Effectiveness by Design

Dutch scientific evidence proves the economic and commercial value of design.

The financial performance of a new product increases by almost 20% when there is a lot of attention given to design in the development process. That is one of the key findings of the scientific study ‘Effectiveness of Design’ initiated by the Association of Dutch Designers (BNO).

Tom Dorresteijn, chairman of the BNO and initiator of the research: “We can now prove the economic-commercial value of design with independent, scientific research. More attention for design within organisations increases financial performance and the quality of product experience. There has been a lot of research on design, but never before did research show a causal relation between investment in design and commercial return.’

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Most important conclusions**
– The financial performance of a new product is on average 20% higher when both experience design (stimulates the senses, increases self expression and summons emotion) and functional design (focused on technology, functionality and ergonomics) have received a lot of attention, compared to products where there was an average attention for these design aspects.
– The success of a new product increases when there is a lot of attention for design during the development process and when designers are involved.
– Involving designers during the development of a new website or house style for an organisation, strengthens the image of that organisation in areas such as social responsibility, emotional likability, financial success and good employership.
– The research shows that several positive design effects are stronger, when designers are given more freedom to explore ideas outside the scope of a project.
– The innovation of design in the areas of experience and functionality has a positive effect on the quality of the product.

The study was initiated by BNO and financed by Pictoright and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The Erasmus University and the TU Delft executed the research. Four hundred managers of Dutch organisations in the production and services industries participated in the study.

Source: BNO.nl
Download the research report here (only available in Dutch)