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Design is more than packaging and the visual appearance of products and brands. Integrated into all processes of the organization, design can contribute to added value within all these processes. Identity and image, branding, marketing, communications or strategy more overall, to name a few, are important areas in the organization benefiting from a good design process. Also in financial terms the contribution of design can be felt. Designer products would be a more casual example, but this is not mainly what is meant by design integration. Design thinking and understanding may be essential for an organization in order to grasp the full potential and value of design in their particular business situation and context. The organization of the design process may be a vaster challenge than the actual design, and a successful design strategy can never be taken for granted. Design needs to be assessed from different perspectives and the degree to which it can be regarded valuable strongly depends on the particular angle from which one views design. Some businesses may not even be aware of the degree to which they actually already make use of design. Others use it very strategically. Design is literally everywhere. With the right consideration and awareness, every business can profit from design integration into its overall strategy.

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Stefanie Ortner, German and linguistics studies at the universities of Graz, Austria, Lund (B.A.) and Uppsala (M.A.), Sweden; M.Sc. in Consumer & Business Marketing at Stockholm University School of Business; working in marketing, communications and distribution in Scandinavia and internationally, and as an enthusiastic writer.

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