4. A. Work in pairs. Discuss the following questions:

1. What is, in your opinion, the difference between innovation and design?

2. Is either of them predominant in the design process? Why/Why not?

3. What do you think is easier to make — a design or innovation? Give your reasons.

b. Now read the text to see how many of your ideas are mentioned. Think of a suitable title for the text. Discuss several possible variants.

Text

In the context of innovation it is helpful to bear in mind three definitions of the word 'design':

• A design is the tangible outcome, i.e. the end product of the design process, for example a camera or car, etc.

• Design is a creative activity.

• Design is the process by which information is transformed into a tangible outcome.

It seems that the third definition - design as process - is the most commonly used, and it is how the word is used in this article. Design is a conscious process. So our definition reads: 'Design is the conscious decision-making process by which information (an idea) is transformed into an outcome, tangible (product) or intangible (service).'

But why should we look at design specifically in the context of innovation?

First of all, what does 'innovation' mean? A commonly used definition is: 'Innovation is the commercially successful exploitation of ideas.' This definition associates innovation with a tangible outcome. However, in today's fast-changing environment this is not enough. Innovation is the art of making new connections, and continuously challenging the status quo - without changing things for change's sake. Hence, innovation can be defined as a frame of mind.

Successful innovation is first, and most importantly, about creating value. It does so either by improving existing goods, processes or services (incremental innovation), or by developing goods, processes or services of value that have not existed previously (radical innovation). However, both kinds of innovation require you to do the following: challenge the status quo, have an understanding of consumer needs, develop imaginative and novel solutions.

In addition, innovation is generally associated with the following: the willingness to take risk, accepting high levels of ambiguity and uncertainty, original thinking, a passion to drive the idea through to conclusions, the ability to inspire passion in others. Designers are frequently considered to: be tolerant of ambiguity, perceive the world differently, see possibilities, ask questions, be divergent thinkers, want to change the status quo, be happy to take risk.

This does not mean that innovation should be left to the designers, but clearly indicates that designers make an important contribution to the innovation process. As the UK Government White Paper on Competitiveness states: 'The effective use of design is fundamental to the creation of innovative products, processes and services. Good design can significantly add value to products, lead to growth in sales and enable both the exploitation of new markets and the consolidation of existing ones.' However, even though the link between the skills and abilities of designers and the skills and abilities required for innovation seems quite obvious, many organizations still do not exploit the skills of designers in order to innovate.

Both innovation and design require cross-disciplinary co-ordination - but universities and business schools tend to operate strictly within departmental boundaries. Very few business schools have a department of innovation or design, and as a consequence both disciplines are being treated and taught in a very fragmented fashion to business people - if they are taught at all.

Furthermore, many people think of 'product', i.e. the end result, when talking about design and innovation. However, innovation can usefully be viewed as being more about a certain frame of mind rather than a tangible product or a new technology. An innovative mindset will seek to improve and change in order to increase value of a process, a product, or a business model. In an innovative organisation, innovation will not be the domain of a department or small group of people, but the responsibility of everyone, and design will be a key facilitator in the organization's culture.