Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The I word

Innovation, it is acceptable or not these days for designers to innovate?

Only Transformation will be able to pull us through this economic crisis, as “Innovation” died in 2008, killed off by overuse, misuse, narrowness, incrementalism and failure to evolve. That was posted by Bruce Nussbaum in Business week last year. Innovation was labeled so 2008, and is to be replaced by Transformation. Add to this mix some Change from President Obama and it begins to sound to me that in order to successfully emerge from the other end of this crisis all we have to do is Mutate.

Just like a bacteria colony that survives by mutating out of its exhausted niche, businesses need to mutate to grow stronger and wiser to inhabit the new economic landscape that is presenting itself.

Let's Mutate. Weed out the week and replace them with stronger, more aware, more efficient and effective businesses. I think design can help companies mutate by making them aware of their fundamental building blocks, or DNA, that encodes the essence of who they are. By uncovering the DNA, beit the skills and investment of staff, needs of target audiences, sustainable growth patterns, design can help businesses secure longevity for the future.

Thorough design-based research allows all aspects of the business system to be analyzed, no one unit will be dealt with individually without appreciating it's positive and/or negative feedback mechanisms. This way, the whole business organization can be structured to support itself, sustainably and successfully...

...just an opinion

0 comments: