1 the Changed Role of Design

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THE

CHANGED

ROLE OF

DESIGN

1 February 2010

Provoke Design Oy/Ltd.

Christian Aminoff, Timo Hnninen,Mikko Kmrinen and JanneLoiske

This report was commissioned by the Ministry of Employment and the

Economy, as part of the Strategy for the Creative Economy. The feasibility

study and its documentation were implemented by Provoke Design Oy/Ltd.

Interpretations of interviews express the opinions of the authors. Any errors

herein are solely due to the author.


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Create Meaningful Experiences.

Contents

1. Summary 3

2. TERMS AND CONCEPTS 42.1. Open Innovation 42.2. Design Thinking 5

2.3. Crowdsourcing 7

2.4. Co-creation 8

2.5. Social Innovation 9

2.6. Service Design 9

3. BACKGROUND 10

4. METHODS 13

4.1. Workshops 134.2. Case studies 13

4.3. Interviews 13

4.4. Analysis and grouping of results 14

5. CASE STUDIES 17

5.1. A system for innovations in medical care Kaiser Permanente (HMO) 17

5.2. Development of the business idea: Sermo 20

5.3.Event permit procedure, Helsinki: the user-oriented design of publicservices 21

5.4. Innovations of the supply chain in trade: Kraft and Safeway 22

6. INTERVIEWS 23

6.1. Experienced roles and change of design 24

6.2. Difficulty of terms 25

6.3. Role of design 26

6.4. Internationality 31

6.5. Service design 32

6.6. Education and training 35

6.7. Innovations 38

6.8. Public sector 41

6.9.Relationship to economic success and the desired status as regardsenterprises 45

6.10. Perception of time, and time window of future visions 47

7. CONCLUSIONS 49

7.1. Change 49

7.2. Challenges 49

7.3. Proposals: Promotion of the Sector 50

7.4. Proposals: Education and training 50

7.5. Proposals: Public sector 50

7.6. Proposals: Enterprises 51

7.7. Discussion 51

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1. Summary

The role of design has changed significantly in the wake of the recession. The Muotoilu 2005!(Design 2005!) programme facilitated the rapid progress of a transition already underway, and

created a basis for research on design. At that time, new, changed roles were developedalongside the old, rather than supplanting them. For example, the scope of design wasexpanded from aesthetics to usability and product branding. The programmes follow-up groupregarded the continuity of the development process underway as critical.

Since the programmes implementation, a new perspective on changes in the role of design has emerged

around the world. This shift in perspective is due to climate change, globalisation and the globalrecession. The aim is to apply design-related approaches and methods outside the field of product andservice design, as a form of expertise in multi-professional innovation. This work is focused on areas suchas user-oriented innovation in business activities, organisations or in meeting social challenges. Designthereby has a plethora of roles, for example in terms of user involvement in development activities oracting as a visual interpreter between various organisations and stakeholders. Other roles include the

organisation of brainstorming sessions and the creation of solution prototypes as services.This novel way of utilising design is termed Design Thinking. As during previous transitions, this willsupplement rather than replace old roles. However, a new aspect lies in the fact that developing expertisein this role has been globally considered an opportunity widely available to non-designers as well asdesigners. Design Thinking is taught at educational institutions within various sectors, as an innovativeapproach and an interdisciplinary subject.

In this feasibility study, case studies, workshops and interviews were applied in discerning the opinions of

those who work closely with design including users on the current status of design and the related

change needs in Finland.

A number of results were obtained. The following are examples of issues requiring action:

A clear gap remains between enterprises the number of leading experts in design issmall. In addition, many enterprises have yet to go through the previous transition,particularly in the domestic markets.

Design offices have been slow to internationalise.

Overshadowed by product design, service design has failed to develop.

Although education is in transition, Aalto University alone will not be sufficient.

The pace of change is rapid. Some interviewees doubted whether Finland would be able tomaintain a leading position in this new role.

The following begins with a clarification of the concepts and terms used by the intervieweesand a description of the feasibility studys background.

Two classification models were used to describe the various roles played by design and therelated changes. These are presented at the end of Chapter 4.

Case studies on the consequences of change, documented for the report, have been presented in aseparate chapter.

The summary of the workshops is followed by a summary of the interviewees' opinions on thecurrent role of design and the changes needed. On occasions, these change needs turned outto be surprisingly profound.

The thematic areas of the interviews have been discussed in separate chapters. A summaryis provided at the beginning of each chapter, followed by quotations from the interviews.

The report is concluded by the authors' opinion on the transition underway andproposals for further measures, based on the workshops and interviews.

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2. TERMS AND CONCEPTS

A number of concepts and terms arose in the interviews. The contents of these are brieflydescribed below. Many concepts still lack a generally accepted Finnish translation.

In the interviews, the changing role of design was often associated with a more profound transition ininnovation for example, rather than technological innovations, or in addition to them, the interviewees

considered innovations in processes, organisations and operating models to be necessary. Theyassociated design with abstract issues lying outside products: user-orientation and innovation methods.Designs role was viewed as one type of expertise among many, manifesting itself in the phenomena

presented below for instance, as an interpreter of open innovation, between technology, marketing,users and various organisations.

2.1. Open Innovation

Open innovation is a term coined by Professor Henry Chesbrough, who works at the OpenInnovation Center, UC Berkeley.

According to Chesbrough, open innovation involves the use of purposeful inflows and outflowsof knowledge, in order to accelerate internal innovation and expand the markets for the externalapplication of innovation. 1As a result, companies have begun seeking other ways of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of

their innovation processes. For instance, this is being done through an active search for new technologiesand ideas outside the firm. Another method involves cooperation with suppliers and competitors, in orderto create customer value. An important area of this lies in the further development or out-licensing of ideasand technologies which do not fit in with the companys strategy. As an operating model, open innovation

meets these challenges.

Open innovation deals with research and development as an open system. Such a system

defines what external knowledge should be utilised in the company's activities, and whatinternal knowledge should be outsourced. The opposite idea, closed innovation, limits the useof internal knowledge to inside the enterprise and eschews the use of external knowledge.

Open innovation is distinct from the Open Source development model, which is based on co-operation and initiated and concluded by volunteers.

1 CHESBROUGH, H (2006), Open Innovation: Researching a New Paradigm

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2.2. Design Thinking

Design Thinking is a creative process or approach involving the search for new prospectivesolutions. Rather than focusing on the improvement of existing solutions, this approach analyseschallenges and the potential for the discovery of new, user-oriented solutions meeting suchchallenges.

Business schools tend to focus on inductive thinking (based ondirectly observable facts) and deductive thinking (logic andanalysis, typically based on past evidence).

Design schools emphasize abductive thinking imagining what

could be possible. This new thinking approach helps us challenge

assumed constraints and add to ideas, versus discouraging them.2

A.G. Lafley

CEO, Procter & Gamble

Design Thinking is often described as the ability to combine empathy, creativity and rationalityin order to meet user needs more effectively and to enable the success of emerging, newideas. As such, Design Thinking is a creative process, based on constructing and synthesisingideas rather than de-constructing them. The diagram below presents a macro-level perspectiveon Design Thinking.

? ?

?Divergence

Needs? Brainstorming

SynthesisAnalysis

Observation Solution

Convergence

A simplified presentation of Design ThinkingGenerally speaking, Design Thinking is more reminiscent of anapproach or cultural way of thinking than a model or process see below.

(A simplified model, based on the work of Tim Brown, Michael Barry, Sara L. Beckmanet al.)

2LAFLEY, A.G. (2008), The Game-Changer: How You Can Drive Revenue and Profit Growth with Innovation

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In Design Thinking, since ideas are not evaluated or rejected during the early phases of brainstorming,fear of failure is eliminated and participation encouraged in the brainstorming and prototyping phases.Since it leads to creative solutions, lateral, outside-the-box thinking is encouraged during these processes.

