Business Thinking for Designers

Design is in demand
Design is definitely having a moment. It’s being driven by the 
popularity of Design Thinking, Design Sprints, and Stanford’s 
d.School, as well as the business value created by design 
for companies like Apple, Airbnb, IBM, Ford, Nike, Whirlpool, 

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10 
Why you need to know business
IKEA, and others. Business leaders now make significant 
investments to incorporate design to gain a competitive edge. 
From startups to multi-national juggernauts, titles like 
Chief Design Officer, Head of Design, and VP of Customer 
Experience are now common. Sketching is no longer just an 
activity for “creatives.” Post-its and Sharpies are tools of the 
trade across functions, and business leaders across industries 
develop their organization’s design potential. 
In short, we’ve made it. Our favorite Venn diagram worked! 
Figure 1-1: The Venn diagram of innovation
So you may be asking: Why should designers do anything 
different?

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11 
Why you need to know business