Design Value Index Highlights the Importance and Impact of Design

BOSTON - May 19, 2015 - PRLog -- MEDIA RELEASE

May 18, 2015, Boston, MA and Washington, DC: Today the Design Management Institute (DMI) and consulting firm Motiv Strategies have revealed the results of their annual Design Value Index (DVI), showing that design-driven companies outperformed the S&P 500 by 219 percent over 10 years. ¹

Recent acquisitions, investments, and venture-funded rounds point towards a seismic shift in the recognition of design as a strategic business capability.  There are four signs that demonstrate the increased importance and value of design across business, from tech to consumer goods, established multinationals to venture-backed startups, these include:

1. “Five (20%) of the top cumulative-funded VC-backed ventures that have raised additional capital since 2013 have designer co-founders.” ²  [Pinterest, Airbnb, Vice Media, Lynda.com, Fab.com]

2. Significant acquisition activity of design and creative consultancies by professional service organizations including:  Accenture Interactive and Fjord, Deloitte and Doblin, Capital One and Adaptive Path, Blue Focus and Fuseproject, and McKinsey and Lunar Design.

3. Substantial investments in building and/or growing internal design and innovation capabilities on the part of many large corporations, including IBM who has announced it will spend $100 million on its efforts.

4. The 2014 Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) report shows continued 10 year increases in design-related patent filings. ³

This is the second year that DMI and Motiv Strategies have released the results of the Design Value Index study.

Index Selection

The DMI Design Value Index, built by Motiv, is used to measure the performance of one segment of the market against the larger stock market. It consists of companies that share a predefined set of characteristics or industries. The index is computed from the weighted average of the market capitalization from the chosen set of stocks.

Carole Bilson, President of the Design Management Institute, says “Historically, measuring the value of design hasn’t been considered. Recently a handful of companies have developed metrics but they aren’t widely shared.  The Design Value Index provides a means to measure design exemplars against an aggregate – and the results are clear. Companies on the Index – including Apple– are all organizations that have faced disruptive market forces, a weakened global economy, and significant competition over the 10-year period of measurement. Yet they have remained agile, creative and profitable.”

“The level of interest and activity we are seeing for design on the part of the business community is off the charts,” says Jeneanne Rae, Founder of Motiv Strategies.  “This shows that the many values that design brings to business are finally being recognized.”

The 2014 results show a continued advantage sustained by organizations that invest in design. It includes a rigorously selected list of design-led, publicly traded US companies that must meet a set of six DMI design management criteria. Out of a pool of 75 publicly traded U.S. companies, just 16 meet the criteria.  These companies include Apple, Coca Cola, Ford, Herman-Miller, IBM, Intuit, Newell-Rubbermaid, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Stanley Black & Decker, Starbucks, Starwood, Steelcase, Target, Walt Disney and Whirlpool. An accompanying white paper by Motiv Strategies includes three corporate design investment trends to watch.

¹ Jeneanne Rae, “Good Design Drives Shareholder Value” 2015, www.dmi.org/DVI.
² John Maeda, “Design in Tech” March, 2015, http://www.kpcb.com/design/design-and-vc.
³  Tracey-Jean Durkin, “2014 IPO Report Shows Continued Growth for Design Patent Filings” IP Watchdog, August 20, 2014

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Design Management Institute (DMI) The Design Management Institute (DMI) is an international organization that connects design value to business, society, and the changing world. Through research, education, and connection, DMI advances design as a strategic resource to help tackle complex problems, drive innovation, and add value to organizations of any scale. Carole Bilson is the President of DMI. For more information visit www.dmi.org.

About Motiv Strategies  Motiv Strategies, an innovation strategy firm. For more than 20 years, the firm has served as a consultant to dozens of global corporations, including Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Pepsi, and AIG. Jeneanne Rae is Founder and CEO of Motiv and has deep expertise in innovation, design integration, customer experience, and growth strategy.  For more information visit motivstrategies.com

For further information on the Index criteria, performance valuation, or trends in corporate design investment please contact Carole Bilson, President DMI or Jeneanne Rae, Founder & CEO, Motiv Strategies.

Jeneanne Rae, Founder & CEO, Motiv Strategies
T: 202-277-5125
jeneanne@motivstrategies.com

Carole Bilson, President, Design Management Institute  (DMI)
T: 617.338.6380
cbilson@dmi.org