1 TOWARDS A BALANCED SCORECARD TO MEASURE DESIGN EFFECTIVENESS IN CORPORATE IDENTITY DESIGN G.E. Rooseman A dissertation submitted in part fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Design Management INHOLLAND University Graduate School March 2004
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TOWARDS A BALANCED SCORECARDTO MEASURE DESIGN EFFECTIVENESS
IN CORPORATE IDENTITY DESIGN
G.E. Rooseman
A dissertation submitted in part fulfillment
of the Degree of Master of Design Management
INHOLLAND University Graduate School March 2004
Executive Summary
Acknowledgements
2.1 What is design effectiveness? .........................................................................4
2.2 Curatorial and Commercial Design ...................................................................5
2.3 Classification of design ................................................................................6
2.4 What others have done in search for Design Effectiveness ......................................9
2.5 Business Effectiveness, the effect of measuring................................................. 12
2.5 Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map.................................................................. 14
2.7 Business Strategy vs. Brand Strategy .............................................................. 19
2.8 Corporate Brand vs. Corporate Identity........................................................... 19
2.9 Summary: .............................................................................................. 22
3.1 Research Objectives:................................................................................. 23
3.2 Research Design:...................................................................................... 24
3.3 Case descriptions ..................................................................................... 26
3.4 Research results....................................................................................... 32
3.4.1 Mind the Gap ..................................................................................... 32
3.4.2 Interviews about the design process.......................................................... 39
3.4.2 Finding the proofing-points .................................................................... 52
Appendix A: Brand Identity Planning Model ........................................................... 67
Appendix B: Corporate Identity Policy Plan ........................................................... 68
Appendix C: Example of the Questionnaire ........................................................... 69
Appendix D: Results of section 1 of the Questionnaire ............................................. 75
1. Introduction..................................................................................................1
2. Literature Review...........................................................................................4
3. Research.................................................................................................... 23
5. Conclusions................................................................................................. 58
6. Recommendations ........................................................................................ 65
7. Appendices ................................................................................................. 67
8. References ................................................................................................. 77
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Executive Summary
How to measure the effectiveness of design in the process of developing a new corporate
identity? If the management of an organisation wants to change its corporate identity,
management will have to take the whole organisation into account. This implies that the
organisation has to know itself well. It has to have a clear scope on its personality if it wants
to present itself in a clear comprehensible way through behaviour, communication and
symbols. Not only the organisation has to know itself well, the designer that has to (re)design
the corporate identity has to know the organisation as well. Discrepancies in knowledge about
the objectives and definitions of the design process, and influences on the organisation will
lead to miss communication and therefore not effective implementation of design. This
dissertation introduces a method that offers a clear way of visualising perception gaps
between client and designer concerning design related questions, and it shows how it can be
made clear if client and bureau are aligned concerning the design process and knowledge
about the corporate strategy.
The Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1992), a model widely accepted by managers of
trade and industry to help them manage their business strategy, is used as starting-point for a
model for ‘effective design management’ of a corporate identity. The Design Effectiveness
Strategy Map will help business managers as well as design managers to find particular parts
(proofing-points) in the organisation that are influenced by the implementation of a – new or
existing – corporate identity. By giving values to these proofing-points and monitoring if these
values are met, the contribution of design can be targeted, measured, and monitored over
time.
Acknowledgements
I like to express my thanks to all the people that helped me to write this dissertation in
whatever way. My special thanks are for:
Margot, who offered her spare free time to allow me to study,
Onno because he sponsored the study (partly),
My fellow students of cohort 1: Marcel, Lou, Max, Ritchie, Fred, and Bart,
My supervisor Roger Lazenby for his support and directions, and second reader Frans Joziasse,
Marcel Jonkman, Marcel Gort, Marla Beringer, Joop Ridder, Onno Kwint, Henri Ritzen, Ingrid
Oosterheerd, and Haico Beukers for their valuable input,
The BNO workgroup for Design Effectiveness,
And all the people I did not know before I started this journey in design management.
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1. Introduction
Design... what can it do for me? What can it do for you? And how to prove the contribution of
design in a successful product, service, interior or identity in a way that it is accepted by the
most senior management? Design as an effective instrument to help them develop effective
strategies to compete successfully?
Design: “Values made visible”
“The word ‘values’ implies both aesthetic and commercial values,
and the phrase hints at interpretation, at communication”
(David Bernstein, advertising executive)
One of the reasons that I started with the Master program in Design Management was that I
was wondering if my work as a ‘designer’ was good enough. After all, I never studied graphic
design, although I have been running a bureau in ‘design & communication’ the last 10 years.
The only design I studied was aeronautical design; if a plane design is not good enough, it will
crash or not be bought. So what makes design good design, and who decides if it is? For me,
before I started with the Master in Design Management, intuition was the most important tool
to guide me in my daily design work. At a certain moment in your life that is not enough any
more and you want true knowledge to defend and explain your design solutions. The design
management program offered me a lot of knowledge and insights. This dissertation will help
me to condense all that knowledge into the crux of the matter. An idea that most of us
already know intuitively. That you only can do a good job as a designer if you know how your
client runs his business. But also, that the job can only be done as good as both designer as
well as client are willing to put their efforts in it. And then, after all that hard work, when
the job is done, how can you prove that the contribution of all the design efforts were really
effective?
To prove the effectiveness of design is difficult because there are so many business processes
that have tangent planes with design: marketing, product design, corporate design, interior
design, just to name a few. Design success is far more difficult to measure than business
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performance, and depends upon who is doing the evaluation (Roy,1994). Managers may define
design success in terms of a product’s commercial impact; engineers may view a successful
design in terms of its technical performance; industrial designers in terms of ergonomics and
appearance; purchasers in terms of value for money, and so on.
And then there is the confusion between design and communication. Is a product successful
due to its design or due to the communication efforts to promote it? This question is so
important that several organisations (BNO, VEA, BVA) in the Netherlands were investigating
the possibility to initiate a Design Effectiveness Award just like the Effie Award for effective
communications. As a result the Effie contest is open for design cases in 2004. The BNO
(Dutch Design Organisation) started a workgroup to study design effectiveness just a month
after I decided to write my dissertation about this subject. With help of one of my module
leaders I was invited to take part in this workgroup. This gave me a perfect opportunity to
discuss this subject with and get information from the crème de la crème of the Dutch
creative industry. Without this insight I would probably never have gone in the direction that I
took in this dissertation.
With this dissertation I will show a model that can help designers and their clients to define
the ‘proofing points’ that can give an indication of the contribution of design in the process of
corporate identity design. I will concentrate myself on the process of building a new
corporate identity because corporate identity has a very close relationship with the business
process, and because this an area I have a lot of experience with in my daily practice. The
starting point will be the Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1992). This model provides
executives with a comprehensive framework that translates a company’s strategic objectives
into a coherent set of performance measures. The Balanced Scorecard supplements
traditional financial measures with criteria that measure performance from three additional
perspectives – those of customers, internal business processes, and learning and growth. Last
decade this model has been widely accepted by managers of trade and industry to help them
manage their business strategy. My aim is to ‘translate’ this model in a way it can be used to
monitor the contribution of design to the organisation’s strategic objectives. In this case a
design for a new corporate identity.
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The hypothesis for this dissertation is therefore:
The methodology of the Balanced Scorecard, by Kaplan and Norton, to translate a
company's vision and strategy into a coherent set of performance measures can be
adapted to measure the contribution of design in the implementation of a new corporate
identity of an organisation.
My complementary thesis is:
For an effective design or design implementation it is necessary that both designer and
client have the same understanding of what is meant by the design process: its
definition, its objectives, its influences on the organisation, and so on. Therefore it is
necessary to know what the criteria are for the judgement of effectiveness. There can
only be effectiveness if both, client and designer, put full effort in the process of
achieving and meeting these criteria.
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2. Literature Review
2.1 What is design effectiveness?
Ask a business manager about how to measure design effectiveness, and you will get the same
answer almost everytime: “If I make more turnover, and more profit, then a design is
effective”. No wonder that most previous work on this subject has been done in the direction
of measuring the revenues of a new product or service as an indication of effectiveness (Roy,
1994). Others where looking for methods to predict the most successful appearances
(Veryzer, 1997). Or were describing a process that would lead to success (Olson, Slater &
Cooper, 2000). However, the strongest indication that ‘good design means good business’ was
given by a recent study (Platt, Hertenstein & Brown, 2001) where they devised a method for
relating an organization’s focus on design with bottom-line outcomes. By using 12 measures of
financial performance and investigating 51 companies in four industries over a five-year time
frame, they confirmed a long-held belief: design-conscious firms generally do better.
One of the ways of proofing that a design is effective is by winning an award for design
effectiveness. The IDEA (DBA Design Effectiveness Award), organised by the Design Business
Association in the UK, is such an award where outstanding examples of commercially
successful design are rewarded. These designs are judged by senior figures in industry and
commerce from all sectors in which design operates. Winning an Award is a proof that design
can deliver great value to a business.
To get an idea of what criteria are important to judge a design’s effectiveness: for a winner a
design has to meet the following requirements:
• Increase in sales
• Improvement in staff morale
• Reductions in manufacturing costs
• Increase in market distribution
• Increase in market value
• Increase in market share
• Increase in foot fall
• Change in spending patterns of target market
• Changes in perception (survey)
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• Changes in staff behavior
• Improvements in consumer attitudes or behavior
• Improved conversion rates
• Improved recruitment
2.2 Curatorial and Commercial Design
When observers look at, analyze, and talk about design — the design of products, objects,
vehicles, built environments, communications — they seem to do so from two basic stances.
Hertenstein et al call these: curatorial and commercial design. The curatorial encompasses
evaluation of and comment on design in many forms and forums: published notice, criticism,
competitions, professional conferences and societies, awards and other honours,
exemplification, selection for museum display and collection, and so on. This domain is well
populated and growing, especially where publications are concerned. There is clearly a
growing public understanding of design as culture and design as a shaper of both desire and
behaviour.
Design’s performance within business enterprises and consumer culture — that is, design
examined from a commercial stance — has historically been confronted by paradox. In a
business world that is largely governed by the precise, measurable, quantifiable, and
numerical, the contribution of design to a business’s financial performance has stubbornly
resisted quantification. While there are well-understood ways to calculate a firm’s return on
investment (ROI), there is not yet a way to calculate a firm’s return on design (ROD), or even
to determine what proportion of the I is really D. “Instead, evaluation of design’s
effectiveness in the commercial world has typically fallen back on the curatorial (design
awards and Time magazine covers), the anecdotal (conference presentations and business-
school cases) and the purely assertive” (Hertenstein et al, DMI Journal Summer 2001, p11).
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The definition for ‘design’ that I will use in this dissertation was originated by Kotler and Rath
in 1984 (from Cooper & Press, The Design Agenda, 1995):
“Design is the process of seeking to optimize consumer satisfaction and company profitability
through the creative use of major design elements (performance, quality, durability,
appearance, and cost) in connection with products, environments, information, and
corporate identity”.
When talking about Good Design I mean Curatorial Design, and when talking about Effective
Design I mean Commercial Design; these are my personal definitions when used in this
dissertation.
2.3 Classification of design
To get a better understanding of the different functions of design, Gorb classifies four
categories: product design, environmental design, information design, and coporate identity
design. These categories are manifested in the ways design interacts directly with a
corporation. Kootstra (2002, p44) takes the different levels of corporate management as
starting-point: strategic, tactical, and operational management. In this way there is a clear
link to design management. Doing so we get the classification strategic, tactical, and
operational design (see table 1).
Strategic Design Tactical Design Operational Design
Permanent Media Actual Media Information Media
Logo
Product shape
Packaging
House style
Advertising
Packaging
Promotion material
Product information
Instructions
Forms / documents
Manuals
Interfaces / templates
Table 1: Three classifications of design and the media belonging to them
“Good design is good business,” said IBM’s Tom Watson Jr., in a lecture at Harvard in 1974.
Watson’s comment quickly became a mantra in the design world. And reading the above you
might think that there finally is proof that Watson was right. However, what do we mean with
‘good’? Good design is recognised primarily by aesthetic criteria, not by its performance in
the market (McPherson, 2001). This is also supported by the outcome of the Design Council
National Survey, 2002; 81% of the interviewed small and medium sized businesses related
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design with ‘about how products look’. Although they know that it runs deeper than that:
design is used to develop new products and services (73%), design is about products working
well to meet client needs (70%), design is a strategic business tool that differentiates in
markets (36%). Most striking is the fact that there are totally different perceptions of design.
This is probably one of the reasons that even though design (inclusive of aesthetics) has been
studied for centuries, there continues to be a great deal of uncertainty and ambiguity
concerning design and people’s reactions to it (Veryzer, 2000).
Joseph J. Paul (DMI Journal, 2000) made a series of observations that might account for the
reason that this question ‘what is the best way to discover the value of design in a product or
service’, never has been answered to the satisfaction of the design community. These
observations can be summarised in the following way (see table 2):
Arrogance “I know what good design is.”
Buyer Theory
(or lack thereof)
There is no cohesive view of how buyers/users relate to products,
which is really what forms the foundation of the purchase decision.
Company Organization The position of design within the organizational structure tempers
the perception of the need for having and using performance
metrics.
Definitions The fact that beauty and art are involved in the aesthetics of design
is advanced as the reason the value of design cannot be defined or
measured.
