth-inducing design goes much deeper. It’s about resisting the temptation to put your needs and profitability first, and serving your customers instead. I know some people wince when they hear words like humility and servitude (perhaps because of the religious connotations) but that’s what it’s about. When you’re humble, you believe that other people are more important then yourself. So you pay attention to their needs and wants. You strive to create products that serve.
via the prolific swissmiss
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