Organisational and management theories have viewed Design Thinking as forming part of theA/D/A (architecture/design/anthropology/) approach. Andrew Jones has stated that the A/D/Amodel is typical of innovative, human-oriented enterprises, where it has replaced more

traditional M/E/P (mathematics/economics/psychology) models. Jones has analysedenterprises such as Southwest Airlines, Whole Foods, Starbucks and Google.

4

Design Thinking applies design methods to problem solving, including outside the field of industrial design

itself. Such methods involve user-oriented design and the creation of new ideas, visual communications,

synthesis and prototyping. But the issue to be resolved typically involves something other than a product

it may be a service, or an organisational or social challenge.

The term 'design thinking' has gained in popularity because itmakes it easier for those outside the design industry to focus on theidea of design as a way of thinking about solving problems, a wayof creating strategy by experiencing it rather than keeping it as anintellectual exercise, and a way of creating and capturing value.

Design thinking is more than a methodology. Design is a culturalway of thinking. It's important to understand its power, commit toevolving your culture, even restructuring the company, resourcing

and rewarding those who practice design thinking. You can nolonger tolerate those who shut down design thinking. We have toget rid of the devil's advocates and experts who own their domain

to the detriment of innovation.5

David BurneyVice President of Brand Communications + Design, Red Hat

3De BONO, E (1992), Serious creativity: using the power of lateral thinking to create new ideas. HarperBusiness

4Dr JONES, A (2008), The Innovation Acid Test. Axminster: Triarchy Press

5http://www.redhat.com/magazine/019may06/features/burney/, retrieved on 10 November 2009

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http://www.redhat.com/magazine/019may06/features/burney/http://www.redhat.com/magazine/019may06/features/burney/


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2.3. Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing refers to outsourcing the tasks of an enterprise to its customers. The customer isincluded in the processes, generating added value for the enterprise (and for him or herself). In mostcases, the customer obtains only a modest financial reward from crowdsourcing. There are multipleFinnish translations for this term, which was originally coined by journalist Jeff Howe in 2006.

Howe presented a new way of understanding how large crowds can be exceptionallyproductive and creative when given the opportunity to gather around something they findinteresting. As an example, he cited the iStock-photo, which has radically changed the wayphotographs are sold.

Peer recognition, or granting the customer visibility in an environment meaningful to him or her, canbe used as a means of motivation. Other such means include learning anew and having fun or theopportunity to participate in interesting activities on ones own initiative. Success depends onidentifying people who are able to generate target-oriented results.

Equality, fairness and trust between the participants must be maintained in crowd-sourcingprojects. Such values, which create and preserve communality, can be maintained by followinguniversally familiar rules. On the same basis as it forges trust among its customers, an

enterprise must build public confidence in itself.Jeff Howe later described the crowdsourcing model as social behaviour: people gather together, either

free of charge or for very modest compensation, to perform tasks which were previously carried out by

employees. In some instances, a community constitutes a more efficient work force than a company.7Crowdsourcing and the Open Source development model are distinguished from one anotherby the latters basis in communality and its initiation and performance by volunteers. Incrowdsourcing, the company itself outsources its tasks, thereby retaining the initiative whereas,in conventional outsourcing, tasks are carried out by actors or individuals not specified inadvance. They may be amateurs or volunteers, or experts working in their free time. On theother hand, the task may be carried out by a company with which the orderer is not previouslyfamiliar.

6 HOWE, J, (2006), The Rise of Crowdsourcing. Wired magazine, June 2006

7HOWE, J. (2008), Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business

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2.4. Co-creation

Co-creation is an active, creative and social process based on co-operation between producers andusers. Value is increasingly generated through co-operation between enterprises and theircustomers rather than inside enterprises. In the most extreme form, N=1, meaning that the target

group consists of an individual user.

8

The initiative is taken by an enterprise aiming at generating value for its customers.9Herein lies

the difference with crowdsourcing, which is focussed on outsourcing an enterprises tasksrather than on the value generated by product users.

The co-creation matrix, Promise Corporation & LSE Enterprise.

8PRAHALAD, C.K. and KRISHNAN, M.S. (2008), The New Age of Innovation: Driving Co-created Value Through Global Networks

9Promise Corporation & LSE Enterprise, (2009), Co-creation: New pathways to value, An overview

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2.5. Social Innovation

Social innovation refers to reforms of regulative systems, policies, organisational structures andoperating models improving societys economic and social performance, and its operational

capacity, in both the public and private sectors.10

Social innovation and society's structural ability to reinvent itself have major impacts on the long-term success of society and the national economy. Little research has been conducted on theinception of social innovations and their impacts on society, including on an international scale.

The social innovation concept entered the language less than ten years ago, despite the factthat such innovations account for a huge share of services and their organisation, and of

legislation and people's everyday activities.11

Hannu Hmlinen of Stakes gives the following example of social innovations in the field of social andhealth care:

"A social innovation in the field of social and health care is a newidea resulting from the creative activity of an individual, a group, acommunity and/or a network. This idea generates added value in

terms of the well-being of an individual or community, or withrespect to health or a service system. 12

Hannu Hmlinen, Director of Innovations, Stakes

2.6. Service Design

Service design refers to service innovation, development and planning through design methods. The keyobjective of service design is the user-oriented planning of a service experience, so that the service meets

both user needs and the business-related needs of the service provider. The building blocks of thecustomer's service experience are service touch-points, service moments and a service string or customer

journey.13

In service design, all service touch-points must be carefully considered target areas of theservice. They must be designed so as to form a clear, consistent and coherent serviceexperience. This is important, since customers pay attention to service touch-points in particular to all that they can feel and experience.

Account should be taken of the fact that nobody's service experience as such can be designed anddefined in advance, since meanings, values and expectations, which vary from person to person, areincluded in such experiences. Thus, designing a service experience refers to the creation of asuitable environment and tools for events and activities, so that the experience can be modified as

desired.14

10

http://www.sitra.fi/fi/Ohjelmat/hankkeet_ennen_ohjelmatoimintaa/hankkeet/Sosiaaliset_innovaatiot/Sosiaaliset_innovaatiot_ +yhteiskun

nan_uudistumiskyky_ja_taloudellinen_menestys.htm, retrieved on 10 November 2009

11 http://www.stakes.fi/FI/ajankohtaista/Tiedotteet/2007/70_2007.htm , retrieved on 10 November 2009

12 http://innovaatio.stakes.fi/FI/esittely/index.htm , retrieved on 10 November 2009

13 KOIVISTO, M, (2007), Mit on palvelumuotoilu? Muotoilun hydyntminen palvelujen suunnittelussa, TAIK (What is service design?Utilising design in service design, UIAH)

14http://www.palvelumuotoilu.fi/sanasto_ja_metodit/, retrieved on 10 November 2009

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http://www.sitra.fi/fi/Ohjelmat/hankkeet_ennen_ohjelmatoimintaa/hankkeet/Sosiaaliset_innovaatiot/Sosiaaliset_innovaatiot_http://www.stakes.fi/FI/ajankohtaista/Tiedotteet/2007/70_2007.htmhttp://innovaatio.stakes.fi/FI/esittely/index.htmhttp://www.palvelumuotoilu.fi/sanasto_ja_metodit/http://www.palvelumuotoilu.fi/sanasto_ja_metodit/http://innovaatio.stakes.fi/FI/esittely/index.htmhttp://www.stakes.fi/FI/ajankohtaista/Tiedotteet/2007/70_2007.htmhttp://www.sitra.fi/fi/Ohjelmat/hankkeet_ennen_ohjelmatoimintaa/hankkeet/Sosiaaliset_innovaatiot/Sosiaaliset_innovaatiot_


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3. BACKGROUND

Design 2005! was a design policy programme, launched by the Government to promote business and itscompetitiveness through design. In 2004, the programmes follow-up group presented the followingconclusions on the programmes implementation: on the whole, the implementation of the Design 2005!programme began on several fronts. The industrial design technology programme funded by Tekes andthe research programme on industrial design funded by the Academy of Finland formed separate, uniqueentities. Their research subjects were relevant and they created a basis for the renewal of the designindustry. The foresight project on education set down guidelines for the development of education.Promoting the internationalisation of design offices was considered a major future challenge. Expeditingthe design systems development will require investments in communications.

