Or are they distinct? People often think about design professionals as left-brained creatives and business administrators as right-brained logical thinkers. But those at the forefront of change have known for a long time that this simply isn’t the case. Way back in 1973, the president of IBM, Thomas J. Watson, summed it up quite well, saying: “Good design is good business.”
Every day, he is being proved more right.
If you’re reading this, you’re likely aware that design and business are a match made in heaven. You probably already know you have what it takes to succeed as a business-design professional, able to drive change in innovative, highly creative ways. But you may not be sure exactly what shape this could take. What roles are out there for people like you? Well, we have some suggestions.
Innovation manager
Innovation is the driving force of progress—the engine of change. But an engine is useless unless it’s part of a larger vehicle.
As an innovation manager, you will oversee the entire innovation process for your company, making sure new products and approaches are effectively leveraged. From turning research into business opportunities to allocating resources and implementing innovative solutions to build products, this role requires a combination of human-focused, technology and business skills to transform innovative ideas into reality.
Strategy and innovation consultant
This position is similar to an innovation consultant—at least it requires a similar skill set. The difference is you take full advantage of your in-depth knowledge to advise various companies on how to seize innovation opportunities and drive business growth.
As a strategy and innovation consultant, you will help devise multilayered business strategies tackling issues ranging from product design and user experience to digital strategy and company culture. It’s a demanding, fast-paced job where no two days are the same and you have the satisfaction of helping countless companies.
Creative officer
Design can take many forms. It can range from the world of architecture to product creation to experience, and everything in between. If something has a purpose, it’s probably been designed.
As a creative officer, you will work mostly with visual design to develop unique and distinctive design elements that contribute to a company’s brand image. You will ensure that design and function come together to present a product that successfully represents its creative brand. In this role, you will work directly with web developers, visual designers and executive teams to help your company create revenue.
Brand strategist
A large part of the business administration side of your studies will be focused on strategy. But in many ways, strategy is just another form of design. You are creating a path into the future, putting all the elements together in a particular way to maximize the chances of success.
Working alongside brand managers, marketing specialists and social media managers, brand strategists leverage market data and trends to enhance a company’s brand. In this role, creativity and business know-how naturally come together to enhance visibility and drive results.
User experience (UX) designer
As a designer, the way people interact with your product or service is just as important as its functionality. This is never more true than with user experience.
If you become a UX designer, you will be in charge of building efficient and memorable user experiences across online and offline platforms. This role perfectly combines the two disciplines as you have to constantly analyze customer perceptions—across websites, products or applications—and come up with creative solutions to any pain points.
Business (model) designer
Securing your market niche goes beyond finding a demand. To succeed in today’s competitive environment, you also need to know how to structure your business to take advantage of opportunities and ensure consistent revenue streams.
Achieving this is an art. And all art involves design. Coined by the Board of Innovation, this strategically important job involves supporting corporate innovation teams to find the best business model for a particular product or service. By designing new pricing strategies and challenging the status quo, you will become instrumental in helping your company drive growth.
Where do you want to go?
The Dual Degree in Business Administration and Design has the power to open many doors. While this list provides a fantastic starting point, it’s a mere drop in the ocean compared to the unlimited opportunities out there for ambitious professionals. With your combination of creativity and business acumen, you are sure to go far. The only question is: where do you want to go?