Adding value. It’s a phrase that you read and hear about from senior+ folks all the time. But what does that actually mean? And where does design fit in value creation?
Let’s define the two kinds of value a business can create first: real value and perceived value.
Real value comes from the utility of a product or service that customers pay for to solve a problem.
Perceived value comes from those moments when the utility of the product or service has helped customers feel like they’ve become a better version of themselves; that their lives have been improved.
Businesses need a mix of both to be effective. How much of which depends on industry, business model, and market.
While design contributes to both, design alone does not create real value.
I’m not saying design isn’t important - it is and often critically so - just not in the way many folks speak about it in bootcamps or on social platforms.
For me, design is a function that specializes in taking stock of all that real value goodness and multiplying it exponentially, reshaping it into a ton of perceived value.
That's where change happens.
In my 20+ years working in this field, I have not found a better path to success than to take on the mindset of a multiplier for the business AND its audience. Talking only about customer problems - real value problems - is a painful, uphill climb that often gets disregarded. Sound familiar?
Design alone does not create real value.
But if we speak in the language of perceived value things go a bit differently, it’s a powerful way to build narratives and alignment with the business.
Wield it without inhibition. Make change by demonstrating to the business how good design can multiply real value.