The follow-up group was of the view that the design system had developed on a broad front. Key actors

from outside the design community had been enlisted in the development of the design system. This ledto more dynamic development while boosting confidence in design. Significant volume growth has been

attained in a short period in the area of design research. A comparison with the international discussion onresearch demonstrated that the research problems posed in Finland were relevant and topical. The follow-

up group considered the continuation of the development process already launched as crucial.15

However, rapid changes have occurred in the concept of design and its operating environment since the

implementation of the Design 2005! programme and the above-mentioned industrial design technology

programme funded by Tekes in 2002-2005: MUOTO 2005.

The concept of strategic design was earlier associated with putting an enterprise's strategy into

practice through product-related design solutions and brand management. Now, a newconcept, design thinking, has emerged alongside strategic design of this type. In designthinking, a design approach is used to solve challenges that are unrelated to products. Otherchanges to follow the implementation of the technology programme include the emergence ofservice design and the challenges posed by open innovation. Research by Virginia Acha, forexample, relates open innovation to the application of design:

Our analysis indicates that design includes the translation ofunderstanding and expectations between organisations engaged in

open innovation practices. The findings demonstrate that firmswhich actively undertake design activities in innovation and which

use design to control the innovation process, are more likely also to

pursue open innovation strategies.16

Virginia Acha, 2008

15SAARELA, LAPPI, TUUKKANEN, (2004), Muotoilu 2005! -ohjelman seurantaryhmn raportti The report of the

follow-up group on the Design 2005! programme, in Finnish), Reports of the Ministry of Education 2004:11

16ACHA, V, (2008), Open by Design: The Role of Design in Open Innovation. Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills, UK

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Education and training in the field of design has also changed in the wake of the programmesimplementation. Examples of this are provided by new Master's degrees, such as the CanadianMaster of Design in Strategic Foresight and Innovation

17, or in the combination of courses in

design with other subjects, as in Singapore where courses have been based on the DesignThinking agenda

18or in Stanfords d.school which was established as early as 2003.

19Such

courses are not aimed at providing an education in the traditional role of design i.e. creating

new forms:

We want the d.school to be a place for Stanford students and faculty

in engineering, medicine, business, the humanities, and education

to learn design thinking and work together to solve big problems in

a human centred way.20

This transition can also be seen in Finland. With the establishment of Aalto University, theconcept of design will change more rapidly here too. Designs new roles are influenced by howwell it is integrated into education in general and by how its various roles are emphasisedwithin Aalto University: amongst the associated innovation workshops, the Design Factory

focuses on product development, the Media Factory on the media sector and the Service

Factory on services of high added value.

At domestic level, Aalto University alone will not suffice the new roles of design must bepromoted more widely: as early as 2006, a visionary group working on a research projectfunded by the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA) proposed that design be moreefficiently integrated into educational programmes in the fields of business management andtechnology. In addition, the quality of education and its international aspects should also be

improved.21

The Finnish design sector remains small and may contract further due to the recession. Thissector comprises small actors, meeting demand for strategic design from a small number ofenterprises.

In 2007, enterprises in the Finnish design sector recorded combined annual net sales of EUR122 million, industrial design accounting for EUR 47.3 million of this.

22However, a challenge

lies in the fact that statistics on this are insufficient and lack uniformity between differentcountries. According to the Finnish TOL 2008 standard industrial classification, enterprises inthe industrial arts belong to the same category as industrial design, despite the fact that theactivities of enterprises providing design services are entirely different to the industrial arts.

In accounts of the changing role of design, foresight and the planning of new business activities basedthereon are often mentioned. Other oft-mentioned subjects in this connection include the user-orienteddesign of private or public sector activities, as well as open innovation and social innovation. The changethat began following the implementation of the technology programme is still underway. Reform isrequired of our innovation policy and educational systems.

17 Ontario College of Art & Design

18 University of Technology and Design, Singapore

19 The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University

20 http://www.stanford.edu/group/dschool/big_picture/our_vision.html , retrieved on 25 November 2009

21 LINDSTRM, NYBERG, YL-ANTTILA (2006), Ei vain muodon vuoksi Muotoilu on kilpailuetu , ETLA B 220

22 ALANEN, A, (2009), Yritysten muotoilutoiminta: Omin voimin vai ostopalveluilla? (Design activities of companies: independently or

contracting out?) Tieto & trendit 8/2009, 3841.

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Finland's national innovation strategy for 2008 also highlights demand- and user-orientation inall innovation activities. User-orientation is a central perspective in design. Correspondingly, thepossibilities of applying this perspective and design tools outside the field of productdevelopment have been highlighted in the debate on designs changing role.

In recent years, design has also developed rapidly as an innovation.

Most notably, this has resulted in concepts such as strategic de-sign, design management and design thinking. Innovation policyand support, as well as educational systems, have yet to catch up

with these developments.23

The above quotation is an excerpt from the document "Design as a driver of user-centred

innovation", published by the European Commission in April 2009. The Commission

organised a public hearing (535 respondents), the results of which clearly associate the role of

design with innovation: 91 per cent of the responding organisations considered design highly

important to the EU economys future competitiveness; 96 per cent thought that initiatives in

support of design should form an integral part of innovation policy in general; and 91 per

cent believed that such initiatives should be taken at EU level, in addition to domestic andregional level. Some 74 % thought that design should be part of the EU's innovation policy.

24

A report on the OECD's innovation strategy will be published in the spring of 2010. This report isexpected to discuss the changing nature of innovation, and designs contribution to this. A new rolefor design and new design expertise are required for innovation activities extending beyondtechnology and products.

Non-technological, organisational and social innovation are

increasingly in the spotlight.

In recent years, the notion of innovation has broadened. In

particular, interest has grown in non-technological forms ofinnovation for example organisational changes, marketing and

design and their contribution to productivity growth.25

This report was commissioned as part of the Strategy for the Creative Economy, from the Ministry of

Employment and the Economy. This feasibility study set out to identify who new design concerns and

its field of activity.

The project constitutes a basic survey on the changed role of design, analysing the current status ofthis new role in Finland, the associated actors and their current roles and tasks. Data was collectedthrough interviews and from literary sources.

The aim was to uncover a set of descriptions of the new concept of design, and to chart thisnew field and its functional structures from the viewpoint of the sea-change occurring in themarkets. Opinions on the roles of various actors and their tasks within the field of design wereanalysed with the help of interviews.

The report outlines the meaning of the new concept of design from the viewpoint of industrial policy.

23COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (2009), Commission staff working document: Design as a

driver of user-centred innovation.

24Results of the public consultation on design as a driver of user-centred innovation (October 2009) -

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/design-creativity/design_consultation_en.htm

25OECD (2009), 2009 Interim Report on the OECD Innovation Strategy: AN AGENDA FOR POLICY ACTION ON INNOVATION

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4. METHODS

4.1. Workshops

The feasibility project was kicked off by a workshop "Muotoilun muuttuva rooli (the changing role ofdesign)" on 7 September 2009. The seminar and workshop were organised through co-operationbetween the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the Ministry of Education, Design ForumFinland and Creative Industries Finland. Group work on changes in the role of design, from theviewpoint of enterprises, education and training, formed the focus of the workshop. Over 50 expertsin the field of design participated, representing educational institutions, organisations andenterprises.