Expectations that may be
characterized as the
quick fix mental mode:
that is, “Take a pill, cure your ill.” This applies to those who expect
that some small number of metrics can be universally applied across
product categories. They express irritation toward and reject out of
hand the idea that they might have to work at the problem.
Formidable Complexity Resulting from widely diverse views of what design is and/or should
be; how buyers understand and relate to products; what research
can provide; what management is capable of understanding and
accepting.
Gross Knowledge Void “Measurement,” as a discipline, falls outside the training and
experience of design practitioners.
Table 2: Why the questions about the value of design never have been answered…
Especially as a result of this mentioned formidable complexity there continues to be a great
deal of unease in companies (especially among nondesign managers) when it comes to making
decisions about designs. For this reason the first part of the research for this dissertation is
used to find a method to define the gap of perceptions in design between client and bureau
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when starting with a new corporate identity project. Because when you want to discuss the
effectiveness of a design project, at least you will have to start with the same definitions and
objectives.
Veryzer (DMI Journal, 2000) made an academic review of all the work done in the field of
consumer research that relates to design. Tabel 3 gives the definitions of ‘Consumer Product
Design Experience Attributes’ as they have been described the last few decades.
Operative Properties Performance, Utility, Innovativeness, Quality, Reliability,
Durability, Conformance, Proficiency, Suitability, Universality,
Safety
Comprehendative Properties Understandability, Identity, Discovery
Constructive Properties Parsimony, Adaptability (also flexibility and modularity),
Maintainability, Recyclability, Manufacturability, Economy
Desiderative Properties Attractiveness, Appropriateness, Value
Table 3, Consumer Product Design Experience Attributes
Especially the ‘desiderative properties’ cause fierce discucussions when they are summarised
in the term ‘Aesthetics’. Basically there are two camps: the ones that say that the
effectiveness of design is independent of aesthetic contributions, and those who say the
aesthetic contribution is a condition for design effectiveness. One of the biggest arguments
that aesthetics can not be measured, and therefore should be ignored when trying to measure
design effectiveness, is countered by Del Coates in his book ‘Watches tell more than time’.
His research showed that there are basically two factors that define the aesthetics of an
object: information, which accounts for its arousal potential (how exciting and interesting it
is), and concinnity, which accounts for its valence (whether it is attractive or repulsive).
These two factors have to be in balance. One side of the balance – arousal – can be divided in
contrast (objective information) and novelty (subjective information). The other side -
valence – can be divided in objective concinnity and subjective concinnity. (See table 4)
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Contrast Colours, textures, line curvatures, surface change, etc. Can be measured
objectively with instruments such as light meters and rulers.
Information
Novelty Arises from perceived differences between a real product and its
stereotype, an imaginary (subjective) mental model that the product
automatically brings to mind. Measurable by semantic differential
surveys that tap the viewer’s mindset.
Objective
Concinnity
Arises from similarities among shapes, colours, dimensions, textures, and
other visual attributes. Like contrast it can be measured objectively
with instruments such as light meters and rulers.
Concinnity
(harmony or
elegance of
design) Subjective
Concinnity
Arises from similarities among a product, its stereotype, and its ideal.
Unlike the stereotype, which corresponds to what the viewer most
expected, the ideal corresponds to what the viewer implicitly hoped the
product would resemble. Measurable by psychological research.
Table 4: The ingredients of Aesthetics and the way to measure them
Although Coates concentrates on product design, one might say that aesthetics are important
in al design disciplines. Looking bad or beautiful can then be part of a design strategy.
Looking bad now can change into the looks of a design classic over time. Looking beautiful
now can also change into boring middle of the road design over time. In this dissertation and
thus in the area of design effectiveness in corporate identity design I will concentrate on the
inner side rather than on the looks.
2.4 What others have done in search for Design Effectiveness
A study by Roy (1994) initiated by the fact that there was virtually no quantitative
information available concerning the business return on investment in design and effective
design management came to the following conclusions: Most of the available information has
been anecdotal or based on case studies of "winning" companies and successful projects. Even
now this is still the present situation, for instance the IDEA (International Design Effectiveness
Award, organised by the Design Business Association (DBA) in the UK) is still a very important
institute to proof the effectiveness of design cases. Virtually the only systematic quantitative
information came from studies of success and failure in industrial innovation and new product
development. Alternatively, some information came from economic research, in which design
was occasionally featured as one of many non-price factors in competition or as a component
of research and development. (For a complete overview of these studies, see Roy, Can the
Benefits of Good Design be Quantified?, 1994). (See table 5)
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Business performance indicators:
- Return on capital
- Profit margin
- Profit growth
- Turnover growth
- Export sales
Design indicators were far more difficult to measure, therefore they used available indicators of
a company's reputation for producing well designed products, e.g. awards and reputation among
competitors (in 2001 a similar research by Hertenstein et al.)
Good design is not enough!
Successful businesses are more likely to have the resources to invest in design and its effective
management than those in financial difficulties.
Graphic Design projects appear to involve little technical uncertainty or financial risk from the
outset. Once a project has been implemented the prospect of a rapid return on the investment
becomes very good while the risk of financial loss is small for all types of design.
In only 15% of projects were factors other than design (marketing/pricing) considered to be a
major influence on company outcomes.
Company size matters!
While small companies are most in need of external help to make up for a lack of inhouse
specialist skills, such companies require assistance if they are to use external design resources
effectively.
Table 5: Summary of important findings (from Roy, Can the Benefits of Good Design be Quantified?, 1994)
A research by KPMG for BNO to examin the contribution of graphic design in realizing
economic business objectives for SME clients (results published in Vormgeving Telt, 2001),
showed that the importance of graphic design is on three levels. (See table 6)
The economic importance of graphic design is on three levels:
- economical: functionality
- communication: part of marketing strategy - supporting image: reliability, creativity, succes
- cultural dimension - identity: solidarity of clients and employees
As a result the 8 strongest effects of graphic design were:
Improved: image, target group reach, business relations (distributors), product information,
information flow.
Increased: turnover.
Control: costs.
Contribution: profit.
Table 6: Contribution of graphic design in realizing economic business objectives for SME clients.
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The two described researches tell us that apart from the importance of business performance
indicators there are two other categories that are very important when examining the
contribution of design in realising business objectives: Communication and Culture.
Olson, Slater and Cooper (DMI Journal, 2000) support this. In their article ‘Managing Design
for Competitive Advantage: A Process Approach’ they make some clear recommendations.
“Make sure designers and design managers understand the organization’s competitive
strategy; enumerate the design elements inherent in that strategy; nurture open
communication between design and other functions; develop design briefs that stimulate
creativity at the same time they reinforce business strategy; and measure performance”.
As a result they come with a ‘Summary of the Design Management Process’ (see table 6):
Step 1: Clearly articulate the firm’s competitive strategy to designers and design managers.
Step 2: Develop a detailed understanding of the design requirements inherent in the
adopted competitive strategy.
Step 3: Ensure open lines of communication among the design group and other functional
units.
Step 4: Create, review, and approve design briefs.
Step 5: Compare performance outcomes against the objectives established in design briefs.
Table 7: Summary of the Design Management Process
Reading the preceding it seems very clear that when striving for design effectiveness there
are two important processes that have to be tuned to each other: the business process, and
the design process. This is supported by Cooper and Press (The Design Agenda, 1995, p. 61):
‘Clearly design does not guarantee success; it is far from being a panacea for all the ills of
uncompetitiveness. It is the appropriateness of the overall corporate strategy to prevailing
market conditions and the way in which it integrates effective design with other activities
that determines success.’
According to Gorb (Gorb, P. (ed. and introduction),1990) design contributes to several critical
management issues including: quality, strategy and planning, creativity and innovation,
change, technology, and competitiveness. These areas represent key issues for corporations
and figure prominently in much of the recent management literature. The issues are
manifested in the ways design interacts directly with a corporation, and have been classified
into four categories: product design, environmental design, information design, and corporate
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identity design (see fig. 1). These categories do not fit with the ones traditionally used in
design, such as graphic design, industrial design, and furniture design, but are consistent with
the needs of business.
MANIFESTED IN
PRODUCT
ENVIRONMENTAL
INFORMATION
CORPORATEIDENTITY
DESIGN
COMPETETIVENESSSTRATEGY &PLANNING
CREATIVITY &INNOVATION
CHANGE
QUALITY
TECHNOLOGY
DESIGN’SCONTRIBUTION CORPORATION
Figure 1: Design classification according to Gorb.
Another recent research by Borja de Mozota (DMI Journal, Academic Review Vol. 2, 87-103),
learns that from a classification 21 characteristic variables of design management at the
beginning of the survey, 7 classifications proof to be the most important reason why design
creates a corporate advantage. These classifications can be categorised in three management
competencies:
• Design Economic Competence: Design allows to sell at a higher price.
• Design Managerial Competence: Design changes the relationships with suppliers,
Design Accelerates the launch of new product.
• Design Resource Competence: Design improves co-ordination between marketing &
production, Design creates a new market, Design is a core competency, and Design
develops customer orientation in the company.
2.5 Business Effectiveness, the effect of measuring
As quoted before (Roy, 1994), the most important (financial) business performance indicators
were:
- Return on capital
- Profit margin
- Profit growth
- Turnover growth
- Export sales
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These traditional financial performance measures worked well for the industrial era, but they
are out of step with the skills and competencies companies are trying to master today (Kaplan
& Norton, HBR, 1-2, 1992). Kaplan and Norton found out that no single measure could provide
a clear performance target or focus attention on the critical areas of the business. ‘Managers
want a balanced presentation of both financial and operational measures’. In 1992 they
devised a ‘Balanced Scorecard’ – a set of measures that give managers a fast but
comprehensive view of the business from four important perspectives (see fig. 2). It provides
answers to four basic questions:
• How do customers see us? (customer perspective)
• What must we excel at? (internal perspective)
• Can we continue to improve and create value? (innovation and learning perspective)
• How do we look to shareholders? (financial perspective)
Financial Perspective
GOALS MEASURES
Innovation andLearningPerspectiveGOALS MEASURES
Customer Perspective
GOALS MEASURES
InternalBusinessPerspectiveGOALS MEASURES
How do we look toshareholders?
Can we continueto improve andcreate value?
What must weexcel at?
How do customerssee us?
Figure 2: Balanced Scorecard model.
The balanced scorecard minimizes information overload by limiting the number of measures
used by forcing to focus on the handful of measures that ar most critical (so called ‘proofing
points’). To achieve this managers have to translate their general mission statement into
specific measures that reflect the factors that really matter. A revealing outcome of the
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research among 12 companies at the leading edge of performance measurement that Kaplan
and Norton found when devising their balanced scorecard was this scorecard could not be
implemented without the involvement of the senior managers who have the most complete
picture of the company’s vision and priorities.
Nowadays companies expand their use of the balanced scorecard, employing it as the
foundation of an integrated and iterative strategic management system (Buytendijk &
Brinkhuis-Slaghuis, 2002).
Companies are using the scorecard to:
• Clarify and update strategy,
• Communicate strategy throughout the company,
• Align unit and individual goals with the strategy,
• Link strategic objectives to long-term targets and annual budgets,
• Identify and allign strategic innitiatives, and
• Conduct periodic performance reviews to learn about and improve strategy.
2.5 Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map
(Most part of this section is a summary of the article of Kaplan & Norton in the September-
October 2000 issue of Harvard Business Review. For a good understanding of the Balanced
Scorecard Strategy Map theory this is necessairy.
Balanced Scorecards tell an organisation the knowledge, skills, and systems that their
employees will need (their learning and growth) to innovate and build the right strategic
capabilities and efficiencies (the internal processes) that deliver specific value to the market
(the customers), which will eventually lead to higher shareholder value (the financials). A
Strategy Map is a visual framework that embeds the different items on an organisation’s
balanced scorecard into a cause-and-effect chain, connecting desired outcomes with the
drivers of those results. The Strategy Map enables an organisation to describe and illustrate,
in clear and general language, its objectives, initiatives and targets: the measures (or
proofing points, the ‘stars’ in fig. 3) used to assess its performance (such as market share and
customer surveys), and the linkages that are the foundation for strategic direction.
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‘The key to executing your strategy is to have people in your organisation understand it –
including the crucial but perplexing processes by which intangible assets will be converted
into tangible outcomes. Strategy maps can help chart this difficult terrain’ (Kaplan &
Norton, HBR, 9-10, 2000)
Strategy maps show the cause-and-effect links by which specific improvements create desired
outcomes. For example, how faster process-cycle times and enhanced employee capabilities
will increase rentention of customers and thus increase a company’s revenues. From a larger
perspective, strategy maps show how an organisation will convert its initiatives and resources
- including intangible assets such as corporate culture and employee knowledge – into
tangible outcomes.
The best way to build a strategy map is from the top down, starting with the destination and
then charting the routes that will lead there (Kaplan & Norton, HBR, 2000). Corporate
executives should first review their mission statement and their core values – why their
company exists and what it believes in. With that information, managers can develop a
strategic vision, or define the logic of how to arrive at that destination.
