Embed Design Culture to Put Your Customers First

Design culture refers to the collective values, beliefs, and behaviors that shape how design is perceived, practiced, and prioritized within a business. It means integrating design into the organizational DNA, influencing decision-making, collaboration, and processes.

The best companies have the strongest design cultures

Businesses like Apple have an incredibly strong design culture, beyond aesthetics – design is their business. Every Apple employee lives and breathes customer-centricity through design.

Steve Job’s famously said: “Design isn’t just what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works.”

Design culture isn’t just about the presence of design teams or the use of design tools. It transcends aesthetics and functionality; it’s about fostering an environment where design is valued as a strategic asset.

A superficial design culture might exist if design is relegated to a department without cross-functional integration – or if it lacks genuine support from leadership. When Jobs spoke about ‘how it works’, he was really talking about the human part of design – so the focus on the user or customer. True value-led design is the best way to engage people; it’s the most effective way to bring customer-centricity to all areas of a business.

Why design culture is so important

A strong design culture cultivates innovation, drives user-centricity, and enhances collaboration across teams. It empowers employees to think creatively, breaking down silos and fostering team spirit. As organizations evolve, embedding design into core values ensures adaptability and responsiveness to market changes – effectively putting the customer first.

But, organizations have to be willing to evolve and ‘trust the process’. A report by McKinsey suggested that “design-led organizations see a 32% revenue uplift compared to those who don’t prioritize design.” And the impact of design extends beyond product development. It influences brand perception, customer satisfaction, employee experience and service-effectiveness. That’s why designers should be included at every step of the business journey.

It's worth noting that if you have a department, team or roles that have the words “customer,” “experience” or “design” in them, you may already have some level of design culture.

Good design culture should manifest in a number of ways:

• Being customer-first: Designers should interact with the users of the solution they’re designing – whether through direct interviews, call-listening, surveys or usability sessions. The more customer data a designer can gather, the better the solution will be. Always ask “what will be the impact on the customer?” and “are we catering to all our customers?” Design decisions should always be taken from a ‘customer first’ perspective.
• Integration: Design should be embedded at every stage of product/service development, not just at the end – and design should always be part of the decision making process (which means that the customer perspective is integrated at each stage).
• Sharing insights and collaborating: Being customer-first, designers are in a unique position to represent the customer in business decisions. Sharing customer insights and collaborating across departments produces products and services that are more likely to be successful.
• Education and appreciation: Individuals and teams must fully understand what good design is. More importantly, these teams and individuals must know how to get the best out of designers and what sort of results they can expect.
• Empowerment: Teams should have the freedom to experiment and innovate without fear of failure. This should also mean being able to safely challenge the status quo and ask questions.

Design culture involves a wide range of stakeholders:

• Designers: These are the champions of design culture, responsible for advocating user- centric approaches. This includes the full stack of designers such as juniors, leads and principles.
• Product managers: They bridge the gap between design, the business and customers, ensuring that design aligns with organizational goals (this also includes product owners and business analysts).
• Leadership and executives: Their commitment to design culture will set the tone for an organization, influencing how design is prioritized. A chief design officer (CDO), chief experience officer (CXO), or similar, is usually the person driving this culture from the top.
• End users: Ultimately, a strong design culture leads to better products and experiences for users, making them direct beneficiaries.

Design culture drives innovation and user-centricity

By understanding its definition, significance, manifestations, and the people involved, firms can cultivate a thriving design culture that not only enhances product outcomes but also drives them to future success.

Investing in a strong design culture isn’t just a trend, it’s a strategic imperative for organizations seeking to innovate and succeed in an increasingly complex and fast-paced environment. Good design impacts the employee experience, customer satisfaction, and organizational success. If you want to increase revenue and market share, reduce churn, optimize processes and reduce waste, it’s time to focus on your design culture.