Design in Tech Report

About the author: John Maeda has been a management executive for more than 25 years. He has successfully managed transition programs and front office operations within numerous Dutch companies. His focus has been on service design, service management, and service innovation.

Key Observations of the 2017 Report:

• Design trends are revolutionizing the entrepreneurial and corporate ecosystems in technology.
• Design isn't just about beauty; it's about market relevance and meaningful results.
• At the top business schools, design thinking is moving into the curriculum – driven by market demand.
• Both McKinsey & Co and IBM have recently made appointments at their most senior levels for designers.
• The differences between classical, business, and computational design.
• Adopting an inclusive design approach expands a tech product's total addressable market.
• Computational designers remain in demand at technology companies of all sizes and maturity levels.
• Chinese design in tech principles and practices are leading the world, but are often overlooked.
• Design tool companies and design community platforms occupy new positions of value for tech.
• Voice- and chat-based interfaces are grounded in mental models that don't require a visual representation.