Financial Perspective: Building a strategy map typically starts with a financial strategy for
increasing shareholder value. (Nonprofit and government units often place their customers or
constituents - not the financials – at the top of their strategy maps.) Companies have two
basic levers for their financial strategy: revenue growth and productivity. Revenue growth
generally has two components: build the franchise with revenue from new markets, new
products, and new customers. And increase value to existing customers by deepening
relationships with them through expanded sales. The productivity strategy also usually has
two parts: improve the company’s cost structure by reducing direct and indirect expenses,
and use asstes more efficiently by reducing the working and fixed capital needed to support
a given level of business. In general, the productivity strategy yields results sooner than the
growth strategy. However, balancing the two strategies helps to ensure that cost and asset
reductions do not compromise a company’s growth opportunities with customers.
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Customer Perspective: The core of any business strategy is the customer value proposition,
which describes the unique mix of product and service attributes, customer relations, and
corporate image that a company offers. The value proposition is crucial because it helps an
organisation connect its internal processes to improved outcomes with its customers.
Typically, the value proposition is chosen from among three differentiators (Treacy and
Wiersema, The Discipline of Marketleaders, 1995): operational exellence (for example,
McDonald’s and Dell Computer), customer intimacy (for example, IBM (1960 –’80) and Disney
World), and product leadership (for example, Intell and Sony). Companies strive to excell in
one of these three areas while maintaining threshold standards in the other two.
• Operational Excelence: companies that pursue this strategy need to excell at
competitive pricing, product quality and selection, speedy order fulfillment, and on-
time delivery.
• Customer Intimacy: an organisation must stress the quality of its relationships with
customers, including exceptional service and the completeness of the solutions it
offers.
• Product Leadership: companies that pursue this strategy must concentrate on the
functionality, features, and overall performance of its products or services.
Internal Process Perspective: Once an organisation has a clear picture of its customer and
financial perspectives, it can then determine the means by which it will achieve the
differentiated value proposition for customers and the producivity improvements to reach its
financial objectives. The internal process perspective captures these critical organisational
activities, which fall into four high-level processes:
Build the organisation through innovations: by innovating with new products and services
and by penetrating new markets and customer segments.
Deepening of relationships: with existing customers increases customer value.
Achieve operational excellence: by improving supply chain management, the cost, quality,
and cycle time of internal processes, asset utilisation, and capacity management.
Become a good corporate citizen: by establishing effective realtionships with external
stakeholders.
17
A complete strategy should involve generating returns from all these four internal processes,
and not, as it is often the case, only measuring the costs and quality of the opereations.
Learning and Growth Perspective: The foundation of any strategy map is the learning and
growth perspective, which defines the core competencies and skills, the technologies, and
the corporate culture needed to support an organisation’s strategy. These objectives enable
a company to align its human resources and information technology with its strategy.
The key to implementing strategy is to have everyone in the organisation clearly understand
the underlying hypotheses, to align all organisational units and resources with those
hypotheses, to test the hyphoteses continually, and to use those results to adapt as required.
The Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map(by Robert S. Kaplan and David P.Norton, HBR Sept-Oct 2000)
Improve Shareholder Value
build theorganisation
increase valueto customers
improvecost structure
improveuse of assets
Revenue Growth Strategy Productivity Strategy
share price
revenue fromnew sources
customerprofitability
customer acquisition,retention, and satisfaction
operating costper unit produced
asset utilization
return on capital employed
FinancialPerspective
CustomerPerspective
InternalProcessPerspective
Learning andGrowthPerspective
Operational Excellence
price time
Customer Intimacy
service customerrelations
trustedbrand
smartshopper
quality selection
Product LeadershipGeneric Customer Value Proposition Strategies(Michael Treacy & Fred Wiersema, The disciplineof Market Leaders - 1995)
time
functionality
best inclass
build the organisationthrough innovations
increase customervalue through
customer processes
achieve operationalexcellence through
operations andlogistic processes
employee competencies technology corporate culture
become a goodcorporate citizen
through regulatory andenvironmental processes
general requirement
differentiator
measure of achievement
Fig. 3: The Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map
18
The next step will be to find out what the influence of design will be, seen from these
perspectives. That there is a clear link with design management can be illustrated by
comparing the four perspectives with the view that Cooper & Press have in relation with
design and other organisational functions (The Design Agenda, p145-183) see table 7.
Business Management
according to Kaplan & Norton (HBR, Feb. 2004)
Design Management
according to Cooper & Press (1995)
Finance
& Design
• The value of investing in design,
financing and monitoring the design
process
Financial
Perspective
• Build the organisation
• Increase value to customers
• Improve cost structure
• Improve use of assets Design &
Production
• Design’s role in specification and
designing for effective manufacture
Design
& Sales
• The valuable contribution of
understanding the customer and the
market
• the support design give to selling
Customer
Perspective
• Product/Service Attributes:
Price, Quality,
Availability,Selection,
Functionality
• Relationship: Service,
Partnership
• Image: Brand
Design &
Marketing
• Design’s relation to the
four P’s: Product, Price, Place,
Promotion
Internal
Process
Perspective
• Innovation: create new
products and services
• Customer management:
enhance customer value
• achieve operational excellence
through operations and logistics
• Improve communities and the
environment
Learning
& Growth
Perspective
• Employee competencies: Skills,
Training, Knowledge
• Technology:
Systems, Databases, Networks
• Corporate Culture: Culture,
Leadership, Alignment,
Teamwork
Design &
R&D
Design &
Human
Resource
management
• Research & Development and
design: their role in innovation
• Preparing the organisation to use
design effectively:
- Design Skills & Awareness,
- Motivation & Teambuilding,
- Communications & Corporate
Climate, developing the right
working environment
Table 8: Design’s relations to other organisational functions.
19
2.7 Business Strategy vs. Brand Strategy
In the field there is a lot of discussion about what comes first, Business Strategy or Brand
Strategy? For instance brandchannel.com has a forum where these sort of discussions can be
followed in a forum. In February 2002 there was a topic about this same question. The biggest
part of the respondents where in favour of the fact that business strategy comes first, but at
the end it became clear that both strategies can’t live without each other, they complement
each other. Aaker and Joachimsthaler describe it as follows in their book (Brand Leadership,
2002, p74), “When an organisation has a well-articulated business strategy supported by a
strong culture, the brand identity and strategy are often relatively easy to develop. When the
organisational business strategy and culture are fuzzy, though, the brand identity creation
effort can be agonizingly difficult. The brand identity in these situations can serve not only to
stimulate but also to articulate a major part of the business strategy and culture”.
This makes clear that there is a strong connection between business strategy and brand
strategy. Aaker and Joachimsthaler visualise their idea of brand strategy in a ‘Brand Identity
Planning Model’ (see Appendix A). Step by step they describe how a Brand Identity is
constructed. They conclude that there are twelve categories of brand identity elements
organised around four perspectives: the brand as a product, as an organisation, as a person,
and as a symbol. Although each category has relevance for some brands, virtually no brand
has associations in all twelve categories. As a result of this exercise a brand position can be
defined - the part of the brand identity end value proposition that is to be actively
communicated to the target audience.
2.8 Corporate Brand vs. Corporate Identity
This communication to the target audience can be done in two directions:
• outside-in (Porter), for instance a retail brand. In this case the brandvalues are
communicated via packaging, advertising, etc., which communicate the brand
identity.
• inside-out (Prahalad), for instance a bank. The internal organisational values reflect
the brand identity and are communicated for an important part by the corporate
identity.
20
The Outside-in Perspective: Strategists adopting an outside-in perspective believe that firms
should not be self-centred, but should continuously take their environment as starting point
when determining their strategy. Strategists analyze the environment to identify attractive
market opportunities. In short, to the outside-in strategist the game of strategy is about
market positioning and understanding and responding to external developments. For this
reason, the outside-in perspective is sometimes also referred to as the positioning approach
(Mintzberg, 1990). Positioning is not short-term opportunistic behaviour, but requires a
strategic perspective, because superior market positions are difficult to attain, but once
conquered can be the source of sustained profitability.
Unsurprisingly, outside-in strategists argue that insight into markets and industries is
essential. Not only the general structure of markets and industries needs to be analysed, but
also the specific demands, strengths, positions and intentions of all major forces need to be
determined. For instance, buyers must be understood, with regard to their needs, wants,
perceptions, decision-making processes and bargaining chips. The same holds true for
suppliers, competitors, potential market and/or industry entrants, and providers of substitute
products (Porter, 1980, 1985).
The Inside-out Perspective: Strategists adopting an inside-out perspective argue that
strategies should not be built around external opportunities, but around a company's
strengths. They believe that organizations should focus on the development of difficult-to-
imitate competences and/or on the acquisition of exclusive assets. This unique resource base
should be used as the starting point of strategy formation. Markets should subsequently be
chosen, adapted or created to exploit these specific strengths. Identifying which company
resources have to be further developed and applying them to various environmental
opportunities is what strategy is all about.
Many strategists taking an inside-out perspective tend to emphasize the, importance of the
firm's competences over its tangible resources (physical assets). Their views are more
specifically referred to as competence based (e.g. Prahalad and Hamel, 1990; Sanchez,
Heene and Thomas, 1996) or capabilities-based perspectives on strategy (e.g. Stalk, Evans
and Shulman, 1992; Teece, Pisano and Shuen, 1990).
21
Which brings us to the definition of corporate identity. The more people write about
corporate identity, the more definitions about this subject seem to arise (van Riel, Identity
and image, 2001). He describes a research (MORI, Henrion Ludlow & Schmidt, London 1993)
among 160 managers responsible for the corporate identity top-500 enterprises in 7 countries.
The question was: ‘How, briefly, would you define corporate identity?” Hardly anybody of the
interviewees did exactly know what is meant with corporate identity. That many of them
understood it as image, made it also not easier. One of the first ‘broad’ definitions of
corporate identity was described by Birkigt & Stadler (1986). The basis of this model is the
theoretical fact that an identity is built from three core elements: Behaviour, Symbolism and
Communication. The image of an organisation is , again according to Birkigt & Stadler, the
reflection of the corporate identity of the organisation. Because this model does not take into
account the fact that image can also be influenced by other environmental factors, a broader
model that visualises how an organisation is influenced by external actors is defined.
(Maathuis, Corporate Image, Performance and Communications, 1993) (see fig. 5).
CORPORATE IDENTITYCI-MIX:
BEHAVIOURCOMMUNICATION
SYMBOLISM
EFFECTS
MEDIA
FRIENDS / ENVIRONMENT
ALLIES
OTHERSTAKEHOLDERS
INDIVIDUAL NORMS,VALUES, INTEREST
CORPORATE IMAGE(ASSOCIATIONS)
CORPORATE REPUTATION(ATTITUDE)
fig.5. Identity, Image, and Reputation
Essential for a corporate identity is to find stable (historically belonging to the organisation),
well spread, and unique characteristics within internal target groups and to propagate them
and providing them to be accepted by relevant external target groups. To visualize the
planning of this process van Riel defined a ’10-step Corporate Identity Planning’ (see
Appendix B). Striking is the similarity with the ‘Brand Identity Planning Model’ of Aaker and
22
Joachimsthaler, which supports the statement that corporate identity and brand identity have
very much in common.
2.9 Summary:
The preceding shows us that there is a direct relationship between business strategy and
brand strategy. And that there is a relationship between brand identity and corporate
identity, where brand identity has a more outside-in focus, and corporate identity a more
inside-out focus. The objective of this dissertation is to find proof that the method of
measuring business effectiveness, by means of ‘The Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map’ can be
adapted to measure the effectiveness of design when building a new corporate identity. The
model in fig. 7 shows the schematic interpretation of the described relationships .
BusinessStrategy
BSC
DES
BalancedScorecardStrategy
Map
DesignStrategy
Map
BrandStrategy
BrandPosition
Corporate IdentityMedia
BrandIdentity
Elaboration
Balanced Scorecard
Design Effectiveness Scorecard
CategoriesFriends/Environment
'Towards a Balanced Scorecardto Measure Design Effectivenes'
Hypothesis: The methodology of the Balanced Scorecard,by Kaplan and Norton, to translate a company's vision andstrategy into a coherent set of performance measures canbe adapted to measure the contribution of design in theimplementation of a new corporate identity of anorganisation.
fig.7. Schematic interpretation towards a Design Effectiveness Scorecard for Corporate Identity Design.
23
3. Research
3.1 Research Objectives:
As stated in the introduction, the hypothesis for this dissertation is: The methodology of the
Balanced Scorecard, by Kaplan and Norton, to translate a company's vision and strategy
into a coherent set of performance measures can be adapted to measure the
contribution of design in the implementation of a new corporate identity of an
organisation.
My complementary thesis is:
For an effective design or design implementation it is necessary that both designer and
client have the same understanding of what is meant by the design process: its
definition, its objectives, its influences on the organisation, and so on. Therefore it is
necessary to know what the criteria are for the judgement of effectiveness. There can
only be effectiveness if both, client and designer, put full effort in the process of
achieving and meeting these criteria.
My research consequently had to find ways to give proof the above statements. First I wanted
to find a method to visualise the ‘design perception gap’, to measure if both designer and
client have the same understanding of what is meant by the design process. When there are
differences in understanding it will be impossible to judge the results afterwards. Second I
wanted to find out if there were differences in interpretation, between client and bureau, of
the initial stage of the design process, and the judgement of the outcome. The third and last
step was to find the ‘set of performance measures to measure the contribution of design’, or
proofing points as I will call them. These proofing points had to be found to complete the
adaptation from Balanced Scorecard to Design Effectiveness Scorecard.
By analysing cases of winners of the Dutch Design Prizes 2003 in the category corporate
identity, the new corporate identity of INHOLLAND and the municipality of Dordrecht I
wanted to find out if there are proofing points that can be used to validate the above theses.
