Design ladder
A four-step model of how an organization uses design: it doesn’t, it uses it to give form, it builds it into the process, or it puts it at the heart of its strategy.
What problem it addresses
Helps an organization see where it stands in its use of design and what would have to change to climb a step.
Components
No design
Design plays no recognized role: if it is done at all, it’s by people without design training.
Design as form
Used at the end, for finish and appearance.
Design as process
Part of development from the start.
Design as strategy
A key piece of the business model.
How it works
Place the organization on a step.
See what is missing for the next one.
Climb one step at a time, with concrete projects.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Place your organization on a step to diagnose how it works with design and explain to leadership where to go.
Avoid
Skipping steps all at once, without first changing how people work.
Don’t fall for it
The Danish data measure what companies say about their use of design: it’s a self-assessment, not an audit.
Connections
Used in
Authors and works
- 2018
Danish Design Centre
Measured how many Danish companies are on each step: 45% no design, 15% form, 24% process and 15% strategy.
- 2019
InVision
Proposed another ladder, with five levels, based on a survey of more than 2,200 companies in 77 countries: 41% were on the first level and only 5% on the last.
Sources
Original sources
- Danish Design Centre (2003). The economic effects of design. National Agency for Enterprise and Housing.
- Danish Design Centre & Confederation of Danish Industry (2018). Design delivers 2018: How design accelerates your business. View source: Danish Design Centre & Confederation of Danish Industry (2018)
- Buley, L., Avore, C., Gates, S., Gonzalez, S., Goodman, R., & Walter, A. (2019). The new design frontier. InVision.
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