The following workshop discussions were chosen as themes for the interviews:

What is the current role of design, will this role change in the forthcoming years?

Will social innovations and open innovation processes affect the value chain of design? Can the design approach be applied in the creation of new businesses?

Does the expertise of design professionals meet the needs of other areas of expertise?

Can the scope of such expertise be extended?

Do other areas of expertise have sufficient basic awareness of design?

Can design support service development?

Can the public sector play a role in supporting design?

Another workshop was organised in Rovaniemi. Muuttuvat muotoilun kentt, Typaja muotoilunedistmisest (The changing fields of design: a workshop on promoting design) was organised on28 September 2009. Fresh opinions were expressed on the current status of design in Finland andthe preparation of Lapland's own design strategy was initiated. The University of Lapland was incharge of preparations for the workshop and it was jointly organised by the national Culture andCreative Industries network of the Regional Development Programme, the University of Lapland andRovaniemi Design Week. Staff and students of the University of Lapland, approximately 40 people intotal, participated.

Divided into groups, the participants created five scenarios for the role of design in 2015:

Education and training in the field of design have changed.

Design as a function has clearly extended beyond product design.

The designer is a DESIGN THINKER, an expert in perspectives and methods, not acreator of new forms.

Service design has become a distinctive area in its own right. Design is part of everyday life. It is automatically a "must" in the activities of enterprises

in Lapland.

4.2. Case studies

Examples of the new role of design were collected for the feasibility study. In addition to the chosenthemes, the case studies provided the basis for the interviews, and were used to stimulate discussion onthe current status and the associated changes in Finland. These case studies are presented in Chapter 5of this report.

4.3. InterviewsIn addition to those directly involved in design activities, persons responsible for, or involved in, the

development of new businesses, product development, service business, marketing and general

management were request to give an interview.


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Individual, discussion-based interviews were carried out, including a small number of telephoneinterviews. Of those requested to give an interview, 35 were interviewed in September, October andNovember 2009. Some 20 of these interviewees gave their consent to the publication of their namesin connection with the interviews. These names are listed in Chapter 8. The intervieweesrepresented organisations (4 interviewees), educational institutions (4 interviewees), product-oriented companies (12 interviewees), the public sector (4 interviewees) and service industrycompanies (11 interviewees). Enterprises of different sizes and representing various fields werechosen.

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4.4. Analysis and grouping of results

The interviews were analysed by grouping the interviewees based on two grouping models:according to their background organisation and the D1.0...D4.0 model presented below. Inaddition, the interviews aimed to define the role of design as experienced by the respondent,based on the levels model presented by Anna Valtonen in her doctoral thesis. In this way,perspectives were gained on the background factors explaining the differences in how the role

of design was experienced.In addition, common themes repeatedly raised in the interviews were gathered during theanalysis phase and are cited in the form of quotations in this report.

4.4.1. Background organisation

The background organisations of the interviewees were grouped as follows: the public sector,organisations, education/research and enterprises. Enterprises were further divided intoproduct and service providers.

4.4.2. NextDesign Leadership Institute: Design 1.0 ... Design 4.0

According to its founders, the NextDesign Leadership Institute was established in 2002. Itspurpose was to help trainers and professionals in the field of design all over the world toprepare to lead the way in cross-discipline design and innovation in the 2000s. The Institute

focuses on three areas: NextD Education, NextD Research and NextD Conference.26

The NextDesign Leadership Institute and its background organisation, the consulting firmHumantific, were speakers at the workshop "The Changing Role of Design", organised in Helsinki.GK VanPatter presented ideas on the new roles of design; the NextDesign Leadership Institute hasdivided design into four groups, representing four different levels:

Traditional design (Design 1.0, D1.0)

Product and service design (Design 2.0, D2.0)

Organisational transformation design (Design 3.0, D3.0)

Social transformation design (Design 4.0, D4.0)

GK VanPatter, NextDesign Leadership Institute:Design Strategy Workshop, Helsinki, 2009 .

26http://nextd.org

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This model, D1.0, is based on handicrafts or arts, in which creative individuals or groups ofdesigners design the aesthetics of a product. They work through a process that is closed to others.

At D2.0 level, design involves multi-professional groups and product or service development. It seeks todesign an enterprise's offering: the related challenges lie in user experiences, products and services.User-oriented design and an expert designer role often form part of such activities.

According to Humantific, factors such as globalisation and technologys integration into everyday life havefacilitated the emergence of the D3.0 design role. Here, the target is not a product or service but anystrategic problem solving situation often related to challenges at industry, organisation or system level.

The problem is solved by multi-professional and multi-organisational (open) groups (participatory co-creation). Design has the role of bringing the user perspective to bear on this kind of problem solving,

alongside tools such as synthesis, visualisation and various brainstorming methods. Open innovationmodels are included at level D3.0.

At level D4.0, open innovation models are extended further through the introduction of socialaspects. According to Humantific, this is the level at which e.g. problems related to the state ofsociety are solved. In addition to the (various) organisations that have assumed the D3.0 role, thevarious stakeholders or individuals involved participate in this kind of problem solving.

4.4.3. Anna Valtonen: Changes in the Design Practice in Finland

Anna Valtonen's doctoral thesis, published at the UIAH in 2007, considers changes in theprofessional role of designers. Its subject was the transformation of Finnish design from the1990s to 2007.

According to Valtonen, the recession of the 1990s transformed industry structures, forcingenterprises to seek new competitive edges and increase the use of design. Changes in industry andsociety led to sharp specialisation in the tasks of designers.

A comparison of classification models

Compared to the model created by the NextDesign Leadership Institute, the creative, aesthetics-centred role of design that emerged in Finland in the 1950s largely corresponds to the definitiongiven by D1.0.

Being integrated with product development and mechanical design, the role of design in the1960s represented the first step towards D2.0, multi-professional product development. Thiswas further refined by the ergonomics-oriented role involving an understanding of the user thatemerged in the 1970s, and the role focusing on the co-ordination of portfolio management thatemerged in the 1980s. In the model created by the NextDesign Leadership Institute, productbranding in the 1990s (design aimed at creating customer experiences) remains at level D2.0.

According to Valtonen's doctoral thesis, the design roles recognised in Finland in different eras wereall product-oriented. Even strategic design originally concentrated on the management of productportfolios and the branding of products based on user experiences. In the figure presented on the

following page, the newest, ongoing transition is related to intangible issues: innovation andcompetitiveness amongst global competition. "Design as an innovation driver" has been proposed asthe new role of design. This transformation remains ongoing and forms part of the description oflevels D3.0 and D4.0, as defined by the NextDesign Leadership Institute.

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Valtonen: The various roles of the designer and representative statements on

design27

The lowest level, design as a creator (D1.0) is an aesthetic role with a background in handicrafts. In the1960s, as a result of cooperation between engineers and marketing, this branched out into product

development (D2.0).

The ergonomic-oriented role of design of the 1970s represented a step towards user orientation. Productportfolio management during the 1980s, or the management of companies product families, shifteddesign towards a more coordinating role. In the 1990s, product branding was aimed at the design of user

experiences e.g. the appearance of the product, the environment in which it was sold and its packagehad to be streamlined so that they could be used as branding tools. This still comprised the design of acompany's output (products and services).

By the 2000s, in Finland too the role of design had shifted towards the design of global competitiveness

and renewal. This may indicate a shift towards the design of organisations and practices, and away from

the product. The fact that the role for 2007 still bears a question mark speaks volumes change is stillongoing.

27 VALTONEN, A. (2007), Redefining industrial design - Changes in Design Practice in Finland, UIAH

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5. CASE STUDIES

Case studies were used to provide a basis for the interviews these, in turn, provided examples ofthe new roles of design and respondents' opinions of the significance and impacts of these roles inFinland. One of the world's best-known publishers of case studies is the Design Council (UK). Thisorganisation defines its national role as helping leaders amidst change and turning them into the

world's best users of design, with the support of the most talented design professionals.28

5.1. A system for innovations in medical care: Kaiser

Permanente (HMO)29

5.1.1. Background

Kaiser Permanente (KP) is a US-based HMO (Health maintenance organization). It was

founded in 1945 and employs almost 200,000 people30

.