24
3.2 Research Design:
A survey was held among the responsible people at client’s side and at bureau’s side. The
principal advantage of a survey is that it can collect a great deal of data about an individual
respondent at one time. The second advantage of this method is versatility; surveys can be
employed in virtually any setting and are adaptable to research objectives (Aaker, Kumar,
Day, Marketing Research, 2001, 217). The survey was divided in three sections. The complete
survey was sent to the repondents a week before the interview was held, so that they could
prepare theirselves. I was present during the answering of all the questions, this way possible
difficulties could be explained and questions could be answered. This way I could also take
care that the bureau’s were consistent in their answering ‘as they supposed their client
would’ in the first section of the questionnaire.
The first section consists of a questionnaire using a Likert scale from 0 to 7. Likert scales
require a respondent to indicate a degree of agreement or disagreement with a variety of
statements related to the attitude or object. An odd rather than an even number of
categories is preferable when the respondent legitimately can adopt a neutral position. By
ranking these questions the repondents provide insight on their organisation’s view about the
importance of design, and the extent to which design plays a role in it’s operations. Most
important objective in this part of the survey is to compare the outcomes from client and
bureau. In the ideal situation both should give the same answers because the bureaus were
asked to give the answer they supposed their client would give. This is a simulation of a real
life situation where briefing and debriefing asume that mutal understanding of a commission
exists. This section of the questionnaire consists of six questions. The first five were adapted
from a report prepared by PACEC on behalf of Design Council (National Survey of Firms 2002).
The main issues in this report are the scale, and nature of design activities in the UK
economy, the role of design in firms and organisations, and awareness of the Design Council
and its activities. I only used the questions that were about the role of design in firms and
organisations. As they are being used for several years now, I assumed it to be better to use
these questions than trying to invent them myself.
25
The sixt question is based on the outcomes of the research of Brigitte Borja de Mozota, (2002,
DMI Journal, Academic Review Vol. 2, 87-103). From 21 key reasons why design creates value
to a firm at the beginning of her survey, she proofs 7 to be the most important. As these 7
reasons for design to create competitive advantage can be categorised under Economic
Competence, Managerial Competence, or Resource Competence, I was very curious how the
respondents would answer this question.
The second part of the questionnaire consists of a range of open questions to get more details
about the design process and the corporate strategy that provided the directions for the new
corporate identity. Here also client and bureau should give the same answers.
The third and last part is a face-to-face interview where the respondent and I will try to find
proofing points for the contribution of design in their corporate identity process. This is done
by a step-by-step evaluation of the Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map, and trying to translate
this to the corporate identity design process.
A sample of the complete questionnaire can be found in the Appendix C.
To get comparable results, data was collected from one Category, Corporate Identity because
corporate identity has a very close relationship with the business process, and because this an
area I have a lot of experience with in my daily practice. The following cases were assessed:
• INHOLLAND, new Corporate identity, by Aestron
• City of Dordrecht, new Corporate identity, by Proforma
• TPG-Post, winner Design Prijzen, restyle Corporate identity, by Dumbar (an article
from Gert Dumbar about his plea for a ‘design effie’ was the starting point for this
dissertation)
• Meyer Van Schooten, winner Design Prijzen, new Corporate identity, by Beukers-
Scholma
26
3.3 Case descriptions
This chapter will give a brief description of the organisations whose corporate identity
process was studied. Some examples of the resulting corporate identity are displayed.
However, not these results but the design process leading to these results are subject of the
study. The bureaus will not be described.
INHOLLAND University is a new, ambitious institution for higher education which is
rapidly developing its own profile and character. This is crucial because a distinctive
character is essential in the education sector, which is characterised by rapid change,
globalisation and increasing competition. The development of the profile and character of
INHOLLAND University is based on the vision and ambitions of the new university. This
institution has a broad palette (largely) consisting of higherprofessional education
programmes, almost 40,000 students, 3000 members of staff and numerous sites. INHOLLAND
is keen to be a trendsetter and to look beyond its boundaries. Aestron designed the corporate
identity that matched the profile and character of the institution. The following pictures give
an overview of the results of the process.
27
28
Municipality of Dordrecht
Before the approval for the design of the new CI in July 1996, the organisation of the
Municipality of Dordrecht was divided in several sections. Each section had it’s own CI, so for
the ‘outsiders’ (public, suppliers, press, etc.) it was not always clear what belonged to the
Municipality of Dordrecht. For the ‘insiders’ (employees, agencies) it resulted in a feeling of
working independently, not having to worry about the whole organisation. Every section had
it’s own kingdom and every section was very involved in creating new brochures, forms and
other communications. In that time there where also reorganisations so it seemed the right
moment to introduce one common corporate identity. After a selection between several
bureaus, Proforma won the pitch.
29
The folowing picture shows an example how corporate identities kan change over the years
when there is no design management. The original starting-points of the corporate identity, a
cross division of two perpendicular lines, and the logo always in a white quarter, has
unintendedly evolved into a free interpretation of these guidelines (see fig. 8).
Figure 8: An example of a wrong interpretation of corporate identity guidelines.
30
TPG Post - TPG was the first mail company to 'go public' and is listed on the stock exchanges
of Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London and New York. On 1 May 2002, the name PTT Post was
officially changed to TPG Post. Most important reason for this name change were the
international ambitions and the need for a name that could help the organisation to position
itself in foreign markets. Royal TPG Post (the foreign name) would offer better possibilities –
the old abbreviation PTT involved to many historical associations (government, bureaucratic,
etc.) that did not fit with the modern and innovative post service that TPG Post is nowadays.
TPG Post's main business is post: collecting, sorting, transporting and delivering letters and
parcels. The company also specializes in data and document services, direct mail, e-
commerce and international post. Studio Dumbar designed the new logo, and helped to
introduce it on all kinds of media.
31
Meyer & Van Schooten Architects - The portfolio of projects undertaken by Meyer & Van
Schooten is varied: public housing, villas, urban designs, shopping centres, office complexes,
and schools. Their work is often described in the press using terms like ‘dynamic’,
‘functional’, ‘innovative use of materials’, ‘expressive’, and ‘fascination for technology’. This
last refers not only to the elaboration of architectural concepts, but also to the application of
innovative techniques in seeking to advance the art of making buildings. Beukers-Scholma
created a very basic corporate identity, using only black ink and white paper. The only
exeption was the business card, using full color images of finished projects. This way this mini
brochure could communicate directly to prospects at their first contact with Meyer & Van
Schooten.
32
3.4 Research results
3.4.1 Mind the Gap
As earlier mentioned I used questions asked in the PACEC survey as the basis for the first five
questions. The answers (rankings) to these questions were not important in them selves,
however the differences in answering between client and bureau were important to define
the ‘perception gap’. To visualise and analyse the perception gap I choose to use the “cob
web” method. By creating axes for every sub-question with a scale from 0 to 7, the rankings
can be filled in for both client and bureau. When both respondents give the same ranking, a
line is plotted between the ranking points. When there is a difference in ranking, an area is
plotted between the ranking points. The bigger the difference, the bigger the area. The area
gets the colour of the respondent with the highest ranking. This way you can see at a glance
if there is a gap and who has a positive or negative perception. To link the questions more to
the balanced scorecard perspectives I categorised the sub-questions into the financial,
customer, internal, and learning and growth perspectives. This way it is possible to detect the
weak spots in the different organisational processes. A summary of the collected data of
section 1 can be found in Appendix D.
33
Question 1: What were the key ingredients of your organisation’s success at the starting point
of the new design? (in case of the bureau: What were the key ingredients of your client’s organisation’s success).
INHOLLAND:
• Overall, client gives higher rankings to all key
ingredients, except for financial management and
marketing.
• There is a rather positive set of importance for
all key ingredients of business success, for both
bureau and client.
• Especially in the areas Internal processes, and
Learning and Growth there is a perception gap.
Dordrecht:
• There is a big discrepancy in given rankings
between client and bureau. Only the bureau sets
high importance to customer service, corporate
and internal management, creativity, design,
employee competences, and ICT.
• The bureau has a rather negative set of
importance for all the other key ingredients.
TPG:
• Overall the bureau gives higher rankings,
especially in the areas F, C, and I. Although there
are some gaps, both client and bureau think in the
same direction.
• In the Learning & Growth area both the rankings
are more varied and have lots of gaps, with an
alternate positive or negative perception.
• There is a positive set of importance for all key
ingredients.
Meijer van Schooten:
• Overall the bureau gives higher rankings, to all
key ingredients.
• Except for corporate & internal management,
and corporate culture, both client and bureau
think in the same direction. Except for these two
ingredients there is a positive set of importance to
all key ingredients.
34
Question 2: What are the perceptions of Design of your organisation? (in case of the bureau:
What are the perceptions of Design of your client’s organisation).
INHOLLAND:
• The biggest perception gap is in ‘design is about
how products look’.
• Except for this gap both client and bureau have
similar perceptions.
Dordrecht:
• The biggest perception gap is in ‘design is used
to produce something that will sell’.
• Except for their mutual disagreement that
‘design is used to develop new products and
services’, client and bureau are not aligned in
their perception of design.
• Design is about how products look.
TPG:
• Overall there is a big perception gap, except for
their mutual disagreement that ‘design is a
creative thinking process’.
* They both agree that ‘design is about products
working well to meet client’s needs’.
• Bureau has in all cases the most positive
perception of design.
Meijer van Schooten:
• Overall client and bureau think in the same
direction and have a positive perception of design.
• Bureau has the most positive perception of
design.
35
Question 3: What business functions and activities are considered to make use of design?
INHOLLAND:
• Concerning the customer perspective both think
similar about the importance of design.
• Bureau has the most positive perception of
design.
• In the area of internal processes there is a big
perception gap concerning the importance of
design.
• Both give a low ranking for production
engineering and product development.
Dordrecht:
• Overall there is a big perception gap concerning
the importance of design.
• Both think design is crucially important in
advertising and corporate communications, and in
a lesser extend for service delivery.
• Client has the most positive perception of the
importance of design.
• Both give a low ranking for production
engineering and marketing research.
TPG:
• Overall client and bureau have the same
perception concerning the importance of design.
• Bureau has the most positive perception of the
importance of design.
* Both think advertising & corporate
communications make most use of design; then
packaging, and service delivery.
• Both give a low ranking for corporate/ strategic
planning.
Meijer van Schooten:
• Overall client and bureau have the same
perception concerning the importance of design,
except for production engineering, packaging, and
marketing research.
• Bureau has the most positive perception of the
importance of design, especially in the area of
internal processes.
36
Question 4: What is the role of Design - please give only one answer!
INHOLLAND Dordrecht TPG Post Meyer VanSchooten
What is the role of design Clie
nt
Bure
au
Clie
nt
Bure
au
Clie
nt
Bure
au
Clie
nt
Bure
au
It is integral to theorganisation's operations
X X
It has a significant role to play X X X
It has a limited role to play X X X
It has no role to play at all
Both INHOLLAND and Meyer van Schooten show a big gap when concerning the role of design
in the organisation. TPG shows a small gap; bureau thinks design has a significant role to play,
client thinks only a limited role. In the case of Dordrecht both client and bureau agree that
design has a significant role to play.
37
Question 5: What are the greatest benefits of design?
INHOLLAND:
• The overall image is very cluttered. There are
many gaps in perception.
• The biggest gaps are concerning increased
profits, reduced costs, and improved quality of
services/ products.
• The only match is in a neutral ranking for
increased employment.
Dordrecht:
• Perception gaps and mutual agreements are
divided evenly.
• Concerning, reduced costs, increased
productivity, new products/services, improved
communication with customers, improved image
of the organisation, improved internal
communications, both agree to great extent to be
the greatest benefits of design.
• For the other benefits there are gaps in
perception.
TPG:
• Overall client and bureau have the same
perception concerning the benefits of design,
there are small gaps concerning increased
productivity, improved image of the organisation,
and improved internal communications.
• The average height of the rankings is relatively
low.
Meijer van Schooten:
• Overall client and bureau have the same
perception concerning the benefits of design.
• The biggest gap is for improved internal
communications.
• The other two smaller gaps are about improved
quality of services/ products, and improved
communication with customers.
38
Question 6: Design creates a competitive advantage because…?
INHOLLAND:
• The overall image is very cluttered. There are
many gaps in perception.
• The rankings are relatively low, except for two
occasions, one with a big gap and one with a small
gap: design develops customer orientation.
• Bureau has the most positive perception.
Dordrecht:
•There is a very big gap concerning the sales
aspect.
• Concerning the managerial aspect, and the
strategic aspect both client and bureau think in
the same direction.
• The rankings in the managerial area are higher
than in the strategic area.
• Client has the most positive perception.
TPG:
• There is a mutual disagreement concerning the
sales aspect.
• Overall both client and bureau think in the same
direction, except where design is a core
competency.
• All rankings are relatively low.
• Client has the most positive perception.
Meijer van Schooten:
• Overall both client and bureau think in the same
direction, except where design accelerates the
launch of new products there is a big gap.
• All rankings are relatively high.
• Client has the most positive perception.
• Especially in the strategic area there is great
consensus.
39
3.4.2 Interviews about the design process
This part of the questionnaire consists of a range of open questions to get more details about
the design process and the corporate strategy that provided the directions for the new
corporate identity. Here also client and bureau should give the same answers.
