Wise counsel: A trinity of perspectives on the business value of design

Design Management Journal, Winter 2002 by Gierke, Martin, Hansen, James G, Turner, Raymond

This was brought home to me vividly when I was working on the Eurotunnel project. We had 10 construction companies working as a consortium to build this rail shuttle connection between England and France. Each company was responsible for a different part of the project, and there proved to be little design coordination among them all. Consequently, when one part of the project made design decisions, other parts of the project were not informed. For example, the two terminals on either side of the English Channel, and the railway that connected them, were all developing their own passenger information systems. This would have meant that people using the system would be faced with a multitude of ways in which the company was trying to communicate with them. Fortunately, this disconnect was spotted in time, and a much more coherent system was developed. Although we never went to market with the uncoordinated scheme, it was generally recognized that had we done so, the credibility of Eurotunnel and the resulting value of its brand would have suffered significantly. So here we have design acting as an interface again-this time between consumer and brand value.

Summary

Design is not normally considered to be an interface. Yet, as these few thoughts show, that is exactly what it does. It acts as an interface between company and customer, ensuring that the company delivers what the customer wants in a way that adds value to both.

Reprint # 02131GIEI0

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by Martin Gierke

Martin Gierke is a brand research and education manager for Caterpillar Inc., in Peoria, Illinois. Before coming to Caterpillar, he spent nearly 25 years in product design at Black & Decker, DeWalt, and Honeywell. He received a BS in industrial design from the University of Wisconsin, Stout, and an MBA from Loyola College, in Maryland.

Gierke has taught design and production management for Loyola College and Towson University, in Maryland. He is a member of the board of directors and advisory council of DMI, and also a member of IDSA. He was a jury member of the 2001 Business Week/IDSA IDEA competition. Among his many speaking engagements, Gierke has lectured at Harvard School of Design, MIT, Art Center College of Design, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and the United States Patent Office.

James G. Hansen is chairman and co-founder of Source/Inc., a brand design consultancy. A fellow of the Industrial Designers Society of America and the American Center for Design, he has served on the board of directors for both organizations. Hansen is a member of the board of advisors of the Design Management Institute. He holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in industrial design from the University of Illinois. Prior to co-founding Source in 1968, Hansen worked for the international design firm

by James G. Hansen

Unimark International; The General Learning Corp., an affiliate of General Electric and Time Inc.; and GE's Apollo Support Department. He has directed numerous package design and brand identity programs.