A SPECTRUM OF DESIGN POLICY STRATEGIES Denmark has long been Christian Scherfig, CEO, known for design. Now Danish Design Centre that sophistication is being translated into a broad agenda shaping Merete Brunander, Design & Innovation social welfare in addition Officer, Danish Design Centre to corporate welfare. Christina Melander, Project Manager, Danish Design Centre 6 From the World’s First Design Policy to the World’s Best Design Policy by Christian Scherfig, Merete Brunander, and Christina Melander In Denmark, design has been on the as well as the public sector, to become first national design policy, was political agenda since 1997. National more innovative and competitive launched in 1997 to increase design policy has gone full circle, from extol- through the use of design. Denmark awareness in small and medium-size ling design to cutting funds for it— also wants to maintain its interna- enterprises (SMEs), as well as in the and back again. Currently, politicians tional status as a “design nation,” and public sector. The Danish Design both in and out of power say their to realize design’s potential in the new Centre (DDC) plays a central part ambition is to develop the best design century. in carrying out these national design policy ever. Whether this will take As Figure 1 (on next page) policies. The DDC was established the form of an isolated design policy illustrates, Denmark has had three back in 1978, and has from the or whether design will be integrated national design policies over the beginning focused on promoting into a range of policies is yet to be past 13 years, and it has experienced design and the value of design for determined. However, there is a clear something of a rollercoaster effect. Danish industry; in fact, it played political ambition to develop design The country’s first national design a key part in the creation of 1997’s policies that enable Danish industry, policy, which also was the world’s design policy. In 2001, the DDC © 2010 The Design Management Institute 7 Design and National Policy THE DANISH DESIGN POLICIES got a new building in the center of FIRST: 1997 Examples of policy activities at The Danish Design Centre Copenhagen, giving design even A building for design in the heart higher visibility. Focus of Copenhagen. The DDC opens in January 2001. The building is partly That same year, however, a Increasing the awareness financed by interest-free loans and private sponsors. of design among SMEs new government initially intended and in the public sector to eliminate all public funding for – including promoting design. Funds for the Danish Design the value of design. The DDC manages the Design Icebreaker Scheme 1998-2001: 450 Centre were also scheduled to be cut. SMEs design projects supported by government grants in order to experi- Fortunately, over the next two years, ence the value of design. the DDC, which was carrying out a comprehensive survey of design’s economic effects, was able to show design’s positive impact on export, SECOND: 2003 revenue, and job creation, and that, DDC Designpartner program: Focus Innovation, What’s design got Innovation: along with intense political lobby- to do with it? A program for large • Develop the DDC into companies, focusing on integrating What’s design ing, changed the government’s mind. design in innovation processes and in got to do with a national center for business strategies But the DDC was hardly the only design and innovation. it? organization to take an active part in • Enhance interaction between designers and Launch of the INDEX: Award honoring the lobbying. The Confederation of businesses. design that improves life by giving one million euros to five different Danish Industry, Denmark’s largest • International branding solutions. of Danish design. The INDEX is a subsidiary company to trade organization, had established the DDC. a design network that included the heads of development from the coun- try’s largest and most design-driven companies. The purpose of the Con- THIRD: 2007 DDC develops a series of federation of Danish Industry is to Focus business cases illustrating the economic effects of design. establish and take part in debates on • Improved functioning Cases used for extensive industry campaigns and workshops. the future of Denmark and to work market for design services; DDC work has determinedly in order to influence to be industry specific. political decisions around job creation • Design of public sector First Copenhagen Design Week by and workplace improvements. The services. the DDC was launched in 2009. As with the INDEX:Award, this will be a • Commercially oriented bi-annual event. design network, therefore, devel- and international design. oped a number of policy proposals focusing on design as a business tool rather than as simply craftsmanship. The proposals took the slogan From Figure 1. In Denmark, design has been on the national agenda since 1997; the country has formulated three national design policies over the past 13 years. CMe_R+B&W_101101.indd 1 11/1/10 11:54 AM 8 