To get a quick overview of the answers scores are given:
V = Both respondents give the same answer
+ = the outcome has a positive influence on the effectiveness of design
- = the outcome has a negative influence on the effectiveness of design
Initial stage new Corporate Identity INHOLLAND.
Interview with:Marcel Jonkman, project managercorporate identity development –Jan 2002 – Sept 2002
Marcel Gort, Aestron, creative director inthe INHOLLAND corporate identity project.
Was there a corporate strategy? Score: +Yes, both a business strategy as well as acommunication strategy in the form of amerger document, developed bystakeholder focus groups. This documentwas the foundation for the positioning ofthe new ‘Hoge School’.
Yes, to be a forerunner in social andpersonal developments of society.
What was the company’s overall goal? Score: -Offering high quality ‘higher education’,with a high level of freedom of choice forthe students, for the benefit of themarket (trade and industry, government)and to provide for the need of high-qualified personnel.
New, number one Brand in education.
What were the core values? Score: V +Warm, open, social, advanced, ambitious Warm, open, social, advanced, ambitious
What was the reason for a new corporate identity? Score: V +Merger between several schools of highereducation
Merger
Was there a clear Briefing? Score: +Not really, it was a developmentalprocess. However two instructions werevery clear: the new design had to beefficient and it should link with the corevalues.First stage: name and logo, by means ofmood boards supplied by focus group, andnames obtained from name contest.Second stage: joint formation of briefingby INHOLLAND and Aestron (bureau)resulted in new mood boards anddistillation of core values frompositioning.
Yes, mission, vision – core values –interviews – idea for a name
40
Did clear judging criteria exist before the design process was started? Score: V -No, only checking whether process was inline with preceding results (testedknowledge). Core values were ruling.
No
Were there initial measurements to compare the results after the design process?Score: V -No, there should have been measurementsright after the introduction of the newINHOLLAND (January 2002). In 2002 animage research for the ‘old’ brands hadbeen executed
No
And afterwards? Score: V -Surveys at introduction days (open dagen).However, not the design contribution ismeasured. Only the effectiveness of themedia.
No
Do you think it is necessary to check on a regular basis? Score: V +Yes, for example interior, building,brochures – ‘what do you like about it?’
Yes
Were you satisfied with the new outcome? Why? Score: -Very satisfied, It’s a very strong design,when compared with the others in themarket. It is rock solid. Despite the factthat no real research has been done,people respond, recognise the core values.If this effect is a result from advertisingcampaigns or design effectiveness is, atthis moment, unclear.
Yes, it fits with the starting-pointsNo, it does not fit with the neworganisation
Are you still satisfied? Score: -Yes, ever-increasing reactions, positive annegative. Negative means that people aretouched by it. Another proof: StudyExhibition, INHOLLAND participated with anew Stand according to the new designdirections. For new-coming students this isthe first encounter with INHOLLAND. Thedesign has a high appreciation, measuredby the amount of students that visit thestand in comparison with the years before.
No
Are there ideas for improvements? Score: +Design: to early to change things already.Design Management could be improved.There is a need for a brand manual for theinternal organisation. Do’s and don’ts.There is no internal branding.
Organisation has to live up to the newdesigned identity.
41
EXTRA REMARKS:
CEO probably thinks that design isimportant. However no strategicimplementation of design.Design has no status, house stylemanagement is rising within Marketing &Communication department.Employees / teachers ‘design’ theproduct.INHOLLAND is a Not for Profitorganisation. Making profit is no objective;70 – 85% is funded by the Government.
When examining the answers it shows that the respondents gave comparable answers in 6
situations. In total there were 6 answers with a positive influence on the effectiveness of
design and 6 answers with a negative influence.
The organisation’s overall goal was not answered in the same way, this can have a negative
influence on the effectiveness of design.
Mutual agreement was there on the fact that there were no clear judging criteria before the
design process was started; there were no measurements to compare the results before and
afterwards. They also agreed that is necessary to check the corporate identity on a regular
basis.
Both are not equally satisfied with the outcome. Client was and is satisfied; bureau was
satisfied concerning the fit with the starting-points, but not concerning the fit with the new
organisation.
Both agree that improvements can be made with respect to corporate culture: ‘The
organisation has to live up to the new designed identity’, and ‘there is no internal branding’.
Also very remarkable was the statement on client’s side that there was no strategic
implementation of design, ‘Design has no status’. This was further supported by the
statement that employees (teachers) design the product. Were product is synonym with the
learning material that the students get. Providing consistent means that can be used to
develop those learning material is in this case essential for a consistent corporate identity.
When comparing these outcomes with the outcomes of the cob web graphs of section 1 of the
survey there are several similarities. The most important are: the perception gap in case of
Internal processes (Q1 and Q3), Learning & Growth (Q1), and the role of design (Q4). The
other images (Q5 and Q6) are very cluttered and proof again that both do not think in the
same direction
42
Initial stage new Corporate Identity Dordrecht.
Interview with:
Marla Beringer, project leader corporate
identity Municipality of Dordrecht.
Joop Ridder- Proforma: responsible for the
design of the Dordrecht Corporate Identity
Was there a corporate strategy? Score: V +
Yes, because of a reorganisation to one
municipal organisation with co-operating
services with one common goal, instead of
a conglomeration of relatively autonomous
services.
Yes, because of a reorganisation to one
municipal organisation with co-operating
services with one common goal.
What was the company’s overall goal? Score: -
One organisation that serves the city. Improving image, cost reduction, and
reorganisation
What were the core values? Score: +
Monolithic, efficient and result focussed,
cooperative and keeping promises, self-
confidence, customer focus, not
bureaucratic.
0ne counter service, cultural (forgotten)
values instead of dirty labour town,
service to the citizens
What was the reason for a new corporate identity? Score: V +
Ambition level was to go, by means of one
house style, to one ‘style of the house’
corporate identity. The first phase was
uniformity in logo, typography, printing
programs, sorts of paper, templates,
forms, covers, brochures and car fleet.
The second phase, development of the
‘style of the house’ was not part of this
project.
1. image, 2. service, 3. cost reduction
Was there a clear Briefing? Score: V +
Yes, ‘The Plan of Approach’, with the
program of demands.
Yes, ‘The Plan of Approach’, with the
program of demands.
43
Did clear judging criteria exist before the design process was started? Score: V +
Yes, visual translation of the ‘Plan’. Yes, visual translation of the ‘Plan’.
Implementing the complete range of
forms. Expectations were described. Cost
aspects were described. All these criteria
have not been tested by an external
party. Judging was an internal process by
the people who initiated the corporate
identity and the Court of Mayor and
Aldermen.
Were there initial measurements to compare the results after the design process?
Score: -
No, there was no 0-measurement, it had
been considered though.
Yes, concerning the form management.
This was a mayor operation
And afterwards? Score: V -
No, however there was a small survey to
test six first design proposals. Employees,
relations, and citizens were asked to give
their opinion of the new designs. The
results for the final choice were
unanimous: ‘Dordrecht, city along the
water’, by the curved line and the italic
typography it reflects a way of dynamic
(movement). Respondents call the logo
cheerful and friendly.
No
Do you think it is necessary to check on a regular basis? Score: V +
Yes Yes. Also the Project leader initially
thought it to be very important. After she
took an other function nobody else
bothered. (As a matter of fact, Proforma
has been consulted to do an inventory of
the present situation. (First time after 5
years))
44
Were you satisfied with the new outcome? Why? Score: +
Yes Creatively, yes.
No, the implementation of the project was
not complete. Because lack of money (you
might say that the initial budget was not
sufficient, or that the impact of a new
corporate identity was underestimated)
we were not able to finish the job.
Are you still satisfied? Score: V -
No No
Are there ideas for improvements? Score: +
Management, there are no strict directions
anymore. Very few people seem to know
about the house style rules. It’s only until
now that new people get a house style
guide.
A service-contract, because a CI never is
finished. Or a revitalising project once in a
few years.
Respondents gave comparable answers in 8 situations. In total there were 7 answers with a
positive influence on the effectiveness of design and 5 answers with a negative influence.
The organisation’s overall goal was not answered in the same way, this can have a negative
influence on the effectiveness of design.
Mutual agreement was there on the fact that clear judging criteria existed before the design
process was started; there were no measurements to compare the results before and
afterwards; there was a small survey to test the six first design proposals. They also agreed
that is necessary to check the corporate identity on a regular basis.
Both are not equally satisfied with the outcome. Client was satisfied; bureau was satisfied
creatively, but not concerning the implementation of the entire project, due to lack budget.
Both agree that improvements can be made with respect to design management: ‘There are
no strict restrictions anymore. Very few people seem to know about the house style rules’.
And: ‘I would suggest a service-contract, because CI is never finished, or a revitalising project
once in a few years’.
In this case a lack of good design management causes that the new CI is not sufficient
implemented. The intentions were good in the beginning, but the whole process of
implementation, motivation and communication was underestimated.
The outcomes of the cob web graphs of section 1 of the survey support this vision. There is a
big discrepancy in given rankings between client and bureau. Only the bureau sets high
45
importance to customer service, corporate and internal management, creativity, design,
employee competences, and ICT (Q1). Client and bureau are not aligned in their perception
of design. Except for ‘design is about how products look’ (Q2). There is a big perception gap
concerning the importance of design for business functions and activities. They only agree
that design is crucially important in advertising and corporate communications (Q3). However
this does not fit the fact that they both agree that design has a significant role to play in an
organisation’s operations (Q4). They seem to know, and to a great extent they agree, what
the benefits of design can be: reduced costs, increased productivity, new products/services,
improved communication with customers, improved image of the organisation, improved
internal communications (Q5), and concerning the managerial aspect and the strategic aspect
both client and bureau think in the same direction (Q6). Despite this knowledge and their
thinking in the same direction how it should be, the new CI has not been implemented
successfully over the last 6 years. An example of a new leaflet with a (miss)application of the
house style rules shows how a CI can ‘evolve’ into something both client an bureau never
intended. See figure 8 in the case descriptions.
46
Initial stage new Corporate Identity TPG-Post
Interview with:
Onno Kwint, Manager Corporate
Communication / TPG Post
Henri Ritzen,
managing director Studio Dumbar
Was there a corporate strategy? Score: V +
Yes, name change PTT-Post as part of TPG
into TPG-Post. (TPG in top with two
business groups: TPG-Post and TNT)
Yes
What was the company’s overall goal? Score: V +
Brand positioning TPG-Post and the
relation with TPG as a “branded house”
Independence from KPN (which took
existing house style). Post had to design
something new. TPG TPG-Post
What were the core values? Score: +
Trust Reliability (post secret), innovation
(reinventing new processes), soberness
(Dutch)
What was the reason for a new corporate identity? Score: V +
Name change Organizing, name change
Was there a clear Briefing? Score: -
Yes, maintenance identity of Post and the
relation / awareness with TPG (market
share)
No, it was a process of building knowledge
and involvement
Did clear judging criteria exist before the design process was started? Score: -
Yes, starting points corporate identity
PTT-Post: colour (red), typography,
semiotics
No
47
Were there initial measurements to compare the results after the design process?
Score: V -
There was a 0-measurement related to the
consumer image of Post. There were no
initial measurements concerning the
design
No
And afterwards? Score: -
There was an introduction campaign with
print adverts, consumer and business
mailing, TV commercial, website, and
internal communication. Brand awareness
and name awareness of TPG Post at
consumer and business was measured. The
results were published in a little book
‘Hoe maak je naam?’ as part of the
campaign.
No
Do you think it is necessary to check on a regular basis? Score: V +
Yes Yes
Were you satisfied with the new outcome? Why? Score: V +
Yes, in a very short time the name change
was implemented (see booklet)
Yes, concerning the logo
Are you still satisfied? Score: V +
Yes Yes, concerning the logo.
The rest of the semiotics is not yet very
consistent, to much influenced by those
who produce new material
Are there ideas for improvements? Score: V +
House style manual. At this moment only a
few people in the organisation do really
know all the ins-and-outs of the corporate
identity.
Brand manual
Centralising new productions
48
Respondents gave comparable answers in 8 situations. In total there were 8 answers with a
positive influence on the effectiveness of design and 4 answers with a negative influence.
There was no mutual agreement about the Briefing, bureau answered: ‘no, it was a process of
building knowledge and involvement’, whereas the client gave an description of the Briefing:
‘maintenance identity of Post, and relation / awareness with TPG’. This can be explained by
the fact that the relationship between client and bureau already existed for a very long time.
Similar projects have been done in the past, with the same people. So the ‘unwritten’
Briefing is a condensation of expertise, routine and relationship that has been formed in the
preceding years. This might also explain why there were no judging criteria (according to the
bureau). Here also there were no initial measurements to compare the results before and
after the design process, although they mutually agreed that it is necessary. Both client and
bureau were and are satisfied with the outcome.
Both promote the idea of making a house style manual: ‘At this moment only a few people in
the organisation do really know all the ins-and-outs of the corporate identity’. The bureau
goes even further than that and suggest ‘centralising new productions’, according to the
bureau too many bureaus are working for the client without proper guidelines. Design
management can be of great help in this case.