The main objectives of the company's 2003 long-term growth strategy include increasing its current patient basethrough broader-based supply and major cost savings. KP feared that, in order to achieve its objectives, it would

have to replace the majority of its hospitals with new, expensive buildings. Co-operation with IDEO, a design

company concentrating on innovations and innovation processes, generated an idea that changed these plans.

Information gained from an individual project convinced KP that investments were required in the development

of patient experiences and services rather than new build ings.

KP has tried to move away from individual innovation and development projects to creating a moreholistic innovation structure. KP's internal innovations unit has created a system that improves thequality of development projects and decreases risks. This system is based on methods originating inthe design sector. KP's innovations unit brings expertise on systems and user assets to the process.By constructing prototypes of development targets, the innovations team is able to monitor activitiesand collect experiences of the project, which is implemented at conceptual level only.

KP's innovation process is based on methods such as brainstorming, prototyping, field testing,monitoring, creating a story and synthesis. KP requires that those participating in the processare open-minded, capable of taking risks and uninhibited.

A model hospital has been constructed for KP's innovations unit31

, where the functions of variousunits and the requirements set can be simulated. Premises and models are utilised in KaiserPermanente's new hospital projects in such a way that all premises to be built are based onprototypes originally developed and tested in the innovation lab and then reproduced elsewhere.The unit also engages in product development in co-operation with equipment manufacturers.Because the premises can be test operated before a hospital is built, errors can be avoided andmulti-generational innovations can be realised in a single step.

5.1.2. An example of service innovationsA development project on nurses reporting process is often presented as an example of developmentprojects implemented using KP's innovation system. Shift changes in hospitals present a major challengeto continuity in patient care and smoothness of shift changes. As nurses go on and off shift, the smoothexchange of information and duties is crucial in ensuring safety, quality of care and efficiency.

28 http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/Design-Council/1/What-we-do/ , retrieved on 25 November 2009

29 http://www.ideo.com/work/item/nurse-knowledge-exchange/ , retrieved on 10 November 2009

30http://xnet.kp.org/newscenter/aboutkp/fastfacts.html , retrieved on 10 November 2009

31Sidney R Garfield Health Care Innovation Center

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Simultaneously, routines must be handled. Previous studies had revealed that nurses arrived35-40 minutes before they became responsible for patients, in order to receive the requiredbriefing. Both staff and patients were concerned that patients received little care or attention atthis point. In addition, each nurse had his or her own way of prioritising and communicatinginformation. The shift change also affected the time preceding it, since all tasks had to befinished in a hurry.

5.1.3. Measures

IDEO and Kaiser Permanente conducted observations in four hospitals, watching shift changesaround the clock in an attempt to understand how information was transmitted. Based onpreliminary data collection and an analysis of current practices, groups consisting of patientsand experts proposed a number of solutions within a short time. Some of the total of around400 solutions were radical. Most ideas focused on information: that it should be available fasterand that its processing should be less dependent on location.

Based on these ideas, the innovation team developed prototypes of new practices. These prototypes werethen tested for three weeks in a single test unit during every shift change. Continuous changes were made

to the prototypes based on feedback from the nurses, who could directly shape the outcome.

Picture from IDEO's website: www.ideo.com.

Based on the new model, the nurse in charge lists the goals for the next shift prior to the

shift change. The shift change was moved from the ward office closer to the patients.

Tables bearing patient information and goals were placed in patient rooms. In addition,

a simple list was created that could be printed out from the IT system, and which couldrapidly provide

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Create Meaningful Experien

an overall picture of all patients in the ward. During the shift, notes were made in a portable ITsystem that allowed the collection of data for the next shift change.

The new model was tested for two weeks in two hospitals, before being put into productive use after threeweeks. The time needed to prepare for shift changes fell from 17 to 9 minutes, the duration of shiftchanges increased from 8 to 10 minutes while the time required for the new shift's first contact withpatients decreased dramatically, from 43 to 12 minutes. Of the four hospitals that participated in thebrainstorming phase, three introduced the model with enthusiasm and one returned to the previous model.Unwilling to introduce changes, this hospital decided to retain traditional practices, which it considered tobe safe. The new model was spontaneously distributed to nine other hospitals. In addition, a number ofhospitals contacted KP's innovations unit in order to find out how to introduce the model. A total of 30hospitals made preparations to launch the model.

5.1.4. Results

KP decided to introduce the system in all of its hospitals. The innovations team prepared amodel for the systems launch, based on which the system could be integrated in variouslocations, with the help of IHI's Rapid Scale Up system.

KP uses both bottom-up and the top-down development strategies. While the starting points and methodsof these two strategies differ, both are needed. In every case, the top-down model always requires data

and indicators that enable anex ante

andex post

analysis of the situation. Analysis is also recommendedfor the bottom-up model, but in some cases the nature of the problem is so evident that a refined,systematised data analysis is unnecessary. Based on the bottom-up model, responsibility lies with localactors (the units themselves), while under the top-down model it lies with the management group. Withrespect to the development of shift reporting, the launch was initiated based on a bottom-up model, with atop-down model being implemented later. The latter proved a much more efficient method of distributingthe model than a spontaneous launch. In each case, the management team must commit itself to strivingfor change.

Among other awards, the system has won three prizes under the Institute of Health CareImprovement's Best Practice and Spark Awards.

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5.2. Development of business idea: Sermo32

Due to a back injury, surgeon Daniel Palestrant found himself in the role of a patient for severalmonths. It was then that he realised that new techniques developed by pioneering doctors areintroduced slowly: it often takes years for them to be widely disseminated. He therefore had theidea of establishing an internet community in which physicians could discuss ideas. Companies

could be charged for taking part in these discussions between pioneering doctors. But the ideaalone failed to attract investors.

Instead of hiring a conventional business consultant, Palestrant contacted Humantific, a New York-based

company. Humantific employs design methods in change consulting.

A series of negotiations were conducted in New York, during which Palestrant eloquentlydescribed his ideas he likens his outpouring to "intellectual bulimia" as Humantificsrepresentatives, Elizabeth Pastor and Garry VanPatter, busied themselves drawing sketchesand taking notes. The two gathered Palestrant's rambling ideas and turned them into hugeposters with icons showing how the different parts of Palestrant's company would fit together.Bearing these diagrams, Palestrant contacted venture capital investors and obtained $40million in start-up capital.

The community created by Palestrant is known as Sermo (www.sermo.com). It currently has over 110,000members and is the biggest internet community of physicians in the US. Paying customers include

pharmaceutical and health care companies, to which the community provides chargeable services such as

panels and surveys of physicians.

Picture from the web page:www.sermo.com.

Transformation design is a growing industry, combining business consulting and

industrial design methods. Humantific is an example of these new-wave design thinking

companies that apply product design principles to intangible issues that are difficult to

conceptualise, such as the design of organisations or business ideas. This leads to

unprecedented co-operation between designers and actors in business life.

32 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1736729,00.html , retrieved on 10 November 2009

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5.3. Event permit procedure, Helsinki: the user-oriented design of public

services33

The user-oriented approach is a success factor in the City of Helsinki's strategy programme, adopted in2009 with the objective of providing more user-oriented services in the future. Service design plays animportant role in the City's Yritysmynteinen kumppani (Enterprise-friendly partner) project, in which thepractices of three service entities are made more user- rather than provider-oriented. This is done with the

help of service design consultants.

