LEGO is one of the companies in the Region of Southern Denmark famous for its use of design.
Design is defined as businesses that use design strategically to strengthen innovation and competitiveness, and creative businesses. The companies using design strategically are significantly more innovative and have higher expectations of increased revenues and exports than companies that do not use design. The number of companies using design strategy has increased, but still there are potentials in many small and medium-sized companies.
These are the reasons for the Region of Southern Denmark to focus on design in the Business Development Strategy. Southern Denmark has strong education and research environments with well-established collaboration with businesses. Design School Kolding offers innovative design educations and the University of Southern Denmark Kolding hosts many different areas of expertise, but it is mostly known for the education and research within the fields design and entrepreneurship.
Design2innovate is a cluster organisation gathering enterprises using design as a method to innovate. The aim of the cluster is to support business development and growth in enterprises by the use of design. It offers training, inspiration, networks and access to knowledge to its members.
Clusterix 2.0 climbing the Design Ladder
Clusterix 2.0 has introduced Strategic Use of Design as one example of Good Practice that can be transferred to other regions to develop clusters and enterprises. To get a hands-on experience of the use of design methods, Clusterix 2.0. organised a workshop on Strategic Use of Design in Kolding, Southern Denmark in September 2017.
Industral Designer Thomas Holst Madsen presented the method for innovation and design in strategic business development by using the Design Ladder (see illustration). He introduced the concepts of ideation and user involvement to focus on creativity. He presented a number of design methods – and methods to work with concrete cases - to the participants. The methods can be used to develop products or services, but also as a more general tool for business development.
The methods can be adapted to the use of the different partner organisations in Clusterix 2.0, focus on different cases and target our users or customers– and the value chains in which our services or products are included.
The Workshop included a presentation by the company DEVELOPA that has assisted a number of other companies, such as Maersk and LEGO, in their design processes. Finally, Clusterix 2.0 participants went to Billund to see how the LEGO Group has made use of design in both products and processes in a world wide brand.