These outcomes are supported by the outcomes of section 1: Overall client and bureau think
in the same direction (Q3, Q4, Q5, and Q6) when it concerns design and what business
functions and activities make use of design, the role of design, the benefits of design, and
how it can create competitive advantage. About the definition of design (Q2) there is a lot of
difference in perception. Both seem to know the key ingredients of TPG-Post’s business
success, except for the Learning and Grow part. Concluding that they know about design
theoretically; however the implementation of this theory in the organisation should be
improved by design management. This became clear during the interview with Mr. Kwint
when we were trying to find the proofing-points (section 3). It was not possible to find them
in all the perspectives because: ‘We did go into detail so deep during this corporate identity
process, it was merely a logo change. With the objective to change our logo without anybody
noticing it’. Every design manager would have replied that this logo change project might also
have been used to create positive impact seen from a financially perspective, a customer
perspective, the internal process perspective, and the learning and growth perspective.
49
Initial stage new Corporate Identity Meyer & van Schooten Architects
Interview with:
Ingrid Oosterheerd, PR and
communication, project leader for the
new corporate identity of Meyer&van
Schooten Architects.
Haico Beukers, partner and founder
Beukers Scholma.
Was there a corporate strategy? Score: +
There was the ambition to go further, to
become bigger, and to go for an
international breakthrough. In a no
nonsense approach, building in an
exclusive style.
We did not receive it. We did know about
the objectives because of earlier projects
(book design MvS)
What was the company’s overall goal? Score: +
Building beautiful, above mediocrity,
using the best materials. Being builders,
with a more outside (exterior) than an
inside (interior) focus.
To be an international top-bureau,
ambitious
What were the core values? Score: +
Functionality, practical usability, no
nonsense, beautiful, eyes for details,
durable.
Creativity, workmanship
What was the reason for a new corporate identity? Score: V +
Initially there was a need for a new
website and a new business card.
However, there was no consistent house
style. That’s why Beukers-Scholma were
contacted to design a new house style
first. They had done a book about MvS
earlier.
It was necessary, the existing house style
did not fit with the company
Was there a clear Briefing? Score: V +
Yes, and a very detailed instruction with
an inventory of all the things that had to
be done.
Yes, functionality expressed by: 1.
usability, and 2. image / non nonsense /
utensil
50
Did clear judging criteria exist before the design process was started? Score: +
Yes, the briefing plus inventories. Testing with the briefing was more a
matter of feeling. We made up an extra
criterion: it had to be something clever,
extra
Were there initial measurements to compare the results after the design process?
Score: V -
No, not before the starting point, during
the design process there were though.
No, however there was consult with the
office management
And afterwards? Score: -
Only costs are monitored No, there was a preview presentation to
all the people of the bureau, before
implementation and production started
Do you think it is necessary to check on a regular basis? Score: V +
Yes, to see how things work out
(templates for instance). The used
Typeface is not standard, so that gives
problems, for instance sending digital files
to clients or suppliers results in messy
layouts.
Would be a good idea, it hardly happens
Were you satisfied with the new outcome? Why? Score: V +
Yes, especially the idea of the
‘watermark’ that made it possible to work
with only two sizes of paper (A4 and A3) in
one sort, was decisive. Apart from that it
fits, it works, it is simple, firm, and
beautiful
Yes, it fits with briefing and gut feeling
Are you still satisfied? Score: V +
Yes Yes
Are there ideas for improvements? Score: +
No, only the templates need some minor
improvements.
Make a budget reservation for future
needs and updates according to the house
style rules
51
Respondents gave comparable answers in 6 situations. In total there were 10 answers with a
positive influence on the effectiveness of design and 2 answers with a negative influence.
Although they did not give exactly the same answers on the questions about corporate
strategy, overall goal, and core values, the answers were positive, in the same direction or
complementary. There was a clear Briefing, and there were some judging criteria. There
were no measurements to compare the results before and after the design process.
Both think it is necessary to check the results on a regular basis. Both were and still are
satisfied with the new outcome.
It can be concluded that both client and bureau are very satisfied with the outcome and the
process of getting there, because 10 of the 12 questions were answered in a positive way.
When we compare this with the results of section 1, we find the same tendency. This case
shows the lowest amount of perception gaps, and the highest rankings in comparison with the
other three cases. There are however important differences concerning corporate & internal
management, corporate culture (Q1), concerning the role of design (Q4), improved internal
communications (Q5). This can be explained by the fact that the responsible at client’s side
put great effort in supplying the bureau with all the details that were necessary to implement
the corporate identity in all productive processes. Management however did not really make
part of this process, except when it concerned costs. This might explain the gaps in Q1 about
corporate and internal management and corporate culture.
52
3.4.2 Finding the proofing-points
This third and last part is a face-to-face interview where the respondent and I tried to find
proofing points for the contribution of design in their corporate identity process. This is done
by a step-by-step evaluation of the Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map, and trying to translate
this to the corporate identity design process. The results of the interviews in all four cases
are visualised in the following pages. I will only go in depth about these results in the
INHOLLAND case. The illustrations of the Balanced Scorecard Design Strategy Maps of the
other three cases should speak for themselves after reading and studying the first case.
INHOLLAND
This interview with the client was the first in the range. It took about six hours, so that gave
an indication that I had to prepare the other interviewees better to save time for the actual
interviews. On the other hand, with his expertise in the INHOLLAND CI project, and being a
fellow cohort student of the Master in Design Management, Marcel Jonkman helped me a lot
to set up the first set of proofing-points. We achieved in finding proofing-points for all the
categories of the Balanced Scorecard perspectives.
Financial Perspective - The increase (or decrease) in new contracts can be a measurement to
test if a CI communicates to a certain target group. In this case there was the introduction of
a new sort of contract education. The CI had to be adopted to fit with the new target group.
Measuring the amount of new contracts before and after this operation, and asking the new
students if the new CI met their expectations of the school is an indicator that can be
measured every year. Measuring student satisfaction, and enrolment fee satisfaction in
relation to the percepted image that is build with the CI give an indication about the
percepted value to customers. Proofing-points as indication for an improved productivity are,
when related to costs: production costs, and cleaning & maintenance costs. The latter is an
interesting one: INHOLLAND planned to build temporary buildings; one of the proposals of the
bureau was to paint them in pink or orange. However after thorough discussion it became
clear that keeping these bright colours bright would mean that the buildings had to be
cleaned very often, resulting in huge additional costs. Measuring how many new presentations
are produced or other new education material, or the time it takes to do so, give an
53
indication and thus proofing-point of how much effort it takes to make use of the new CI
assets.
Customer Perspective – Customer intimacy is the value proposition chosen by INHOLLAND.
Differentiators are Service, Student Relations, being a trusted Brand, and an image of
Consistency, and Trend following (although they were trendsetting with their new CI).
Proofing-points can be the input of students in the idea-box and count the CI-design related
topics. Or measuring the percentage of syllabi and general information that is not consistent
according to CI directives.
Internal Process Perspective - The new developed ‘Identikit’, a Word application that
helped to produce forms and letters according to the new CI. Counting the amount of
questions that were about handling and implementation stationery, before and after the CI
process, is a proofing-point of building the organisation through innovations. The increasing of
customer value can be measured by student satisfaction research concerning design related
topics, or research of the ‘organisation of information’ (is the message understood). The
Improvement of the operational and logistic processes can be measured by counting the
amount of forms, stationery, syllabi, reports, or paper (copies). The amount of operations a
student or employee has to do to use the products of CI. Administrational efforts, the
difficulties that can occur when working with fonts or difficult printing (and painting) colours.
Monitoring the influence CI can have on these processes has a direct relationship with the
effectiveness of the CI design. Measuring the material- and cost savings by sustainable design
gives a proofing-point of good corporate citizenship.
Learning & Growth Perspective – A wall of shame and fame, for example an exhibition of all
recent productions, good and bad, in the cantina can help to make clear to all employees how
the CI is to be used. Counting the bad productions gives a proofing-point of employee’s
competence. As does research about the image of the organisation, and employee
satisfaction. Proofing-points for technology are: the comparison of available new
technologies, for example intranet, or the Identikit, and the measured use of these new
technologies. Measuring of steps and clicks, and checking helpdesk logs for CI design related
questions. Finally but very important: to what extent is the CI embedded in the corporate
culture? Questioning employees, about the logo, the colours, the core values, and the working
environment, during functioning evaluations, can provide the proper proofing-points.
54
When filling in all the found proofing-points, the result is a Design Strategy Map.
The Balanced ScorecardDesign Strategy MapCase: INHOLLAND
Improve Stakeholder Value
Build theorganisation
Increase valueto customers
Improvecost structure
Improveuse of assets
Revenue Growth St rategy Productivity Strategy
Number of studentsNumber of students
Increase (or decrease)in new contracts
StudentsatisfactionEnrolment feesatisfaction
Cleaning & maintenancecosts
Idea-box (complaints-box)
Syllabi and general informationconsistent according to housestyle directives
Productioncosts
Amount of forms,stationery, syllabi,reports, paper (copies)
Material- and costsavings by sustainable design
Student satisfactionresearch – designrelated questioning Organisation of
information (is themessage understood)
Wall of shameand fameImage organisation/
BrandEmployee satisfaction
Availability newtechnologiesvs. measured useof new technologies Measuring of
steps and clicks Helpdesk logs
Functioning evaluation
Logo
Colour
Environment
Questions abouthandling andimplementationof new stationery Amount of operations
for student or employeeAdministrational e fforts
Use of fonts Use of difficult colour s
New education material
New presentations
Time it takesto produce new materialTime it takesto produce new material
Return on capital employedReturn on capital employed
FinancialPerspective
CustomerPerspective
InternalProcessPerspective
Learning andGrowthPerspective
Customer Intimacy
Service
Product / Ser vice Attribute sRelationship Image
Price Time
Quality Selection
Studentrelations
Consistenc Trendfollowing
Trustedbrand
Build the organisationthrough innovations
Increase customervalue through
customer processes
Achieve ope rationalexcellence through
operations andlogistic processes
Employee Competencies Technology Corporate Culture
Become a goodcorporate citizen
through regulatory andenvironmental processe s
General requiremen t
Differentiator
Measure of achievement
55
The Balanced ScorecardDesign Strategy MapCase: Municipality
of DordrechtImprove Stakeholder Value
Build theorganisation
Increase valueto customers
Improvecost structure
Improveuse of assets
Revenue Growth St rategy Productivity Strategy
Service levelClient satisfaction
Influence ofcorporate identityin acquisitionof new clientsCollecting samplesof variation in identityin new markets
Number of copiesPaper useMonitoring budgetsAmount of formsAmount of operations
Templates and macro sStandardising reports an coversInterchangeabilityenvelopes and paperQuestions about availabilit y,implementation or usability
Client Feedback
Identification andreducibility of the sender
‘Style of the house ’monitoringInformation design(is the message clear)Foreign fonts (Cyrillic)Accessibility (get-ability)of information
Usability in new(ICT) processesFont licenseproblem solving
Printing problemsIrregularities incorrespondenceFulfilled agreements
How much paper endsin the destructorSort and amount of paper(double sided printing,multipurpose use)
Familiarity withhouse styleWall of fameCollect deviationsof the original rulesAccessibility and useof style guide orinstruction manuals
Use of fonts (controlwhich ones are available)Font problemsUser friendly interfaces
Functioning evaluation
Mapping the need for deviation(by not following the rules) Brand proud ness
FinancialPerspective
CustomerPerspective
InternalProcessPerspective
Learning andGrowthPerspective
Customer Intimacy
Service
Product / Ser vice Attribute sRelationship Image
Price Time
Quality Selection
Customerrelations
Easyaccess
Trustedbrand
Build the organisationthrough innovations
Increase customervalue through
customer processes
Achieve ope rationalexcellence through
operations andlogistic processes
Employee Competencies Technology Corporate Culture
Become a goodcorporate citizen
through regulatory andenvironmental processe s
General requiremen t
Differentiator
Measure of achievement
56
The Balanced ScorecardDesign Strategy MapCase: TPG Post
Improve Stakeholder Value
Build theorganisation
Increase valueto customers
Improvecost structure
Improveuse of assets
Revenue Growth St rategy Productivity Strategy
Stampcollectorssatisfaction
Design hours Simplicity communicationmaterialStandardisation (indepen-dent from housestyle)Photography directives
Signage: area recognition
Customer survey
Clothing, post o ffice, web site:consistent according to housestyle directives
Internal survey Availability Brand manualEase, there are no excusesnot to use the design directives
House style certificateHits on intranet aboutdesign related questionsEvaluations of deliverablesAfter-care contract(pre-paid) and the way it isused up
Digital availabilityof (new) CI design itemsInventory wishlist oftechnical objectives
Motivation survey
‘internal customer’satisfaction surveyBrand proud nessSound-board group(design ambassadors,designcoach)
FinancialPerspective
CustomerPerspective
InternalProcessPerspective
Learning andGrowthPerspective
Customer Intimacy
Service
Product / Ser vice Attribute sRelationship Image
Price Time
Quality ICT
Customerrelations
Bestin class
Trustedbrand
Build the organisationthrough innovations
Increase customervalue through
customer processes
Achieve ope rationalexcellence through
operations andlogistic processes
Employee Competencies Technology Corporate Culture
Become a goodcorporate citizen
through regulatory andenvironmental processe s
General requiremen t
Differentiator
Measure of achievement
57
The Balanced ScorecardDesign Strategy MapCase: Meyer van Schooten
Improve Stakeholder Value
Build theorganisation
Increase valueto customers
Improvecost structure
Improveuse of assets
Revenue Growth St rategy Productivity Strategy
Messy correspondencein comparison withworkmanship; internaland external surveyClient satisfaction
Staggering processesdue to inadequate useof templates‘After Sales’ Image match
Budget allocationMonitoring costs
Standardisation in the useof sorts and formats of paperNumber of suppliers
Time savings
Number of describedworking methodsNumber of standard formsor covers, etc. that havea multipurpose function
Reputation of design bureauControversiality of customer survey outcomes; You don’t want medium outcomes,because then you will get a middle of the road signature.Aesthetics; people may love it or hate itCustomer retention, for instance the use of fonts when receiving digital files
Speed and get-up ofcorrespondenceand reportsAvailability of procedures
Functionalityof the house style
Usability and functioningof templates and macros
Paper consumption
Asks for help by employeesNumber of suppliers(paper, printers)
Availability and use ofhouse style manual,or design guide, andtemplate-instructionmanual
Translation into othermedia according todesign guidelinesPrinter accessibility(paper tray juggling)Typeface problem s
After sales information(gives a feeling about thingsgoing right), from bureauas well as from companyDesign related questionsduring functioning evaluation
FinancialPerspective
CustomerPerspective
InternalProcessPerspective
Learning andGrowthPerspective
Customer Intimacy / Product Leadership
Service
Product / Ser vice Attribute sRelationship Image
Price Time
Quality Functionality
Customerrelations
Bestin class
(trend setters)
Trustedbrand
Build the organisationthrough innovations
Increase customervalue through
customer processes
Achieve ope rationalexcellence through
operations andlogistic processes
Employee Competencies Technology Corporate Culture
Become a goodcorporate citizen
through regulatory andenvironmental processe s
General requiremen t
Differentiator
Measure of achievement
58
5. Conclusions
“Good organisations strive for a clear, attractive and relevant identity, so a clear and
positive image and coherent with it a powerful reputation. Identity management therefore is
a strategic instrument that is gaining in importance to achieve organisational goals. A
merger, internal organisational change, a new market positioning, changes in the
competitive field or a combination of these, often weaken the existing identity. As a
consequence the image and the reputation will become cloudy and subsequently the
operational force will weaken. It is therefore of major importance that changes of identity
are managed well” (Kootstra, 2003).