"User-oriented development activities do not concern only theprivate sector. Being user-oriented means that services aredeveloped based on the needs of citizens. For example, with respectto public services this means shifting the focus from provider-orientation to user-orientation, the inclusion of citizens in decision-making on services and the introduction of service design."

Jussi Pajunen, Mayor, City ofHelsinki

The Yritysmynteinen kumppani (Enterprise-friendly partner) project began with three serviceentities: creating a smoother permit procedure for organisers of private events, integratingvarious city offices into the process for providing advice on establishing a business andfacilitating the purchase of building sites and premises for SMEs.

At the moment, each permit application must be filed at different times with each authority concerned, dueto inadequate communication between the authorities. Processing an application for a permit to organise

an event can take from 5 to 30 days, depending on the case. Since developing the related processesusing traditional tools proved difficult, the decision was taken to apply service design methods to the

development activities. The objective was to achieve more flexible and user-oriented solutions.

An electronic service system is currently being developed in which event organisers can findthe relevant advice and maps of venues. They can also file all of the required permitapplications via the electronic service system.

The current situation: citizen-orientedbut office-specific service processes.

Office/ Office/process process

Office/ Office/2 3process application process

application

1 4One

application One

application

One OneCustomer

with hisapplicat

ion

Smoothness?Rapidity?Consistency?Transparency of processes for customer?

New, designed services.

Office/Office/ Office/processprocess processOffice/

process

Customer withapplication

Creating a meaningfulentity with the help of

service design.

Better management of the service experience as anobjective.

33Kuntalehti 17/2009

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5.4. Innovations in the retail supply chain: Kraft and Safeway34 35

Kraft Foods is the world's second largest food and beverage company. Safeway, in turn, is thethird largest supermarket chain in the US. IDEO is a design company focusing on innovationsand currently employing 550 employees.

Kraft turned to IDEO in its search for supply chain innovations. The aim was to improve Kraft's relationshipwith chain stores. Communication was not smooth and there were delays in getting products to market.IDEO brought together 80 employees from both Kraft and chain stores, to create new solutions inworkshops. Between workshops, innovations were sought by means of structured brainstorming, and fieldobservation in stores and distribution centres. Employees were interviewed and new ideas were turnedinto prototypes. The entire process took 18 months, during which findings were shared and new solutionswere created interactively.

Picture from the website www.capri-sun.co.uk.

One of the supply chain innovations was realised in co-operation with the Safewaysupply chain for Capri-Sun. It was observed that when stores ran out of a certain flavourof this beverage, warehouse staff had to unload other flavours in order to reach thedesired product, which had been shipped at the bottom of a mixed-flavour pallet. As aresult of brainstorming, a model was created whereby any flavour could be reachedwithout unloading the others. As a result, Kraft was able to increase sales of Capri-Sun by162%.

Kraft has since trained its supply chains entire management team to introduce these methodsin internal teams and directly with customers.

34http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1736729,00.html, retrieved on 10 November 2009

35http://www.ideo.com/work/featured/kraft, retrieved on 10 November 2009

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6. INTERVIEWS

In addition to design, the discussions with interviewees dealt with the roles of other, design-related

professions. There was much discussion of overlapping roles, particularly with respect to enterprises.

Roles of design and overlaps between them, as identified in theinterviews

In the diagram, the original role of design is represented by the green area originating in aesthetics.It is close to technology, answering the question "What?" for instance: "What does the companyproduce?" The role has been extended to cover technology in combination with productdevelopment. Common challenges include e.g. usability and synthesis, that is, solutions combininganalysis results and converting them into concrete proposals.

In this figure, user-oriented design methods and perspectives can be deemed to extend the related rolepowerfully towards the "To whom?" question: for instance, "To whom will the company offer its solutions?"

The red, marketing area already overlaps the familiar design roles, most clearly with respect to branding.

The most interesting area lies in the overlaps between the new roles. Here, the enhancement of certain

types of competencies can create a new competitive edge, since few competitors are employing the samemethods. Organisational development based on co-operation between management, marketing anddesign was viewed by the discussions as an example of such overlapping areas. In an area where roles

overlap, each actor can express their own opinions and views, while enriching development activities withnew methods. For instance, organisational development through user-oriented methods was referred to inthe discussions as a natural role, and as a continuation to service development or service design.

A number of interviewees were of the view that, in the future, they would not have the option ofconcentrating on performing the same task better or by producing more at lower cost. They sawinnovation as becoming the key task of the company's management team: new business ideas, a new,more user-oriented model for creating value. It is in this respect that, through innovation methods anduser-oriented thinking, the role branches out towards the blue area of business management ("How?"). Inthis area, design can assume roles such as user representation, or that of an interpreter visualising the

languages used in various areas of expertise or that of an expert in innovative methods. Design may thusfacilitate multi-professional brainstorming in which specific expertise originates from the other

competence areas involved,or, in the future, increasingly from users.


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6.1. Experienced roles and changes in design

As experienced by the interviewees, the role of design in Finland was divided into two groups: thesituation as currently experienced and opinions on the changes underway. The D1.0...D4.0 modelpresented above was used as a framework for the analysis.

Based on the discussions undertaken, this change was visualised by dividing the interviewees intogroups according to their background organisations. Only one of the interviewees thought that therole of design was diminishing. Seven interviewees believed that it was not changing or changingonly slightly. Some 27 considered the level of change significant.

Most defined the change as crossing the boundary between concrete and intangible design:

The most common way of defining the current role of design was based on the D2.0 role. Themajority of those who considered the level of change significant estimated that level D3.0 couldbe achieved in the future.

The interviewers' interpretation of the current situation and changes in the role ofFinnish design, based on the interviews

In the summary of the interviews presented in the following chapters, the names of intervieweesgiven belong to those who consented to the publication of their names prior to publication.Some interviewees withheld their consent to this, or failed to so prior to the publicationdeadline.

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6.2. Unwieldiness of terms

As a term, design was considered unwieldy and restrictive. It was evocative of form creation,easily sidelining design thinking and the intangible role of innovators. In addition, servicedesign was unfamiliar to most of those engaged in developing service businesses.

The lack of a common language prevents communication on changes in the role of design."The word design should be banned, it causes confusion and harm. Itis associated with rendering things aesthetic, even though no onecan explain why."

"At the moment, I am not convinced that many managersunderstand what design thinking is or what can be achievedthrough such an approach."

Kalevi Ekman, Vice Rector and Professor, HUT/Director, Design Factory, Aalto University

"Design is considered a remote term in our sector. Planner is mostoften used."

A companyrepresentative

"I wouldn't talk about service design but about designing a holisticuser experience."

Anne Stenros, Vice President, Design,KONE

"The terms open innovation and social innovation should bedemystified. It all just boils down to how people distributeinformation. I believe that both are important to enterprises, but alot of attention has to be paid to where they work and where theydont. For instance, in most cases crowdsourcing only works if asolution is being sought to a very well-defined problem."

Marco Steinberg, Director, Strategic Design, SITRA

"The challenge lies in the fact that the design approach has not beensold effectively to representatives of other areas of expertise. This is

partly because there is no common language e.g. with financialmanagement and, thus, designs possible benefits to businessremain unnoticed."

Thomas Pimenoff, Marketing Director, Nordea Bank Finland

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6.1. Role of design

The current role of Finnish design was viewed as being divided between levels D1.0 and D2.0.

Some of interviewees stated that only Finnish enterprises that operate internationally had evenreached level D2.0. Meanwhile, aspirations or views on changes in the role set the target rather

far from the current level. Most interviewees portrayed the role of strategic design as eithertraditional design management associated with product families (portfolios) and brands, or asbeing somewhat intangible in terms of enabling user-oriented innovation.

In our opinion, the experienced magnitude of change is based on the fact that the keenlysought change created by global competition prior to the recession has only intensified in lightof the downturn. New business ideas, in which design plays a role alongside other types ofexpertise, are needed in Finland.

