How can I use design in my business?
Introduction
Design can open up valuable opportunities for your business. It can help you to create better products and services, understand your customers and their needs, and boost your marketing and the image of your business.
It can also help you make your business processes more efficient, improve your work or sales environment, and make your brand more appealing.
This guide explains the business benefits of design. It tells you how business use design and why you should consider carrying out the design audit. It further explains how you can use specific types of design, such as graphic, packaging, product or service design, and follow the design process in managing projects in your business. Finally, it offers advice on how to make design part of your business strategy.
You can also complete our Get design ready tool to improve your understanding of design and its role in developing successful products, services and businesses.
The business benefits of design
Using design in business can bring about many benefits. It can improve your performance, your efficiencies, and the value of your products and services. It can also reduce costs and risks to your business.
Advantages of design to your business
Using design across your business can help you:
increase sales of your products or services
improve market position
boost customer loyalty
reduce customer complaints
build a stronger identity for your business
create new products and services and open up new markets
reduce time to market for new products and services
improve environmental record and compliance with regulations
Why is design important in business?
Effective design can encourage customers to buy from you and not from your competitors. It can help your product, service or business stand out – see more on user-centred design.
Design can also add value to products and services. Customers are often willing to pay more for products that look better and offer greater usability, better functionality and sustainability. See ecodesign in product or service development.
Using design to improve efficiency
The role of design doesn’t stop with products and services. Design can also help you:
improve the way your business operates
cut costs and boost efficiencies, for example with the raw materials it uses
enhance the quality of your packaging
Design can also help cut production costs. For example, careful design of the manufacturing process can bring large savings. It can also make processes and the use of materials more efficient and environmentally friendly, helping you to comply with sustainability regulations and legislation. For more information, see how businesses use design.
You can also complete our Get design ready tool to improve your understanding of design and its role in developing successful products, services and businesses.