Effective design is not the sole preserve of design agencies or software developers, and organisations willing to place design at the centre of their business can steal the march on their competitors.
This is according to Rob Enslin, lead consultant for experience design at ThoughtWorks, who notes the majority of companies do not have a design culture at the centre of their business.
Organisations need to adopt a design culture that is about far more than sleek-looking products or user interface, he says.
Companies like Apple are renowned for their appealing products, but at the core of their philosophy is the commitment to designing processes that leave customers satisfied and the business profitable, Enslin adds.
"User experience is a term that has gained prominence in the age of mobile and enterprise applications, but organisations that restrict their thinking on design to only what their customers see or interact with are missing a real business opportunity."
Broadly speaking, says Enslin, user experience is concerned with designing a process or action that is intuitive and simple. This is probably best illustrated by smartphones and tablets that have revolutionised how we interact with mobile devices.
Organisations that restrict their thinking on design to only what their customers see or interact with are missing a real business opportunity, he points out.
Businesses should develop awareness around holistic design and this includes experience design, customer experience design, service design, product design, user-centred design, says Enslin.
Chris Buchanan, Dell client solutions director, says the way products are designed and manufactured has evolved rapidly.
The ongoing competitive pressure drives organisations to constantly review their design development processes and come up with new ways to innovate and create, he adds.
He believes companies need the right tools as an enabler to design - improving processes and enabling opportunities for innovation and design creativity.
"In developing software products, it is always best to start small - identify one area of the business that could benefit from efficiencies and improvements. Isolate the problem areas and design solutions to overcome the shortcomings."
The best designers can help companies connect and establish a dialogue with consumers, thus enabling firms to innovate more efficiently, Buchanan continues.
Enslin points out the majority of companies tend to focus the design of their digital products on features believing that the more features they can add the better the product.
The reality is most consumers use the products for very specific purposes and don't want or need lots of features, says Enslin.
Therefore, making design a priority drives business through its process, to consider what consumers want or need, he notes.
When that happens, companies start to build valuable products around the end user and their needs - offering a market valuable product.
Build a design framework for the business to operate and a customer research capability that feeds insights to the business and IT regularly, he continues.
"To achieve a successful design culture - it must be driven from the top leadership. Unless these principles are instilled at board level, it is near impossible to achieve a cross-organisational view of the business."
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