"Design may show the way for new businesses. The aspirations ofenterprises in traditional industries are often limited in comparisonto the new business opportunities on offer. Holistic design thinkingmay open up perspectives on completely new types of businessoperations."


"The roles of design are many. For some, it means very little whilethere are some who may have realised that aesthetics is relevant totheir products. At the upper end of the scale, there is someunderstanding of Design Management. There is a huge spectrum.The bottom end is most representative. Correspondingly, practicesand the understanding of their significance vary hugely among

designers and architects. I myself would like to believe that holisticthinking is very modish, even though it hasnt spread that far.Design can be viewed as far more intricate than mere productdesign: it has characteristics relating to services or, moregenerally, to the many processes taking place in an enterprise, itssales department or at its customer interfaces at multipleinterfaces. I would like to think that we already live in this kind ofworld, even if it isnt realised in many enterprises."

Toni Kauppila, Architect, SAFA (DipArch, The Bartlett, UK)Architect bureau ND/ UIAH/ Theatre Academy Helsinki/ TSE

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The role of design has extended. Design management is now animportant part of design activities. Portfolios are managed, anduser experiences are analysed and studied. Design has also beenthoroughly incorporated into strategic planning, and not just theimplementation role at the end of the pipeline. The role of thedesigner is to bring these visions together. To create a concrete

overview of how these visions might be fitted together."

"Work in management teams very often consists of staring at thefigures, because most members of these groups are Masters ofEconomic Sciences and engineers. Pondering visions or creating abrand or product range strategy seldom find their way onto theagendas of management teams. The role of designers is therefore tointroduce these activities to companies and management teams."

Petteri Kolinen, Design Director, Martela

"The next step is for design to become an agent of cultural change.Creating communities, rather than just designing products, servicesand experiences."

Juha Vaurio, Design Manager,Vaisala

"Design is not a driver of innovation but a tool for management anda catalyst of innovation."

"When communicating, different people often use the same words

but mean completely different things because their mental imagesof the matter may be totally different. Design is capable of creatinga visual image that enables a consensus to be reached within amulti-professional group."

Fredrik Magnusson, Design Director, IittalaGroup

"Design is not widely utilised because it is a young discipline and stilldeveloping. The more the markets and competition forceenterprises to use design, the more important its role will become asregards organisations, decision-making and resourcing. At themoment, the role of the designer mainly focuses on operativeactivities, that is, on implementation."

Markku Salimki, Dr.Sc.(Econ),M.Sc.(Eng)

Programme Director, IDBMProgramme, HSE

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"In my opinion, the challenge in design nearly always lies increating an identity for something. Previously, design createdidentities for products and then later for larger entities such asbrands. Now its task at least in Sitra is to create an identity forcomplex social problems and make them easier to understand."

Marco Steinberg, Director, Strategic Design,SITRA

"The added value created by design is based on prototyping, that is,acting at an early phase, and the 'meta-ability' to synthesise andvisualise things."

"The object of design is changing. Now we're realising that expertisein design can be applied more widely."

The more actors there are, the more the meaning of visualisation is

emphasised. Words can be interpreted in so many ways. We need alanguage more universal than words: images, visualising."

Anssi Tuulenmki, Research Manager, AaltoUniversity

"In the coming years, design will move to the strategic level andthe faster this happens the more business managers there will bewho understand its importance."

"Design Thinking will never be introduced in enterprises bottom-up.

First, it must be adopted by top management and then diffuseddownwards. It is only then that we can talk about a real DesignThinking approach in an enterprise where it is used as a strategictool by the management."


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"The aim is to increase general awareness of the possibilities ofdesign. However, in practice it still has a weak position in manyenterprises. In such cases, design thinking and expertise should beeven better able to sell themselves. This would be the most naturalmeans of the practical promotion of insights into the benefits

provided by design in enterprises."

"Design must not become a value as such, but should be examined asan additional way of improving the desirability of a product orservice. Design must be linked closely to the way it benefits thebusiness. It is strongly associated with brand thinking, enabling thecreation of an emotional bond with the consumer."

Thomas Pimenoff, Marketing Director, NordeaBank Finland

"It is hoped that the strategic dimension of design becomes

integrated in companies' renewal strategies. However, the resultsare dependent on the kind of people in the company's managementteam and to the extent to which Design Thinking is utilised as a keyto success. However, it seems that the majority of enterprises arenot yet aware of the opportunities represented by Design Thinkingin creating new businesses."

Siina Saksi, Head of Marketing and Customer Service, TrygVesta

"The role of Design Thinking is to detect similarities between things

that appear to have nothing to do with each other. Things that have

nothing to do with each other process or business-wise, but that

share some similarities and it is exactly through these similarities

that a sensible way of innovating, of combining things, can be found.

This must involve both Design Thinking and lateral thinking."

Mikko Ahlstrm, Design Manager,Suunto

"One must avoid thinking that the new role of design will simplyreplace the old. Instead, a new dimension in design is being created,that will emerge in addition to the old one."

Marco Steinberg, Director, Strategic Design,SITRA

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"With the help of design, the current activities of an enterprise can bepositioned in relation to its competitors and consideration can begiven to its future positioning. These characteristics representgenuine added value improving competitiveness. Design enablesconsideration of the future and confers the ability to positiononeself, thus constituting a strategic tool a tool that facilitates

strategic differentiation from competitors."

Janne Viemer, Technology Director,Tekes

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6.1. Internationality

Many interviewees considered Finlands small domestic markets and lack of international contacts asproblematic. Both the educational sector and enterprises were considered to need people, including

leaders and ideas from abroad. At the same time, it was believed that active measures were needed torender education and studying more international.

"Finland is a small country. There are not enough enterprises toprovide sufficient training opportunities for designers. Finlandshould send its young students abroad to complete their studies. Asregards the future, international networking will be of paramountimportance."

"If a design policy is planned, it absolutely must be linked toinnovation policies at both national and EU level."

"Self-adjusting organisations are the future. Policies will no longerbe laid down by the authorities. Preparing a centralised design

policy in Finland would be an old-fashioned approach, because theactors themselves will take control of the issue. A number of minorinitiatives and activities will emerge, which will combine to createthe required movement."

"The role of the public sector is only to facilitate this, to provide theframework. Barriers between issues must be removed, fundingmust be made more easily available and various application

processes must be made more transparent."


"The current situation in Finland is that you end up too quickly withsomething you already know, based on which the target isincrementally improved in a very narrow sector. This represents atotal block on the creation of new innovations."


"Design Thinking seems to correlate with the size and internationalactivity of an enterprise in such a way that it is more often applied

in the largest companies which are active in the internationaloperating environment than in companies that are active in thedomestic market only. Pressure to engage in design thinking andthe related activities comes from the international field."

Toni Kauppila, Architect, SAFA (DipArch, The Bartlett, UK)Architect bureau ND/ UIAH/ Theatre Academy Helsinki/ TSE

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6.1. Service design

In the role played by design, the interviewees considered service design to be a clear future prospect. Theuser-oriented design of services was considered important; the challenge lay not in lack of demand but ininsufficient understanding of demand and in scarce supply. Service design was unfamiliar to theinterviewees. Service design, or service definition, was considered to represent an innovation opportunity

whose significance could be equal to, or even greater than, that of past product innovations. Someinterviewees felt that Finland already lagged behind in this.

"Design methods are highly suitable for developing service conceptsbecause they are genuinely based on what a person really needsand wants to accomplish."

Anna Valtonen, Rector, Ume Institute of Design, Ume University

"The challenge lies in how we engage in increased dialogue with

customers, how better account is taken of them in service design

and development. Customer committees, where people express

their opinions on services, and customer panels through which the

customer's views and wishes are expressed through electronic

media, are examples of traditional co-operative models."

