If “law is the slowest thing to change in society” (as a friend of ours once said) then could design be the fastest? We certainly believe so.
The core of design is about giving shape to an idea. It’s literally expressed in the German synonym for design, ‘Formgebung’.
It’s the first step of turning any idea into reality. First we imagine it, then visualise it, verbalise it, and, eventually, use technology, structures, communication and organisation to materialise it and bring the idea to life—give it shape.
And this is what companies do. They craft solutions to problems in the form of products and services; in other words, they give shape to ideas. At the heart of every company is its capacity to imagine and articulate—from vision and ethos to processes and products.
Yet, being good at imagining and articulating is not exclusively about making business prosper. It has far more influence than that. Spurred on by visions and narratives, companies create the means to vastly alter our surroundings and give shape to the future. And it comes with the responsibility to reflect and consider actions and the depths they can take us.
We write these words in times of profound shifts in society and nature. Times of (re-)discovering what it means to act genuinely responsibly as a company, and where once conventional practices need to be reimagined, redefined, and redesigned—at scale. It’s about giving shape to ideas from the very beginning.
To design well, every step should be a manifestation of care and self-consciousness. Even down to the smallest of details. The process is an expression of value. A proof of clarity in thinking and taking well-considered actions.
Some may call it leadership. Others, creativity. To us, it is the embodiment of design.
Put simply, if design is the fastest thing changing in society, then it is an opener of doors, giving access to the ideas which will bring increased transformation.
Everything we do is an expression of who we are. That is how we give shape to an idea. It’s the interaction between these elements of who we are and what we do that creates the essence of design.