In this research I have used a model of ‘well business management’ as starting-point for a
model of ‘effective design management’ of a corporate identity. If the management of an
organisation wants to do something with its corporate identity, management will have to take
the whole organisation into account. Birkigt & Stadler (1986) laid the connection between
corporate strategy on one hand and on the other ‘communication in its broadest sense’, as “a
planned and operational implemented self presentation of an organisation, internally and
externally on the basis of a documented corporate philosophy”. This implies that the
organisation has to know itself well. It has to have a clear scope on its personality if it wants
to present itself in a clear comprehensible way through behaviour, communication and
symbols.
Not only the organisation has to know itself well, the designer that has to (re)design the
corporate identity has to know the organisation as well. Discrepancies in knowledge about the
objectives and definitions of the design process, and influences on the organisation will lead
to miss communication and therefore not effective implementation of design. The first part
of the research section is about a way of finding these discrepancies. The described method
offers a clear way of visualising perception gaps between client and designer concerning
design related questions. The second part of the research shows how it can be made clear if
client and bureau are aligned concerning the design process and knowledge about the
corporate strategy.
59
When comparing the results of the first two parts in all four cases, the Meyer & Van Schooten
case comes first considering mutual consensus. They show the fewest perception gaps and the
most positive answers in the open questions. Although they do not provide the highest amount
of comparable answers.
The TPG Post case comes second, they gave the most amount of comparable answers, and the
one but most amount of positive answers. Although the results could not be compared with
cases of proven design effectiveness, both were winners in the Dutch Design Award 2003.
Extra explanation for the level of mutual consensus in these two cases might be that client
and bureau knew each other very well. Studio Dumbar has been working for TPG Post for
many years and has been responsible for previous corporate identities as well. Beukers-
Scholma had done a book about Meyer & Van Schooten before they were asked to do the new
corporate identity.
The other two cases, INHOLLAND and Dordrecht, show less mutual consensus. The outcomes
in the cob-webs are supported by the answers in the open questions in part two. The
INHOLLAND case makes clear that improvements can be made with respect to corporate
culture: ‘The organisation has to live up to the new designed identity’, and ‘there is no
internal branding’. Also very remarkable was the statement on client’s side that there was no
strategic implementation of design, ‘Design has no status’.
In the Dordrecht case a lack of good design management causes that the new CI is not
implemented sufficiently. The intentions were good in the beginning, but the whole process
of implementation, motivation and communication was underestimated.
The above described results are an answer to the first part of my complementary thesis that
for an effective design or effective design implementation it is necessary that both designer
and client have the same understanding of what is meant by the design process…
The second part that there can only be effectiveness if both, client and designer, put full
effort in the process can be demonstrated by the fact that in the Meyer&Van Schooten case
the client’s responsible prepared the briefing meticulously careful. For every possible item
she made a description concerning the CI implementation, resulting in a thick manual of all
the items to be designed. On top of this the designer made up an extra criterion: it had to be
something clever, extra.
60
Of course in this particular situation we are talking about a relatively small organisation. With
the right amount of feeling for detail and carefulness a person can manage a CI project
perfectly well. There are not so many different departments and people to be managed to
implement the CI effectively. However, as organisations become larger, it will be more
difficult to manage the design process.
The methodology of the Balanced Scorecard as it is presented in this dissertation can be used
to manage the design process of a new corporate identity. And, by the definition of proofing-
points – measure-points that indicate the contribution of design – the effectiveness of design
can be measured and monitored over time. This Design Effectiveness Strategy Map will help
business managers as well as designers or design managers to find particular parts (proofing-
points) in the organisation that are influenced by the implementation of a – new or existing –
corporate identity. By indicating values to these proofing-points and monitoring if these
values are met, the contribution of design can be measured. And, if necessary the design can
be adjusted. After all, the design process is never finished!
At the introduction of this dissertation I started with the quote - Design: “Values made
visible” - that, to my opinion, exactly describes what design does. By finding the right
proofing-points and attaching the right value to them we can make design effectiveness
visible.
61
5.1 Guideline for design effectiveness
Because every organisation will have it’s own Balanced Scorecard Design Strategy Map, it is
very important to define the best usable proofing-points. As a guideline I will describe the
steps to be made, and finally I will give a checklist of possible proofing-points as they were
summarised from the results in the four described cases. The reader will have to determine
what is appropriate in their specific situation.
Describe the process
- Corporate Strategy
- Company’s overall goal
- Core values
- Reason for the Corporate Identity
- Briefing
Mind the Gap
- Find the perception gaps between client and designer.
- Define proofing-points
- 0-Measurement of present CI
- Development new CI
- Check CI with concern to proofing-points
- Implementation new CI
- 1-Measurement
- Evaluation
– proofing-points
– CI
- Implementation in CI
- 2-Measurement
- etc.
On the next pages you will find (the first step to) a checklist. All the proofing-points of all
four cases are collected in one table. (See table 9)
62
Financial Perspective:
Build the
organisation
Increase (or decrease) in new contracts
Influence of corporate identity in acquisition of new clients
Collecting samples of variation in identity in new markets
Staggering processes due to inadequate use of templates
‘After Sales’ Image match
Increase value
to customers
Customer satisfaction
Enrolment fee / entry fee satisfaction
Service level
Signage: area recognition
Messy correspondence, internal and external survey
Improve
cost structure
Production costs
Cleaning & maintenance costs
Number of copies
Paper use
Monitoring budgets / costs
Budget allocation
Amount of forms
Amount of operations
Design hours
Improve
use of assets
New productions
New presentations
Time it takes to produce new material
Templates and macros
Standardising reports an covers
Interchange ability envelopes and paper
Questions about availability, implementation or usability
Simplicity communication material
Standardisation (independent from house style)
Photography directives
Standardisation in the use of sorts and formats of paper
Number of suppliers
Number of described working methods
Number of standard forms or covers, etc. that have a multipurpose
function
Time savings
63
Customer Perspective:
Customer Intimacy Idea-box (complaints-box)
Syllabi and general information consistent according to house style
directives
Client Feedback
Identification and reducibility of the sender
Customer survey
Clothing,
Housing
Web site: consistent according to housestyle directives
Customer Intimacy/
Product Leadership
Reputation of design bureau
Controversiality of customer survey outcomes; You don’t want mediocre
outcomes, because then you will get a middle of the road signature.
Aesthetics; people may love it or hate it
Customer retention, for instance the use of fonts when receiving digital files
Internal Process Perspective
Build the
organisation
through innovations
Questions about handling and implementation of new stationery
Usability in new (ICT) processes
Font license problem solving
Functionality of the house style
Increase customer
value through
customer processes
Customer satisfaction research – design related questioning
Organisation of information (is the message understood)
‘Style of the house’ monitoring
Information design (is the message clear)
Foreign fonts (Cyrillic)
Accessibility (get-ability)of information
Internal survey
Speed and get-up of correspondence and reports
Availability of procedures
Achieve operational
excellence through
operations and
logistic processes
Amount of forms, stationery, syllabi, reports, paper (copies)
Amount of operations for customer or employee
Administrational efforts
Use of fonts
Use of difficult colours
Printing problems
Irregularities in correspondence
Fulfilled agreements
Availability Brand manual
Ease, there are no excuses not to use the design directives
Usability and functioning of templates and macros
Asks for help by employees
Number of suppliers (paper, printers)
64
Become a good
corporate citizen
through regulatory
and
environmental
processes
Material- and cost savings by sustainable design
How much paper ends in the destructor
Sort and amount of paper (double sided printing, multipurpose use)
Paper consumption
Learning and Growth Perspective
Employee
Competencies
Wall of shame and fame
Image organisation/Brand
Employee satisfaction
Familiarity with house style
Collect deviations of the original rules
Accessibility and use of style guide or instruction manuals
House style certificate
Hits on intranet about design related questions
Evaluations of deliverables
After-care contract (pre-paid) and the way it is used up
Availability and use of house style manual, or design guide, and template-
instruction manual
Technology Availability new technologies vs. measured use of new technologies
Measuring of steps and clicks
Helpdesk logs
Use of fonts (control which ones are available)
Font problems
User friendly interfaces
Digital availability of (new) CI design items
Inventory wish list of technical objectives
Translation into other media according to design guidelines
Printer accessibility (paper tray juggling)
Corporate Culture Functioning evaluation
Logo
Colour
Environment
Functioning evaluation
Mapping the need for deviation (by not following the rules)
Brand proud ness
Motivation survey
‘Internal customer’ satisfaction survey
Sound-board group (design ambassadors, design coach)
After sales information (gives a feeling about things going right), from
bureau as well as from company
Design related questions during functioning evaluation
Table 9: Checklist proofing-points for Design Effectiveness Scorecard.
65
6. Recommendations
As the title of this dissertation implies, this is a study towards a method to measure design
effectiveness. It is a first step, and to my opinion the results look promising. The people that I
interviewed for this research were also very enthusiastic about the idea. The result of this
study is that there is a working method that can guide client and designer in designing and
implementing a corporate identity. However, it is far from complete. There was no winner of
a design effectiveness award among the cases. I did not even ask whether the respondents
thought that in their case design had been effective after all, a missed opportunity! So direct
reference to design effectiveness is missing. Fortunately there will be a efficiency award for
design this year in the Netherlands - for the first time - as part of the EFFIE contest.
Hopefully there will also be entries with a corporate identity case, so that the design
effectiveness scorecard (desc) method can be tested.
Another part that has to be developed is the desc ‘monitor’. After defining the proofing-
points, the next step is to indicate what values need to be set for every proofing-point. There
are many software programs that provide this for measuring business performances according
to the ‘BSC rules’ of Kaplan & Norton. An adaptation to measure the design performances
might be developed.
This method concentrates itself on the inside of the organisation. Of course customer
perspective is one of the four important perspectives, but in this approach the influence of
what the design process can have for the customer is primarily monitored from inside the
organisation. What the customer thinks of all this is quite an other chapter. As well as there is
a client-designer design perception gap, there probably also will be a customer-client or
customer design perception gap. Fortunately the BNO workgroup for Design Effectiveness is
planning to start a qualitative pre-research to find the translation of design criteria
(identification, differentiation/saliency, tangible and intangible, semiotics) into customer
language.
66
According to Gorb (fig. 1, page 16) there are, apart from corporate identity, three other
categories in which design is manifested: product design, environmental design, and
information design. Will it be possible to use the desc method in design processes for these
other categories? And, do we have to? For product design there are already several methods
to measure the contribution of design (Veryzer, Noël, Coates). May be it is worth studying it.
Environmental design, architects are seen as artists. Haven’t we heard that before, graphic
designers? When is their design effective? The architect of our new sports hall won an award
with his design, however the colours that he used (light grey) for floor and wall (it sure looks
nice) makes it almost impossible to play badminton or volleyball.
Information design might be the candidate that could use an adaptation of the desc method,
because it is also about organisational processes.
