Many, of course, think of design thinking when they hear about design and designers. And design thinking is essential in creating both new strategies, services, and products. One of the most important reasons for including designers in strategy development is our ability to 

. A good strategy needs more than market research, 

, and analysis. By iterating and testing parts of the strategy, hypothesis, and assess and prioritise value before launching them, we can save money, time, and resources and deliver sustainable business strategies.

Physical Prototyping and Piloting

Experimentation

Validation

However, Design thinking is not worth much without design 

 No matter how excellent a strategy is, it needs to be executed before it can deliver results. The strategy is just the starting point. A new strategy means operational changes for an organisation, such as structure, business model, and brand. This is where design doing comes into play.

We put strategies to the test

Successful strategy design is not only about creative thinking. It's also about successful implementation and about ensuring that the best ideas survive the process. Designers should be involved in the process in order to test, validate and deliver a sustainable strategy.

Designers spend a lot of time and energy on processes. We enter them with an open mind and without assumptions. That way, we can use them to gather as much insight as possible and enhance the final deliverables. When working with strategy, this means we can use the process to ensure buy-in within the organisation and its stakeholders. We’re able to design a participative and inclusive process that harnesses collective creativity by using co-creation effectively.

A participative process approach makes it a lot easier to implement the strategy, translating it into real action. When doing this, visualisation is an essential tool. When people can visualise the strategic options, choices, and ideas, they become easier to grasp and discuss. When we «share a point of view,» we can also discuss the same topics and eliminate unnecessary misunderstandings and misinterpretations. Visual documentation of a strategy is a fantastic compliment to a strategy document that makes it easier to transform the strategy into actionable points. That is what design 

Great processes produce great results

Design methodology is tailored to deal with uncertainty. As the commercial landscape changes rapidly and transformation is the only constant, design can help turn this volatility into a positive power and a business advantage. Gifted designers combine a systematic approach to problem-solving with strong visualisation capabilities, ethnography, and pattern recognition when creating strategies.

We often begin strategy-work by looking for inspiration and doing insight, which will drive the process and way of thinking about the world as it should be. When the creative, generative phase is complete, we use analytical tools to evaluate ideas. We need them to understand the market and competition and how companies should best use their resources and skills to execute the strategy. We also develop scenarios of possible futures rather than spreadsheets.

Disruptive business strategy requires an open mind

All in all, including designers in strategy development is not a matter of taking a chance. Nor is it a matter of scrapping your business consultants and substituting them with designers. Including designers in creating a new business model, business strategy, or product strategy is being smart. It’s a way of lowering risks, ensuring implementation, and strategic action. It's a tool to translate abstract visions into actionable points. Designer skills like empathy, invention, and iteration are all key to build resilient, profitable, and sustainable organisations, services, and products.

What does design have to do with strategy?