Design Strategy Based on Designer Roles in Design-Oriented Firms: A Comparison of Hanssem and Ikea

Purpose - This paper addresses the role of designers in design-oriented firms and how they should work together with other organization members. The aim of this paper is to investigate how designers generate ideas and cooperate with others as well as how their participation in decision-making reflects on corporate design strategies. Research design, data, and methodology - An in-depth exploratory study examined how designers actually perform their roles in enterprises; in addition, information, knowledge, communication among designers, and sources of creativity were examined. Hanssem and Ikea grew as design-intensive businesses in a declining industry. Data were obtained from interviews with the design staff of each company as well as secondary sources. Results - Designers were found to use their designs to communicate with customers as well as with communities outside of the enterprise; they also participated in overall decision-making in relation to important design strategies. Conclusions - This study emphasized the increasing importance of the innovative and creative role of designers; thus, it might substantially help companies to develop their own design capabilities and deploy design strategies.