After all, the design process is never finished…
67
7. Appendices
Appendix A: Brand Identity Planning ModelBRAND IDENTITY PLANNING MODEL (Aaker & Joachimsthaler)
STRATEGIC BRAND ANALYSIS
Customer Analysis
• Trends
• Motivation
• Unmet needs
• Segmentation
Competitor Analysis
• Brand image/identity
• Strengths, strategies
• Vulnerabilities
• Positioning
Self Analysis
• Existing brand image
• Brand heritage
• Strengths/strategies
• Organization values
BRAND IDENTITY SYSTEM
BRAND IDENTITY
ExtendedCore
BrandEssence
Brand as Product
1. Product scope2. Product attributes3. Quality/Value4. Uses5. Users6. Country of origin
Brand as Organization
7. Organization attributes(e.g., innovation,consumer concern,trustworthy)8. Local versus global
Brand as Person
9. Personality (e.g.,genuine, energetic,rugged)10. Customer/ brandrelationships
Brand as Symbol
11. Visual image andmetaphors12. Brand heritage
VALUE PROPOSITIONFunctional bene tsEmotional bene tsSelf-expressive bene ts
CREDIBILITYsupport other brands
RELATIONSHIP
BRAND IDENTITY IMPLEMENTATION SYSTEM
BRAND IDENTITY ELABORATION
Brand ID Prioritization• owned vs aspirationalassociations•associations that differ-entiate and resonate
Identity-SupportingPrograms Audit• Strategic imperatives• Proof points
Identity Role Models• Internal• External
Visual metaphors• Identify & analyzevisual methaphors
BRAND POSITION
The part of the brand identity end value proposition that is to be activelycommunicated to the target audience
BRAND-BUILDING PROGRAMS
TRACKING
68
Appendix B: Corporate Identity Policy Plan
Figure 6. Corporate Identity Policy Plan (van Riel)
•targets•targetgroups•message• means•organisation ofcommunication
1. Problem Analysis
Current Positioning2.
6. Gap Analysis
4. Externalimage research
5. CompetitionAnalysis.
3. Translationto CI -mix
7a. MaintainingCurrent Positioning
7b. AdjustingCurrent Positioning
7c. New Positioning
7d. MaintainingCI -policy
7e. AdaptingCI -mix
8. Determiningconsequences CI -mix
8a. Personality
Evaluation Evaluation 1. Evaluation Evaluation
8b. Behaviour 8c.Communication
9. Five key issues
ImplementationCI- policy plan
8d. Symbolism
69
Appendix C: Example of the Questionnaire
Survey as research part of the Dissertation Master of Design Management‘Towards a Balanced Scorecard to Measure Design Effectiveness’
Ik hoop dat u er geen bezwaar tegen heeft dat alles in het Engels gaat. Het gaat nueenmaal om een Engelstalige opleiding. Mocht de vraagstelling hierdoor onduidelijkworden, beantwoord die eventuele vra(a)g(en) dan niet en bewaar deze tot het interview.Het interview gaat wel in het Nederlands.
IntroductionDesign... what can it do for me? What can it do for you? And how to prove the contribution ofdesign in a successful product, service, interior or identity in a way that it is accepted by themost senior management? Design as an effective instrument to help them develop effectivestrategies to compete successfully?
To prove the effectiveness of design is difficult because there are so many business processesthat have tangent planes with design. And then there is the confusion between design andcommunication. Is a product successful due to its design or due to the communication effortsto promote it? This question is so important that several organisations in the Netherlands(BNO, VEA) are investigating the possibility to initiate a Design Effectiveness Award just likethe Effie Award for effective communications.
With my dissertation I will try to find a model that can help designers and their clients todefine the ‘proof points’ that can give an indication of the contribution of design in theprocess of building a new corporate identity. The starting point will be the BalancedScorecard (Kaplan & Norton (1992). This model provides executives with a comprehensiveframework that translates a company’s strategic objectives into a coherent set ofperformance measures. The Balanced Scorecard supplements traditional financial measureswith criteria that measure performance from three additional perspectives – those ofcustomers, internal business processes, and learning and growth. Last decade this model hasbeen accepted by managers of trade and industry to help them manage their businessstrategy. My aim will be to ‘translate’ this model so it can be used to manage a designstrategy. In this case a design strategy for a new corporate identity.
The first part of the interview that you so kindly take part of consists of a questionnaire. Byanswering the questions you provide me with insight on your organisation’s view about theimportance of design, and the extent to which design plays a role in it’s operations. Thesecond part will be a range of open questions to get more details about the design processand the corporate strategy that provided the directions for the new corporate identity.The third and last part will be the face-to-face interview where we will try to find proofing-points for the contribution of design in your corporate identity process. For that part I wouldlike to ask you to take a brief look at the Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map (BSC strategymap.pdf) and its condensed explanation.
Thanks again for your cooperation!
70
Part 1: Questionnaire Dissertation Design Effectiveness
Question 1: What were the key ingredients of your organisation’s success at the starting pointof the new design(in case of the bureau: What were the key ingredients of your client’s organisation’s success)
Not at all important -------------- cruciallyimportant
Key Ingredients of Business Success
1 2 3 4 5 6 7Corporate and internal managementCorporate cultureCreativityCustomer serviceDesignEducation and training Employee competenciesFinancial management Human resource managementICTInnovationMarketingOperational managementR&DTechnologyOthers:
Question 2: What are the perceptions of Design of your organisation(in case of the bureau: What are the perceptions of Design of your client’s organisation)
Do not agree at all -----------------------totally agree1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Design is about how products lookDesign is used to develop newproducts and servicesDesign is about products workingwell to meet clients needsDesign is a creative thinking processthat enables ideas to come to lifeDesign is used to produce somethingthat will 'sell' - a way of deliveringsomething tangibleDesign is a strategic business toolthat can be used to differentiateorganisations operating incompetitive marketsOthers:
71
Question 3: What business functions and activities are considered to make use of design.
Not at all important -------------- cruciallyimportant1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Product developmentAdvertising and corporatecommunicationsMarketing researchPackagingResearch and developmentProduction engineeringService deliveryCorporate / strategic planningOthers:
Question 4: What is the role of Design - please give only one answer!
YesIt is integral to the organisation'soperationsIt has a significant role to playIt has a limited role to playIt has no role to play at all
Question 5: What are the greatest benefits of designTo which extent do you think design can have a contribution to:
Not at all ---------------------------------great extent1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Increased employmentIncreased turnoverIncreased profitsReduced costsImproved quality ofservices/productsDevelopment of new marketsIncreased market shareImproved internal communicationsImproved communication withcustomersImproved image of organisationImproved competitivenessIncreased productivityNew products/servicesOthers:
72
Question 6: Design creates a competitive advantage because
Do not agree at all -----------------------totally agree1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Design allows to sell at a higherpriceDesign changes the relationshipswith suppliersDesign Accelerates the launch ofnew productsDesign improves co-ordinationbetween marketing & productionDesign creates a new marketDesign is a core competencyDesign develops customerorientation in the companyOthers:
73
Part two: Open questions about the initial stage of the new Corporate Identity process
Was there a corporate strategy?
What was the company’s overall goal?
What were the core values?
What was the reason for a new corporate identity?
Was there a clear Briefing?
Did clear judging criteria exist before the design process was started?
Were there initial measurements to compare the results after the design process?
And afterwards?
Do you think it is necessary to check on a regular basis?
Were you satisfied with the new outcome? Why?
Are you still satisfied?
Are there ideas for improvements?
74
Part 3: From business strategy to design strategy - the Design Scorecard perspective
The following paragraph gives you a short explanation about the Balanced Scorecard theory.During the face-to-face interview we will try to find proofing-points for the contribution ofdesign in your corporate identity process.
General explanation Balanced ScorecardBalanced Scorecards tell you the knowledge, skills, and systems that your employees willneed (their learning and growth) to innovate and build the right strategic capabilities andefficiencies (the internal processes) that deliver specific value to the market (the customers),which will eventually lead to higher shareholder value (the financials). A Strategy Map is avisual framework that embeds the different items on an organisation’s balanced scorecardinto a cause-and-effect chain, connecting desired outcomes with the drivers of those results.The Strategy Map enables an organisation to describe and illustrate, in clear and generallanguage, its objectives, initiatives and targets: the measures used to assess its performance(such as market share and customer surveys), and the linkages that are the foundation forstrategic direction.
‘The key to executing your strategy is to have people in your organisation understand it –including the crucial but perplexing processes by which intangible assets will be convertedinto tangible outcomes. Strategy maps can help chart this difficult terrain’ (Kaplan &Norton)
The Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map(by Robert S. Kaplan and David P.Norton, HBR Sept-Oct 2000)
Improve Shareholder Value
build theorganisation
increase valueto customers
improvecost structure
improveuse of assets
Revenue Growth Strategy Productivity Strategy
share price
revenue fromnew sources
customerprofitability
customer acquisition,retention, and satisfaction
operating costper unit produced
asset utilization
return on capital employed
FinancialPerspective
CustomerPerspective
InternalProcessPerspective
Learning andGrowthPerspective
Operational Excellence
price time
Customer Intimacy
service customerrelations
trustedbrand
smartshopper
quality selection
Product LeadershipGeneric Customer Value Proposition Strategies(Michael Treacy & Fred Wiersema, The disciplineof Market Leaders - 1995)
time
functionality
best inclass
build the organisationthrough innovations
increase customervalue through
customer processes
achieve operationalexcellence through
operations andlogistic processes
employee competencies technology corporate culture
become a goodcorporate citizen
through regulatory andenvironmental processes
general requirement
differentiator
measure of achievement
Print the attached file “BSC strategy map.pdf for a full page illustration…
75
Appendix D: Results of section 1 of the Questionnaire
76
77
8. References
– Aaker, D.A. & Joachimsthaler, E. (2000) Brand Leadership.
– BNO, KPMG (2001) Vormgeving Telt.
– Birkigt, K. & Stadler, M.M. (1986) Corporate Identity, Grundlagen, Funktionen,
Fallspielen.
– Borja de Mozota, B. (2002) Design and competitive edge: A model for design
management excellence in European SMEs. DMI Journal, Academic Review Vol. 2, 87-103.
– Buytendijk, F. & Brinkhuis-Slaghuis, J. (2002) Balanced Scorecard, van meten naar
weten. Kluwer,
– Coates, D. (2003) Watches Tell More than Time. Mcgraw-Hill, New York.
– Cormican, K. & O'Sullivan, D. (2000) Product Innovation Manager: A Decision Support Tool
For Design Engineers.
– Dodd, K. (2001) Research and Design Success. Design Management Journal, Vol. 12, No.
3, 58 - 62.
– Filson, A. & Lewis, A. (2000) Barriers between Design and Business Strategy. Design
Management Journal, 48-52.
– Gemser, G. & Leenders, M.A.A.M. (2001) How integrating industrial design in the product
development process impacts on company performance. The Journal of Product
Innovation Management, 18, 28 - 38.
– Hatch, M.J. & Schultz, M. (2001) Are the Strategic Stars Aligned for Your Corporate
Brand? Harvard Business Review, Reprint R0102K,
– Johnson, B. & Masten, D. (1998) Understand What Others Don’t. Design Management
Journal, Vol. 9, No.4, 17 - 22.
– KPMG (2000) Economische effecten van grafisch ontwerp.
– Kaplan, R.S. & Norton, D.P. (1992) The Balanced Scorecard - Measures That Drive
Performance. Harvard Business Review, January - February, 71-79.
– Kaplan, R.S. & Norton, D.P. (2000) Having Trouble With Your Strategy? Then Map It.
Harvard Business Review, Sept. - Oct., 167-176.
– Kootstra, G.L. (2003) Design Effectiviteit.
– Kristensen, T. & Sverdrup-Jensen, J. (1999) Testing Design with Customer Encounters.
Design Management Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2, 66 - 70.
– McPherson, M. (2001) Perspectives on Communicating the Value of Design. Design
Management Journal, Vol.12, No. 3, 80 -883.
– Noël, N.M. (2000) Establishing Strategic Objectives: Measurement and Testing in Product
Quality and Design. Design Management Journal, 11, No. 4, 65 - 70.
– Olson, E.M., Slater, S.F. & Cooper, R.D. (2000) Managing Design for Competitive
Advantage: A Process Approach. Design Management Journal, Vol. 11, No. 4, 10-17.
– Owen, C.L. (1991) Product Integrity by Design. Design Processes Newsletter, Vol.4,
No.1,7-11.
78
– PACEC National Survey of Firms 2002.
– Paul, J.J. (2000) Performance Metrics to Measure the Value of Design. Design
Management Journal, Vol. 11, No.4, 71-75.
– Platt, M.B., Hertenstein, J.N. & Brown, D.R. (2001) Valuing design: Enhancing corporate
performance through design effectiveness. Design Management Journal, Vol.12, No. 3,
10 - 19.
– Roy, R. (1994) Can the Benefits of Good Design Be quantified? Design Management
Journal, Vol. 5, No. 2, 9 - 17.
– Roy, R. & Riedel, J.C.K.H. (1997) The role of Design and Innovation in Competitive
Product Development. Paper for the second European Academy of Design Conference,
– Turner, R. & Topalian, A. (2002) Core Responsibilities of Design Leaders in Commercially
Demanding Environments.
– Veryzer, R.W. (2000) Design and consumer research. Design Management Journal, vol. 1,
Academic Review2000, 64 - 73.
– Veryzer, R.W. (1997) Measuring Consumer Perceptions in the Product Development
Process. Design Management Journal, 66 - 71.
– van Riel, C.B.M. (1996) Identiteit en Imago. 2nd edition,
– van Riel, C.B.M. & van de Ban, A. (2001) The addes value of corporate logo's - An
empirical study. European Journal of marketing, 35, 428 - 440.
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