Where are all the designers?

In the last decade, the buzz around design has captured global attention. People everywhere are increasingly interested in design and seem to recognize how it impacts nearly every facet of our lives. Popular culture also places a high value on design, yet the corporate C-suite too often walks a different path.

Leading companies such as Apple, IBM, Nike, and PepsiCo have historically understood the transformative power of design. Recognizing that design is not just about aesthetics, they’ve leaned on design as a business driver to differentiate their brand, create customer loyalty, and deliver market value. Apple is a perfect case study. Its rise from the early 2000s to become one of the world’s most valuable companies is often credited to its focus on beautiful products and intuitive interfaces, from the iPod to the iPhone, making design part of everyday conversation.

For a time, organizations across industries seemed to understand design as a strategic advantage. But today, in an era marked by what I’ve heard called a “design-cession,” many companies seem to have lost track of this insight, marking design as a cost center to manage. Moreover, there’s an alarming absence of designers at the highest levels of corporate decision making. Even in companies that claim to be “design-led,” or in the management consultancies who have gobbled up small to mid-sized innovation and branding agencies, we rarely see designers in the boardroom. I keep wondering, why not? And how do we fix this?  

The problem

The obvious question is: Why are designers so underrepresented in places where key strategic decisions are being made? After all, design is not just about products, packaging, or digital platforms; it’s about creating innovative user experiences, improving services, and designing better ways of working within organizations—transforming the mundane into the extraordinary.

In recent years, companies have grown increasingly risk-averse, unsure how to navigate an unpredictable future. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to take shortcuts to survive, particularly in areas deemed “nonessential” like design. Even as conditions stabilized, this mindset lingered, often leaving design excellence deprioritized. The rise of AI has further complicated the role of design in business and culture. While many companies now lean on artificial intelligence for speed and efficiency, human designers have been further pushed from the equation, despite that AI lacks the creativity and empathy to understand human needs unless guided by human input. At the same time, a troubling gap exists between business and design education, with little overlap in training or collaboration.

All this to say, despite general awareness, consumer passion, and decades of telltale research showcasing how the intangibles of brand and design drive corporate value, too many companies now see design as a cost to work around rather than a key contributor to innovation and profitability. As Uli Becker, a friend and mentor of mine and the former CEO of Reebok said to a room full of design leaders recently: “If you all don’t do your jobs well, I have nothing to sell.”

The undervaluation of design is not only detrimental to business, but to our world as a whole. Good design relies on research to define problems, ideate solutions, prototype, and test. It serves as a valuable tool for addressing some of the world’s most complex challenges, from climate change to inequality. I firmly believe that design matters.

The solution

As an MBA who has spent most of her career at the intersection of business and design, I often ask myself “where are all the designers?” Despite consistent evidence showing that companies that embrace human-led design tend to outperform their competitors, why do business leaders still insist on seeing design as a “soft skill” versus the competitive advantage it is?

In 2015, the Design Management Institute published a study with Microsoft, revealing that design-led companies outperformed the S&P 500 by an astonishing 211% over a 10-year period. In 2019, McKinsey released a report showing that design-driven companies saw an increase in both revenue and shareholder returns at nearly twice the rate of their industry peers. From this data, one clear fact emerges: Design is not only a differentiator; it is a critical driver of financial performance.

So how can the world’s companies ensure they utilize the power of design? The answer is simple: Re/introduce designers into the boardroom. In the words of Beth Comstock, then SVP of GE, “What business needs now is design. What design needs now is making it about business.” It’s a two-way problem and a holistic solution.

Here’s what needs to give:

• Companies need to invest in design. This means committing to the ongoing leadership training of designers across all levels, and providing learning and development opportunities to bring more designers into senior leadership roles.

• Designers need to learn and design schools need to teach business fundamentals. If designers of all levels could speak the language of business—ROI, gross margin, net profit, market share, brand equity, etc.—then perhaps their voices will be louder and more confident, their contributions taken more seriously, and their paths to the C-suite made more obvious.

• Public and private sector investments should be made in secondary and university education to nurture the next generation, to understand the value of good design and why it matters to all of us. It would that ensure young people will be more properly equipped to help solve tomorrow’s challenges. Meanwhile, business and design schools can partner to provide future leaders with hands-on experience. My alma mater, INSEAD (Singapore) did this with ArtCenter (Pasadena);  while I may be biased, it was one of the best courses offered.

Smart, future-focused companies understand the need for strategic design. It is neither a luxury nor a cost to cut. It is a core component of successful business strategy and contributor to the continuous improvement of human life. As we confront myriad present and future uncertainties, we need design to help us navigate complexity. Designers must have a seat at the decision-making table, but they must be equipped to speak the language of business to communicate clearly with those already there.

Companies that embrace this paradigm and invest in design(ers) are the ones that will end up on top—just like they always have. This is a good outcome for us all, because in the end, design is an act of optimism. It creates something that looks forward and helps propel humanity towards tomorrow. And ultimately, isn’t that what life is all about?

Lisa Gralnek is global head of sustainability and impact for iF Design, managing director of iF Design USA Inc., and creator/host of the podcast, FUTURE OF XYZ.