{"id":9765,"date":"2024-01-30T09:58:32","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T08:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.designcities.net\/?post_type=d-s-post&#038;p=9765"},"modified":"2024-01-30T09:58:32","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T08:58:32","slug":"design-101-faqs-on-using-design-for-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/designcities.net\/?p=9765","title":{"rendered":"Design 101: FAQs on using design for your business"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.designcities.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Bildschirmfoto-2024-01-30-um-09.46.44.png\\\"><img class=\\\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9766\\\" src=\\\"https:\/\/www.designcities.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Bildschirmfoto-2024-01-30-um-09.46.44.png\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" width=\\\"1040\\\" height=\\\"561\\\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 class=\\\"wp-block-heading\\\">Why should I consider using design to improve my business?<\/h4>\n<p>A: Design is critical for innovation. Businesses are being disrupted \u2013 first by tech and most recently by the global pandemic COVID-19. Design can help you innovate in an agile and creative manner to adapt to new market conditions, enabling you to be more competitive.\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/designsingapore.org\/stories\/Why-design-is-critical-for-innovation--Scott-Anthony\\\">Hear what innovation thinker Scott Anthony<\/a>\u00a0(Ranked #9 in the world\u2019s Top 50 Thinkers) had to say about the challenges faced by companies and how design can help them create value.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\\\"wp-block-heading\\\"><span id=\\\"q-how-can-design-be-used-in-my-business\\\" class=\\\"uag-toc__heading-anchor\\\"><\/span>How can design be used in my business?<\/h4>\n<p>A: You can use design in three ways.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Design as styling:<\/strong>\u00a0Use design skills like product, visual and interior design to make your existing products look and feel better e.g. create better packaging for your product or a more attractive shopfront.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Design as process:\u00a0<\/strong>Use design skills like service and experience design to identify and solve customer problems e.g. create a new retail experience or service blueprint<\/li>\n<li><strong>Design as strategy:\u00a0<\/strong>Use strategic design skills to understand the business landscape, find new opportunities and set a long-term vision, e.g. creating a business roadmap.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 class=\\\"wp-block-heading\\\"><span id=\\\"q-when-people-talk-about-design-thinking-what-do-they-mean-by-it\\\" class=\\\"uag-toc__heading-anchor\\\"><\/span>When people talk about \u201cdesign thinking\u201d what do they mean by it?<\/h4>\n<p>A: In a nutshell: Design thinking is the approach of thinking like a designer and using the designer\u2019s tools to solve problems creatively. Design thinking is a human-centred approach to innovation. A key element is empathy for the users of the product, service or experience.\u00a0For more resources on design thinking, check out\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/designthinking.ideo.com\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noreferrer noopener\\\">this website on design thinking<\/a>\u00a0by IDEO, a company known for using design thinking to great sucess.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\\\"wp-block-heading\\\"><span id=\\\"q-how-can-design-thinking-help-me-to-understand-my-customers\\\" class=\\\"uag-toc__heading-anchor\\\"><\/span>How can design thinking help me to understand my customers?<\/h4>\n<p>A: Instead of presuming what users want, the design thinking process uses research tools, such as observation and in-depth interviews, to get a deep understanding of the problems, emotions and realities of the people we are designing for. Understanding customers early can help us\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/designsingapore.org\/stories\/how-procter-and-gamble-learnt-from-its-failure\\\">avoid costly failures later.<\/a>\u00a0Find out which are the five\u00a0areas you can use design thinking in, below.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\\\"wp-block-heading\\\"><span id=\\\"q-which-areas-of-my-business-could-i-use-design-thinking-in\\\" class=\\\"uag-toc__heading-anchor\\\"><\/span>Which areas of my business could I use design thinking in?<\/h4>\n<p>A: You can use design thinking for many purposes. Here are some popular ways it has been used to transform businesses:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Improve customers experiences:<\/strong>\u00a0Use design to understand your customers and then shape the way your business interacts with them to ensure more relatable experience.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pivot your business to adjacent markets:<\/strong>\u00a0You can transform your business model by exploring new products, services or markets, resulting in increased profits and market share. For example, moving from being a B2B company to exploring new B2C services to grow revenue.