English patient: Recovery through design in the medical sector, The

Design Management Review, Spring 2004 by Smart, Kirsty, Phillips, Mark, Press, Mike

The benefits of this creative partnership go beyond simply a more competitive and innovative product range. A better understanding of the design and manufacturing process has given the sales team a greater confidence in the products they are selling. While outsourcing some parts of the design and manufacture process is necessary, Mediplan now prefers to maintain a close relationship with consultants at all stages, wherever possible. Having become used to being involved in the design process, management members no longer like being presented with design solutions to which they have not been able to contribute; they believe that this could be inflexible and might take them down a route they prefer not to travel.

Sales manager Alex Hinchcliffe recognizes that design is important for many reasons-innovation, longer life cycles, lower production costs, and improved profit margins. He also points out that "design helps customers differentiate our products from our competitors. We wouldn't consider developing a new product now without the input of an industrial designer."

Mediplan is more discerning about design in all aspects of its product development and, furthermore, is spreading the design word. Even for the smallest technological components that must be ordered in, the company increasingly demands a higher level of design quality from its suppliers. In some cases, it is facilitating negotiations between designers and suppliers to make this happen. This confidence demonstrates how the company has shifted gear to become increasingly proactive in getting design and manufacture standards raised in its sector. Mediplan is prescribing design everywhere.

The company understands that a strong product image can prompt return sales through the demand for visual compatibility. The design used for the nurse-call hand unit has been the basis for developing a strong corporate identity that is now being rolled out across all the company's products and promotional material. Most recently, Mediplan has called on Sheffield Hallam University's packaging design team to develop the company's corporate identity and Web site.

Mediplan's commitment to design reflects the national picture for rapidly growing businesses. According to the UK's Design Council, 90 percent of businesses that have experienced rapid growth regard design as integral to their operation. More importantly, this translates into results; around two thirds of rapidly growing companies say design, innovation, and creativity have contributed to their competitiveness and increased turnover.1

A company that had for many years been content with producing good-quality, durable medical products, Mediplan now firmly believes that excellent design and technical sophistication go hand-in-hand with reliability and simplicity of use. Promotional material for the company now emphasizes Mediplan's continuing investment in product design through its ongoing program of research and development. This is a significant change; far from being a peripheral activity, outsourced to a consultancy, design now lies at the heart of Mediplan's aspirations and activities.