"Simply put, design management is the business side of design. Design management encompasses the ongoing processes, business decisions, and strategies that enable innovation and create effectively-designed products, services, communications, environments, and brands that enhance our quality of life and provide organizational success."
This means that design management is not limited on a single design discipline. In his 'Classification of Design' (1976), Gorb divided design into three different classes; design management operates in and across all three categories:
Design management is not independent from the organization and product context, and plays three integrative key roles in the interface of design, organisation and market:
align design strategy with corporate and/or brand strategy
manage quality and consistency of design outcomes across and within different design disciplines (design classes)
enhance new ways of user experience and differentiation from competitors
Supportive activities are used in design management to manage design more efficient ('doing the things right') and effectively ('doing the right things'). Depending on a multitude of factors (such as industry, company size, design focus, market situation and the position / role of design within the company), design managers have a broad range of job profiles, with very different roles, activities and responsibilities.
Historical development
It is difficult to exactly trace the history of design management. Even though design management as an expression is first mentioned in literature in 1964, earlier contributions created the context in which design management could arise. Throughout its history design management was influenced by a number of different disciplines (e.g. architecture, industrial design, management, software development, engineering) and movements (e.g. system theory, design methodologies) and in its understanding it can be attributed neither directly to design nor to management.
Historical development of design management:
PERIOD
MAIN PERSPECTIVE
DESIGN ROLE
DESIGN MANAGEMENT FOCUS
MAIN ACTORS
1940s to 1950s
Design as style
Quality communication
Project management
Alessi, Braun
1960s to 1970s
Design as process
Innovation
NPD innovation management
Philips, Sony
1980s to 1990s
Design as leadership
Creativity strategy
Brand
Apple
2000s to 2010s
Design thinking
New business model
Creative organisation
IDEO
Design Management Hierarchy
Design management can be divided by its different fields of application into the three different levels:
operational design management Operational design management is concerned with the management of individual design projects and design teams.
tactical design management Tactical design management addressed the organisation of design resources and design processes.
strategic design management Strategic design management involves the creation of the strategic, long-term vision & planning for design and deals with defining the role of design within the company.
Kicherer, Sibylle (1987). Industrie Design als Leistungsbereich von Unternehmen (Dissertationed.). München.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Wolf, Brigitte (1993). Design Management in the German industry (Dissertation (supervisor: Koppelmann, U.)ed.). Frankfurt: Anabas Verlag. ISBN3-87038-247-3.
Spieß, Heinrich (1993). Integrated Design Management. Cologne: Fördergesellschaft Produktmarketing. ISBN3-922292-28-3.
Hammer, N. (1994). Die stillen Designer - Manager des Designs. Essen: Design Zentrum NRW. ISBN3-929227-12-6.