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Brand positioning \/ marketing:<\/strong>\u00a0Many SMEs use design to attract younger consumers through refreshed branding and customer experience.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Going digital:\u00a0<\/strong>If you are going digital to boost productivity, you could tap design thinking as a way to develop an overarching strategy that merges both online and offline platforms. This so that your audience will experience a holistic, seamless experience when they interact with your business.<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u200bCapability Development:<\/strong>\u00a0You could introduce the approach of thinking like a designer in your organisation to help your employees think more creatively, work more collaboratively and innovate speedily.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 class=\\\"wp-block-heading\\\"><span id=\\\"q-are-there-examples-of-businesses-benefitting-from-using-design\\\" class=\\\"uag-toc__heading-anchor\\\"><\/span>Are there examples of businesses benefitting from using design?<\/h4>\n<p>A: Here are some examples of local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that have used design to improve their businesses.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\\\"https:\/\/designsingapore.org\/stories\/design-thinking-lifts-meyer-to-a-service-driven-brand\\\">Meyer Lifts:<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0This SME saw a 50% lift in revenue six months after rolling out measures to build customer trust in its brand, improve its communications, as well as deliver better customer experience and service.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\\\"https:\/\/designsingapore.org\/stories\/design-thinking-helped-menswear-label-benjamin-barker\\\">Benjamin Barker<\/a><\/strong>: This homegrown menswear label used design thinking to create a tailored onboarding and training programme for its staff. It resulted in a service culture change and excellent customer service, contributing to record sales in 2019.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\\\"https:\/\/designsingapore.org\/stories\/how-a-70-year-old-rock-sugar-company-transformed-with-design\\\">Cheng Yew Heng<\/a><\/strong>: This local rock sugar manufacturer was facing stagnant growth from B2B clients and decline in demand from B2C customers. It tapped design thinking to develop a new B2C rock-sugar-on-a-stick product, now known as the Jewel line. Since the launch of the new product, the company\u2019s rock sugar revenue has seen a three-digit growth.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.sgsme.sg\/news\/going-design\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\"><strong>The Soup Spoon<\/strong><\/a>: The local F&amp;B company started using design thinking in 2012. It found the concept so useful that it engaged design consultants to develop a 10-year plan to make the company a global brand.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\\\"wp-block-heading\\\"><span id=\\\"q-is-there-any-government-support-to-try-out-design-thinking-for-my-business\\\" class=\\\"uag-toc__heading-anchor\\\"><\/span>Is there any government support to try out design thinking for my business?<\/h4>\n<p>A: Try our\u00a0<strong>Design for Business: User Journey Mapping<\/strong>\u00a0initiative. This introductory scheme gives SMEs an overview to the practice of improving customer experiences by better understanding how their customers interact with their products, services and processes. SMEs that qualify for this program will be eligible for co-funding as part of Enterprise Singapore\u2019s Enterprise Development Grant (EDG).<\/p>\n<p>As announced at Supplementary Budget 2020, the\u00a0maximum support level for the EDG\u00a0will be raised to 80% from 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2020. For enterprises that are most severely impacted by COVID-19, the maximum support level may be raised to 90% on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n<p>For SMEs that wish to develop a comprehensive roadmap for business improvement, please refer to the\u00a0<strong>Design for Business: Frame &amp; Scope<\/strong>\u00a0scheme.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>C O N T A C T<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chen Guanyou<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\\\"text-decoration: underline;\\\"><strong><a href=\\\"mailto:chen_guanyou@designsingapore.org\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">chen_guanyou@designsingapore.org<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>answers to frequently asked questions for anyone new to the idea of using design for their business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":9766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Design 101: FAQs on using design for your business -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/designcities.net\/?p=9765\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Design 101: FAQs on using design for your business -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"answers 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