Leading Australian and international companies have recruited QUT postgraduate researchers to design better business practices.
In an Australian-first university program, seven masters students from QUT's School of Design have been embedded in seven companies for one year.
They are researching what their company's customers really want and value and using those insights to design organisational changes that help their company better meet customer needs and compete internationally.
Among the host companies are the Brisbane Airport Corporation, Ergon Energy and Russell Mineral Equipment.
Design practice and management expert Dr Cara Wrigley, who heads up QUT's Design-Led Innovation Masters Program, said organisation-wide innovation was a new field for design graduates - and one that companies valued highly.
"The traditional design approach tends to focus on innovating specific products or services in isolation within a firm." Dr Wrigley said.
"Design-led innovation takes a much more holistic view, effecting organisational and cultural changes that grow the business.
"Our postgraduates focus on the customer, mapping the deep customer insights they uncover back to the company's business strategy."
Dr Wrigley said design-led innovation was particularly important for Australian manufacturers that, faced with the strong Australian dollar, cannot compete with cheaper international products on price alone.
"Our postgraduates are looking at what extra value a company can offer its customers beyond just the price of its products or services, and adapting its business model accordingly to capitalise on that real point of difference from competitors," she said.
Australia's largest manufacturer of enclosures, racks, cabinets and switchboard building systems, B&R Enclosures, knows how much design-led innovation can improve a company's competitive edge.
Last year the family business pioneered QUT's Design-Led Innovation Masters Program, giving researcher Erica Pozzey full access to its internal operations and strategy.
Through detailed customer research gathering deep customer insights, Erica discovered that a product planned for release should not go to market because it would not deliver the best return on investment.
"The research showed the product wasn't offering anything new to our customers - and releasing a product with no differentiated value proposition can be more harmful to a brand than focusing on things that do provide a clear value," Ms Pozzey said.
"It became clear delivering value to customers wasn't restricted to a product's features but also in how that product integrated into the whole business model.
"Through the one-year project I've been able help B&R spend more time understanding the customer's problem at the beginning of product development, which saves time and effort later finding and designing a solution.
"B&R is now using design thinking tools and techniques to build collaborative relationships with customers, which is particularly important to ensure our capacity to deliver meaningful brand experiences - and that gives B&R a real point of difference from competitors."
B&R was so impressed with the value of Erica's work, that they hired her permanently.
"Erica's skills fill a gap in the way our firm has traditionally interacted with our customers," said B&R's Marketing Manager Ben Bridges.
"The design methodology she brings to our customer engagement practices makes her an integral interface between customers and our internal staff."
Dr Wrigley said Design-Led Innovation masters students work closely with a company champion to implement the changes indentified through the design-led innovation process.
The students also participate in workshops with international experts including BMW Vice-President Mr Volker Richter in March 2013, and renowned international design thinking expert Dr Dan Formosa in May 2013.
RELATED STORIES
QUT's laneways home to funky furniture
Design Led innovation
Designing a future for manufacturing
Media contact: Kate Haggman, QUT Media, 07 3138 0358 or kate.haggman@qut.edu.au
