The DBA is an engaged and progressive community of design agencies and design-driven businesses. From benchmarking your rates and salaries against your peers’ with our annual salary survey report, as well as access to our industry renowned training and events and expert advice and guidance, our extensive range of member benefits provides professional and practical support to help drive efficiencies, professionalism and results.
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20/07/2018
Deepening design’s impact across the board
“The expanded DBA Experts Register is opening out further opportunities to directly support client companies in delivering strategic growth through design. And it is available for all sizes of companies from small to large, helping clients engage more confidently with design agencies. That’s a win-win for all our members.” Deborah Dawton, CEO, DBA
The DBA has, this month, introduced two new categories to its Register of Experts that clients of design agencies can take advantage of to enhance their own business processes and smooth the communication with agencies when it comes to commissioning design work.
With data proving design-centric businesses can grow exponentially comparative to those businesses that lack an understanding of the influence, the DBA offers the business world the opportunity to become more design intelligent from the top down.
Corporate companies already utilising design, including those with in-house design teams, and those with an appetite to do so, will be able to connect with a range of consultants offering ‘Strategic Design Management’ and ‘Design Foresight Services’ through the DBA Experts Register.
The DBA Experts Register is a list of industry consultants who have been reference checked and accredited as experts in their field with the ability to spot problems, diagnose issues and develop solutions. The current Register offers a service to design agencies by providing an external perspective which can often be critical for moving agencies to the next level.
Two new categories have been added to make the Register of Experts accessible to client companies that want to utilise and apply strategic design management and foresight services. With the value of design being widely recognised as a major contributor to the UK economy (via the likes of the Creative Industries Sector Deal for the Government’s Industrial Strategy) and strategic design leading the way to success in the commercial world, it’s the perfect time for corporates to take advantage of this offering and utilise the knowledge of experts in this field.
“Even as far back as 2013, the global Design Management Institute released growing evidence that suggested design-centric companies outperform their peers and the value of design in strategic-thinking is continuing to be recognised. Many DBA member agencies have ‘design strategists’ on their teams”, says Deborah Dawton, CEO of DBA, “but with these two new categories added to the DBA’s Experts Register, our corporate members will have access to carefully selected design and business strategists to better enable them to challenge the norm and create design-driven innovation that will impact strategic design decisions and support business growth.”
The new categories
Although connected in what they can achieve together, each of the categories reflect different stages of support in embedding design as a strategic and tactical component of business success.
Strategic Design Management covers a range of services to help organisations work more effectively with design than they are at present – even those that are good at it. The consultants can challenge the way in which design is currently organised and understood, aligning it with corporate strategy. In so doing, they encourage multiple-stakeholder engagement, strengthen the business case for design and clarify the measurable impact it can generate. Whether developing products, services or brands, they support businesses and organisations in embedding robust design processes and project management practices to achieve the optimum value from creative agencies. They support businesses in clarifying the bigger picture for design’s contribution which can take many forms.
C-Suite Design Foresight takes design to the Board. The DBA experts all bring potent combinations of business experience with design knowledge across multiple disciplines and sectors. They facilitate directors to explore new, design-driven market positions and contribute strategic, design-centric insight to organisations navigating their future in the face of disruption and business transformation. Exploring futures in a design context opens out new opportunities for growth and suggests, where relevant, different, more strategic pathways to engaging with design service providers.
Access the Experts Register
As a DBA member, if you have a particular business challenge or are looking to move your business to the next level, we’ll work closely with you to connect you to an expert, whatever the issue. We’ve identified expert consultants with sustained and relevant experience in supporting the design industry, so you can rest assured that we can introduce you to the right one to meet your needs.
For the full list of Experts available to DBA member agencies and corporate companies, and details of what they cover visit the Experts Register.