From the World’s First Design Policy to the World’s Best Design Policy Beauty to Business—implying a move tries. Companies in industries that companies had previously lacked the from design’s traditional role in styl- are not known for their use of design knowledge that would help them ing consumer goods to an additional do better following the lead of other integrate user-centered methods into mission of integration into business companies in the same industry. The their development processes. All the strategy with the purpose of strength- Danish Design Centre thus worked organizations learned how to use ening national competitiveness. harder at developing industry-specific focus groups and ethnographical In 2003, a new national design case studies and campaigns. methods (observation, personas, and policy was finally launched, provid- pattern analysis) to identify possible ing the DDC fully financial funding User-driven innovation new products and new lines of busi- from 2005. This allowed the Centre The 2007 initiative included a ness based on unmet user needs. to carry on with its work. Efforts to comprehensive program to promote We believe this initiative has had “bring more design into business” user-driven innovation, allocating a significant impact on the mindset during this period also resulted in 100 million DKK ($16.5 million) for of Danish companies and on public the establishment of the prestigious projects to develop and test user- sector institutions, as well. In general, INDEX Award, which is given by driven methods. This program is the the majority of projects demonstrate a Danish nonprofit organization (a result of a political ambition for mak- that user involvement represents a subsidiary of the DDC) to honor “de- ing Denmark a pioneer in user-driven major, untapped potential. Indeed, we signs that improve life.” (The INDEX innovation. think the user-driven approach is an Award is international in scope and The program supported more area in which Danish companies are is worth 500,000 euros to the winner, than 80 projects, from public-sector particularly suited to achieve innova- making it the most lucrative design institutions and universities to large tion, thanks to a national psyche that prize in the world.) and small private companies (see values holistic thinking, humanism, Four years later, in 2007, the Case #1 on next page for an example), and care. Danish government launched a new and has been characterized by the Currently, the Danish govern- design initiative, which among other government as a resounding success. ment is launching a campaign around things focused on supporting the (A full 50 percent of the money spent the user-centered projects, as well as a Danish design industry. At the time, on the program went to economic comprehensive guide to methods and approximately 90 percent of that in- grants to individual organizations.) tools for user-driven innovation— dustry was represented by one-person The projects involved a large number scaled to a range of company sizes companies. The new initiative aimed of SMEs, which was one of the pro- and experience levels, and presented at creating larger design companies gram’s goals. Evaluations show that in a simple and accessible way. with multidisciplinary competen- the majority of participating organi- cies to better meet industry demand zations and companies acknowledged Service design in the public sector and increase export activities. The the value of the program in helping The user-centered innovation pro- 2007 design policy also focused on them develop new competencies and gram was not the only initiative put promoting design in specific indus- new insight into users. Most of these forth in 2007. That was also the year 9 Design and National Policy the Danish Enterprise and Construc- Case #1: The Patient Lift (a project supported by tion Authority launched a program Denmark’s user-driven innovation program) aimed at demonstrating the value of service design in the public sector. he number of extremely overweight people is growing worldwide, The purpose was to motivate the pub- Tcausing problems not only for the individuals themselves, but also for healthcare staff, who shoulder (literally) an increased risk of job-related lic sector to cooperate with the design injuries when they transport heavy patients. Existing patient lifts are costly, industry to develop better public and because they have to be mounted from the ceiling, they are not an service. option in some hospital wards. They are also cumbersome to maneuver; Service design can contribute to they have to be pushed manually, which is difficult for some health workers. solving many of the social-welfare More important, they are not designed for extremely heavy patients. They do challenges we are facing in Denmark, not help position the overweight patient properly in the hospital bed or in a wheelchair, which may result in injury to the patient and may even put him including a rapidly aging popula- or her at risk of falling out of the bed or the chair.