Why Invest in Design Companies?

Design-driven companies show a stock market advantage. Already 5 years ago, in 2014, the Design Management Institute published something called the Design Value Index. The index indicated that design-led firms outperformed the S&P by 228% over the last 10 years.

Design-driven is, however, a relatively broad term covering a variety of design-related aspects. Product design, of course, plays a primary role as it’s one of the frit things a potential customer is exposed to. However, the term covers everything from logo and brand identity design, through the level of the company’s investment in design to integration of design thinking into corporate strategy.

As IBM CEO said: ‘good design is good business’. Up until recently, it was difficult to prove it as measuring the value of design, an intangible asset, isn’t an easy task with a clear answer. Now the Design Value Index is used for argumentation to collect higher funding and explain to the audience reasoning behind design-led actions and potentially positive effects.

However, the Design Management Institute reminds that having many designers in-house doesn’t necessarily lead to a great design and positive customer response. Moreover, in publicly-owned companies, the management of designers usually isn’t done as effectively as imagined.

Author Bio:
Natalia comes from business and design background and takes care of marketing at DesignBro (https://designbro.com/brand-identity-design/)