What's the True Value of Design?

According to McKinsey’s Business Value of Design report, companies that prioritise design outperform their peers by as much as 32% in revenue and 56% in total returns to shareholders. Yet in many organisations, design is still introduced late in the process, treated as execution rather than strategy.

Design has evolved into a multidimensional discipline that influences brand positioning, customer experience, internal communication, and product usability. When integrated early and operationalised effectively, design supports faster decision-making, improved collaboration, and greater consistency across touchpoints — all of which have measurable commercial impact.

The global acceleration of digital transformation, more recently web 3 has only reinforced this need. In 2023, Adobe’s Digital Trends Report found that 89% of senior executives believe customer experience is a primary driver of growth. Design directly shapes that experience, from the clarity of messaging to the ease of interaction, yet we do not treat it with the respect it deserves.

What slows design down and reduces its value is when it’s treated as a fragmented or reactive service. Siloed teams, disconnected briefs, and inconsistent processes create inefficiency. Conversely, businesses that embed design into their operations see better outcomes. InVision’s New Design Frontier study noted that “design-mature” companies are 2x more likely to outperform their peers in cost savings, time-to-market, and employee satisfaction.

This shift also requires new competencies from creative leaders. The ability to link design decisions to business objectives whether through systems thinking, performance tracking, or cross-functional collaboration is now a baseline requirement, not a bonus skill.

Designers must be able to work fluidly across tools and channels, but more importantly, they need to operate with commercial awareness. That means understanding the cost of delays, the value of consistency, and the ROI of good user experience.

As the pressure on teams increases and expectations grow, design becomes one of the few disciplines that can act as both a driver of growth and a force for alignment. It creates order, codifies brand values, and translates abstract strategies into tangible outputs.

Design shouldn’t be the final step in a process, it should be considered first.

Footnote:

McKinsey & Company. The Business Value of Design. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-design/our-insights/the-business-value-of-design

Adobe & Econsultancy. Digital Trends 2023 Report. https://business.adobe.com/uk/resources/reports/digital-trends.html

InVision. The New Design Frontier. https://www.invisionapp.com/design-maturity-report