THE AUSTRIAN DESIGN LADDER

The study on the Austrian design ladder was commissioned by departure to gather data on the awareness of Austrian companies as to the importance of design. It also illustrates the demand market for design in Austria and provides information on the economic and strategic relevance of design in a business. For the present study, which is based on the Swedish design ladder model, a wide range of design concepts was defined, covering shape design, product and industrial design as well as service design. The term “design” represents the entire process which gives products and services a certain appearance and function.

This study is the first to apply the design ladder model to Austria. Special care was taken to ensure the comparability of the Austrian design ladder data with international results. Because of the large number of SMEs in Austria, all sizes of enterprises were included and not just those with 20 or more employees. The different population was taken into account in the direct comparison with Sweden. The present study also pays attention to the specific situation in Vienna. Measures are suggested to increase awareness of and demand for design, which will in turn serve to improve the competitiveness of Vienna as a business location.

The methodological approach of the study is based on surveys conducted in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Great Britain. Austria-specific questions (e.g. to what degree do companies perceive design as an economic factor for themselves) concentrate on four subject areas:

• Significance and strategic importance of design within the company 
• Perception of design as an economic factor * Structure and size of the design team in Austrian companies
• Areas of application of design in companies

For the study, a total of 1,000 companies from all over Austria were surveyed in March 2006. 400 of these companies were located in Vienna. The persons interviewed were decision-makers in the companies who were in a position to give relevant information on the subject of design. As Austria’s business landscape is dominated by SMEs – 98% of all companies have fewer than 50 employees – we found it necessary to allocate the sample disproportionately according to company size (number of employees). This ensures valid conclusions not just for small, but also for larger businesses.

DESIGN LADDER FOR AUSTRIA AND VIENNA

The design ladder is a model which structures the demand market for design services, measures the awareness of the importance of design in companies and serves as a strategic tool for departure to develop suitable measures for Vienna as a business location. 50% of all companies in the whole of Austria apply design either unawarely or for styling purposes only. 27% of the companies consciously involve design in the process of product development and 16% regard design as the basis of their strategies. A comparison with Sweden showed that companies with more than 20 employees are structurally different. In Austria, the incidence of design used for styling purposes is 26%, which is more than twice the figure of Sweden. Austria also needs to catch up in the use of design both as a process and as a strategy.

Step 1: Non-design
Design is not an issue in these companies. It is not considered a task. Product development is performed by employees who have no design-specific training. The perspective of end users is of no or little importance.

Step 2: Design as styling
Design is equivalent to shaping and styling. Design is considered the final aesthetic enhancement of a product. In some cases this task is performed by designers but mostly the people involved in this step have no design-specific training.

Step 3: Design as process
Design is a process which accompanies product development from a very early stage onwards. The design solutions are matched with the tasks and are focused on the needs of the product end users. In this multi-disciplinary approach the designers cooperate with process technicians, materials technicians and marketing and organization specialists.

Step 4: Design as strategy
The designers cooperate with the management to take on an innovative approach for all or the major sectors that form the basis of the business. The design process is not just limited to products but combines the vision of the company with its future role in the value creation chain.