"All those who participate in service design and development shouldshare a common language that understands consumer behaviour.What design opportunities exist in developing customer profiling,design and foresight based on customer behaviour, using theinformation already available and how might design affectcustomer experiences?"

Hannele Humaloja-VirtanenDirector, Innovative Strategies, SOK Corporation

"In an organisation, service design should take priority overchannel-specific silos, in order to have an influence over servicesand user experiences provided on a multichannel basis."

"The service design concept is often also a business concept, becauseyou have to consider how the value network is created and howmoney will flow between stakeholder groups."

Mikko Koivisto, Service Designer,Yatta

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"Services are becoming network-based in all sectors and servicedesign, too, is associated with network activities. Customer

participation is facilitated by network systems located at thecustomer interface. The objective is to find out what attracts andinterests customers in a service and how contact with customersis maintained. In addition, an enterprise needs information on

what its customers really want."

Piia Savolainen, Chain Director, Suomen VaramiespalveluOy

"From the marketing viewpoint, thinking and activities based onholistic service design are still lacking.

"The objective should be that people move from one end of servicedesign and development to the other, without any barriers toexpertise: the way of thinking is more important. Much remains to

be done before this objective is attained."

Siina Saksi, Head of Marketing and Customer Service, TrygVesta

"Interesting ideas are associated with service design for instanceservice paths and service moments which may bear relevance bothto developing new services and analysing existing ones."

A companyrepresentative

"The business idea behind S groups retailing is mainly to respond tothe rational everyday service needs of customers, where therapidity and ease of accessing the service and product areimportant alongside the effortlessness of the purchasing process.

Service design is able to meet challenges because customer servicetouch-points are not staff-specific but dependent on the place andsituation created in the service situation. Service design takesconsideration of services and experiences related to everyday life.With regard to shopping mall concepts, those will succeed who sellat a sufficiently affordable price and whom customers still consider

as 'wonderful'. The Swedes are good at this. Shopping mall conceptsare similar but there are differences in the kinds of actors whoappear in shopping malls between different countries."


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"There is huge demand for service design: more than 80 per cent ofGNP is generated by services."

JussiSorsimo

Programme Director, Culminatum Innovation

Oy Ltd

"As the customer experience is designed and created, expertise mustaccumulate inside a company. This is a core business activity thatcannot be outsourced to an external expert."


"The role of service design will surely continue to increase in thefuture. You realise this when you look at what was being said aboutit five years ago, and compare that with the current discussion ofthe issue. However, we cannot yet talk about a holistic, strategicbreakthrough in service design on a larger scale. Nevertheless, theimportance of service design is increasing because it can positivelyaffect the images created in customers minds. The starting pointmust be that service design can create added value, both in businessdevelopment and in the encounter between the service provider andcustomer. This leads to a win-win situation. Since customer

experiences are a very important part of the overall image of theservice sector, design should have greater importance."

"My opinion is that service innovations will be as important toFinland in the future as product innovations have been in the past."

Thomas Pimenoff, Marketing Director, Nordea Bank Finland

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6.2. Education and training

With respect to education in design, greater internationality, business expertise and a common languagebetween professions were called for. While interviewees had great expectations of Aalto University, theyalso stated that the new university alone would not suffice. More general, user-oriented innovationexpertise and the use of innovative models should be universally taught in other educational institutions

too. Without its own place at the table, service design education has begun to falter.

Beyond the quotations given here, interviewees expressed the wish for active internationalrecruitment in education hoping for fresh reformers from outside Finland. They alsosuggested a systematic, even obligatory stay abroad for students, in order to enable the moreefficient transmission of ideas.

"Education can prepare students for working life, for instance

through co-operation with companies. It is more important to

help students spread their own wings than to push them along a

predetermined path of someone elses choosing."


"What if multi-professional development of new business were

taught? How are new strategic value propositions made? This is not

taught anywhere at the moment. That would be quite something.

And then machinery would be constructed that would genuinely

make it easy to try out new things. You will never think outside the

box if you have never acted outside it. Since business is activity,

various forms of activity should be facilitated. Otherwise, this only

amounts to brainstorming and writing reports, not activity."

Anssi Tuulenmki, Research Manager, AaltoUniversity

Young designers should receive more education on business activityin the future similarly, engineers and businessmen should begiven basic design courses. In my opinion, these courses should betaught to more students than at present. However, design

education should first and foremost remain arts-based, because thisis in keeping with the particular content involved."

Markku Salimki, Dr.Sc.(Econ),M.Sc.(Eng)

Programme Director, IDBMProgramme, HSE

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"Fundamentalists" are now represented at Aalto University.Research on humanities and cognitive studies should be morestrongly represented."

The future role of design depends largely on how the next generationis educated."

"The tasks carried out through co-operation between educationalinstitutes and enterprises give a false impression of the slownessand (low) prices of processes."

A common language between design and other sectors is lacking.There are no quality criteria for unconventional professions."

Lena Strmberg, Secretary General,Ornamo

"Aalto University will not represent a solution to our problems for afew generations to come. The innovation leap must be takenelsewhere."

"We lack adequate education in design management and designleadership. In these areas, there is an educational vacuum."

"Basic education on design must be organised to give students amore international perspective than before. Finnish designeducation is still not international enough.

Anne Stenros, Vice President, Design,

KONE

"In the future, the focus will surely see a clear shift towardsexperience and service related matters. Commercially speaking,this represents a much greater opportunity than traditionaldesign."

"Education does not meet the demands of changing markets, or itdoes not meet them fast enough; for instance, institutions shouldhave been teaching service design as a major at MA level for fiveyears now."

"Finland has almost completely failed to develop its expertise indesign management. All structures are based on managing thecurrent situation and rising to the top in a Finnish design reality

primarily set up to place individual designers in the limelight."

"Design management plays an important role in the promotion ofFinland's new competitiveness, through new age holistic expertise,innovation leadership and experience leadership. This expertiseshould be accumulated rapidly."

Juha Vaurio, Design Manager,Vaisala

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"Design Thinking should be distributed more widely amongbusinessmen and engineers: amongst a larger group than thatserved by Aalto University alone."

Kalevi Ekman, Vice Rector and Professor, HUT/Director, Design Factory, Aalto University

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6.1. Innovations

During the interviews, the discussion on designs new roles often turned to the changing role ofinnovations and global competition. Many interviewees pointed to the insufficiency of product ortechnology innovations and their hopes concerning the role of design in open and socialinnovations. Nearly all of the interviewees believed that design has a role to play in user-

oriented innovations.

"Innovations are not created by processes or organisations, but byindividuals. These individuals must engage in leading major

projects."


"Social and open innovations herald a transition akin tocomputerisation, which transformed the entire production chain byenabling faster work at closer quarters. The various stages now

followed one another in a more logical way. Open innovationprovides a basis for a great deal of new, fresh and smart thinking.Correspondingly, social innovation will arise of its own accord ifnetwork solutions form part of the package. This is a self-evident

part of whats happening at the moment. The more surprising thingis that this is not taken for granted by everybody."


"Only innovations that change the sector strategically can guarantee

our success."

Anssi Tuulenmki, Research manager, AaltoUniversity

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"Design, innovations, product development all of this will move toAsia."

"Enthusiasts, amateurs who act like professionals (ProAms) willbreak the traditional expertise mould. Actual professionals willbecome trainers, helping amateurs attain their goals. Professionals

will provide examples and ensure that products contain no overallfunctional errors. New open platforms will primarily be developed,with amateurs, professionals, lead users and enthusiasts beingengaged in the design process at a very early stage."

"Design absolutely must be linked to innovation. A successful modelis created when the innovation component is supplemented byholistic design thinking, experimentalism, optimism and seekingnew opportunities."


"Design should act as an engine for open innovation. Open sourcethinking does not form part of the traditional design mindset.Traditionally, designers hav

Documents

1 the Changed Role of Design