DL114-1: Design as a Competitive Strategy

Instructor: Jon Pittman

Class Description: Companies are increasingly looking to design as a source of competitive advantage. In a world made increasingly competitive through globalization and technological advancement, design is a differentiator that creates customer value and competitive separation. In fact, innovation is the only sustainable form of competitive advantage. Design is the process of systematically creating successful innovations. Many think design is only about form—the creation of beautiful objects—but good design balances form, function, and performance. Further, the kind of design thinking that is applied to products can also be applied to services, processes, customer experiences, and business models. The purpose of this course is to help students learn design thinking—the skill to systematically create innovative solutions to business problems. The course will explore the relationship between business strategy and design.