Service Design, UX Research, Strategic Design, Business Design... Is it all the same?
We all know that designers are great at being creative and coming up with new ideas, but don’t we think we have too many terms to describe our profession? If you are reading this and you aren’t familiar with the buzzwords of the design world, I understand if all these words sound a bit confusing. But let me tell you a little secret: we designers are often just as befuddled.
When I graduated with my Master’s in Design for Interaction at TU Delft and landed my interview at oneUp, I was not sure what my role would be: service designer, user experience researcher, business designer, venture builder,…? It all sounded the same! Thankfully at oneUp we simplify it by dividing our roles into two big pillars: Business Designers and Venture Builders. With this article, I want to focus on what Business Design is, what a Business Designer’s role is in a project, and lastly, what process we follow!
Let me start my explaining what business design really is.
Over the past decade, companies’ approach to innovation has been largely focused on design thinking methodologies. This means they practice customer-centricity when it comes to designing products and services. Business Design emerged as a new profession, from the need of many companies to demonstrate to organizations what their return on innovation is (viability). Basically, it’s the combination of design thinking and business strategy into a single role. In short, business design is purely the design of business. At a strategic level, Business Designers can help companies rethink the fundamentals of their business and considering new business opportunities, taking into account every element of the business model (how can the business affect the consumer? How can it affect the client? etc.). In a nutshell, business design is the sweet spot where viability, feasibility and desirability meet.
What skills should you have as a successful business designer?
Business Designers are great at understanding what can make an organization grow. They are either creative people with a great understanding of business, or people from more commercial backgrounds who have a creative bend. Ultimately, they are able to come up with great business ideas that create new revenues for organisations. Business Designers at oneUp come from a range of different strategic backgrounds; corporate venture capital, design strategy, digital strategy, commercial strategy and of course people who have worked as business designers in other innovation consultancies… These people have certain skills in common that make them irreplaceable for companies. So what are these skills?
Loving to problem-solve
Business designers feel super comfortable with the uncertainty and complexity. They are comfortable by being uncomfortable. They love filling the gaps and explaining problems from a simple and concrete point of view, by explaining what’s important and what is not. Business designers love problem-solving!
Being comfortable with the design thinking process
Business Designers can come from different backgrounds, but something they have in common is the ability to use the design thinking process for their solutions. The art of combining different methodologies could be applied to analysing current business models and consider how new business models can create value for the company.
Think critically, decide logically
Business Designers need to be able to ask critical questions as well as make logical decisions. Business designers are the people in the room that will always ask questions related to the viability of the new idea: Does this work as a business? Is it commercially viable? What is the main revenue model? Does it make financial sense? People need to be able to throw stones at what you’ve got and it needs to hold up. Proving the desirability, viability and feasibility of a solution is a big part of it.
Market research lovers
Business Designers are structured people that love to solve problems and map complex ecosystems. One way to solve complex problems is through market research. Quantitative and qualitative research methods help Business Designers identify the needs or problems of users and understand how to create value for them. We are able to research, design, conduct and evaluate qualitative and quantitative market studies, interviews and more to understand the needs and motivations of consumers.
Finding new opportunities for businesses
Business Design is all about designing new businesses. Therefore, business designers are great at finding new opportunities. Business Designers understand how the market is structured really well; the underlying forces and the mechanics. They know who are the important players and what their value proposition is. Business Designers create benchmarks, come up with new propositions and define unique value propositions.
Building business cases
Business designers are responsible for establishing the viability of the new business model through building the business case. They are comfortable with financial modelling and able to help guide their teams through key decisions that need to be made around things like revenue sources, product pricing, costs, resource planning and investment required.
What is the role of a business designer in projects?
The role of Business Designers in projects usually takes place in the early stages of the innovation process. A typical scenario is when the client approaches the company with a strategic question they want to pursue as an innovation project. In a situation like this, the Business Designer will typically guide the client through visioning to identify the innovation north star and discovery to find the right problem and opportunity that leads to a solid business model concept. Once we have a concept, the venture builders take the lead in validating the desirability, feasibility and viability. The business designer is still closely involved, and is out to prove that this new idea is not only desirable but also viable. We prove whether or not it makes sense to move forward with it. We de-risk the idea and ensure that it is economically viable.
To sum up, Business Designers guide the project from a high-level question to a rock-solid business model concept. The exact task of the business designer depends a lot on that person’s skill set and interests. It’s common for the business designer to continue to play a leading role in building the MVP and taking the venture to market.
Why becoming a business designer has been a great experience for me?
From a very young age, I’ve been fascinated by technology and how important it is to understand it. I knew that if I understood the basics of engineering (maths, programming, physics, chemistry…) I could understand the world. That’s why I chose to study engineering and specialised in Industrial Design Engineering.
Soon enough, I realised that understanding technology was key for creating new products and services, but that the most important was to first understand what the world needed, instead of producing objects simply because technology allowed it. My interest in human-centred design started growing since then, which brought me to study a MSc in Design for Interaction. I understood the importance of finding what people really want before starting with any ideation phase. What the TU Delft really taught me is that every product or service should be fundamentally based on research and that by following different design methodologies, it is possible to design things that people love.
Being able to think out of the box, understand user needs, and come up with ideas that are feasible is great. But let’s be honest, in order to develop products or services we need to take into account the business model behind it. We need to understand what makes this idea succeed, and which are the revenue models now, in the short-term and in the long term. Behind every great idea, there’s an even greater business model. That’s why I say that becoming a business designer is the best thing that has happened to me as a designer. Adding the business side to my skills has brought viability into the mix of desirability and feasibility. All three combined, help me to find the sweet spot of innovation.
Do you want to know more about how to become a business designer? You can reach out to us at hello@blasnco.com for more information.
