Jun 11, 2009 13
Design vs. Technology: A Provocative View
From the web publication (seems rude to call it a “blog”) @Issue comes this provocative article about the business value of design, which ends with this astonishing statement:
[Design is] the accelerator for the company car, the power train for sustainable profits: design drives innovation; innovation powers brand; brand builds loyalty; and loyalty sustains profits. If you want long-term profits, don’t start with technology, start with design.
The statement struck me quite hard because I love both technology and design. I had not given much thought as to which one takes precedence in driving business value.
Synchronicity. In this week’s RE:RnD Radio show, I ended up debating with Benn Rosales of AgentGenius about innovation in real estate. One of the sub-themes was that we had not seen true innovation in the real estate industry in a couple of years, ever since Web 2.0 exploded onto the scene with Trulia. (And I would argue before then with HousingMaps.com.) We discussed Roost‘s redesign, and I had dismissed it as “cosmetic changes” with no real fundamental innovation.
Perhaps I need to rethink that position.
