“Design in the twenty-first century is about creating experiences that consumers cannot get elsewhere and satisfying needs they never knew they had. A design culture starts with the CEO, who must allow the organization to rethink its innovation process and perhaps even its business processes. It requires experimenting, making mistakes, revisiting decisions, testing and trying different ideas – without worrying about quantifying risk, cost overruns, and other basics in a numbers-oriented business. Greene introduces us to eight companies (Porsche; Nike; LEGO; OXO, design-centric kitchenware; REI, outdoor outfitter; energy-food company Clif Bar; Ace Hotels; and Virgin Atlantic) of different sizes, in different industries and locations, new and old, publicly traded and privately held to show that design is something in which any company can succeed. Greene provides valuable information and insight for companies in all businesses as he explains the importance of design thinking. He quotes Apple’s Steve Jobs in discussing the iPod, “It’s [design’s] not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
–Booklist
“In an era of globalization when traditional product advantages are commoditized in a heartbeat, design thinking provides one of the brightest hopes for creating sustainable competitive advantage, not by pasting it on but by building it in. Designs in this new era must be thoughtful, respectful, and deeply communal, and Jay Greene’s book shows us all by example how these things can come to be. Design is not just how it works-it is going to be how we work. Read this book to see your future.”
-Geoffrey Moore, author of Crossing the Chasm and Dealing with Darwin
“Everybody agrees that design is crucial, but just how a company builds functional, beautiful, desirable products has been a mystery. Now, Jay Greene has finally explained how it works. In a series of smart, revealing case studies, we learn not only how great design is done, but why it matters.”
-Steven Levy, author of Hackers, The Perfect Thing, and Searching for Google
“Design is a global creative discipline, a kind of industrial art. If only more companies could learn to open their doors to human creativity the way the ones in this book have, we could transform the world. Greene makes it clear how.”
-Alberto Alessi, president and director of marketing strategies and design management at Alessi s.p.a.
“Jay Greene gets to the heart of the matter. Design is not just about how things look, it is about how they work. Follow his fascinating journey through some of the world’s most significant design-led companies, and learn how they have made design central to their endeavors. Design Is How It Works offers ideas and inspiration to anyone seeking to build a business that makes a difference.”
-Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO and author of Change by Design
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