Co-operation between managers and designers holds the key to the success of a product and even of the company behind it, says Tom Lester.

FT Business School
The growth of interest in iconic design products such as the Apple iPod or Toyota Prius has turned everyone into a designer. Consumer's expectations of technology have been sharpened and, as competition and the rate of product development increases, manufacturers are obliged to spend more to differentiate their models.

Those that fail to get the message risk following General Motor's downward path: vice-chairman Bob Lutz admits "having built products 20-odd years ago which in many cases were well below best international standards in design, dynamics, craftsmanship and reliability". The fact that GM is still suffering from those mistakes shows how critical good design management is and how long customers' memories are.

At the heart of the matter is the customer: design that doesn't appeal to buyers is more of a liability than an asset, however pleasing it may be to the designers and their gurus.

The UK's Design Council has aimed to improve UK design standards for more than 60 years but, according to its research, fewer than half of British companies understand the real contribution that design can make...

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