The Imperative for a ‘Think Different’ Strategy for India in Designing & Implementing Strategy

In a world that is getting more dynamic by the day, with the challenge of businesses emerging to be far more complex than ever and in an environment that is changing rapidly in terms of industries never experiencing such transformation earlier, increasingly being looked for in an Indian context not just engineers and/or managers but problem-solvers and professionals who comprehend an environment in terms of an overall perspective or design experts. The concept of strategic designing does not appear to remain limited by ornament and visual terms but diversified streams. Strategic designing relates essentially to solutions for large-scale and complicated problems.

The emphasis on design is developing internationally from an auxiliary service to the forerunner of innovation in businesses. Various organizations across industries are looking for design leaders who understand complexity and can scale their solutions. The requirement is also increasing in various industries like energy, fins-tech, health care, and mobility for professionals who understand the interface of user needs, technology, and businesses. The role of strategic designers is gradually becoming an interface in a team for innovation from idea to launch service or product.

The Indian case, too, will see opportunities for strategic design competencies cropping up fast and in a big way. Currently, for instance, organizations are concentrating more on recruiting design talent that has familiarity with business metrics, digital ecosystems, and strategic value addition. Designers aren't considered simply as visualization specialists but as strategic innovation partners with the ability to navigate complex paths while building business outcomes.

Due to this increasing demand, the education area in design also has to face a transformation in this country. Although design schools have already been changing their learning pattern, it is still an area which requires some change in this context. These are the courses which need an introduction in design education in order to teach their students the skills which would be applied in strategic designing.

• Entrepreneurship: Students should be guided not just to design products for corporations, but also in becoming entrepreneurs where they could use these products to solve current problems.
• Team Work-Interdisciplinary: The future design leaders are supposed to work together with the engineers, business analysts, psychologists, and urban planners.
• Industry Integration: Practical involvement with industry projects and industry collaboration may turn out to be quite effective in reducing the gap between education and industry.

There are already some such institutions like the Stanford d.school in the US, Aalto University in Finland, and the Royal College of Art in the UK where strategic design as a field is already incorporated into the academic system offered by these institutions. The Indian institutions have to benchmark against these models of excellence and upgrade their standards to international levels.

Preparing for the Future There The future belongs to those who can adapt, co-operate, and innovate. In the following, strategic design education may enable students to Systems Think: Think about the larger economic, cultural, and environmental implications of decisions related to design. Innovate Responsibly discusses how innovation must target not only making profits but also meeting social responsibilities, being environmentally sustainable, being ethical, and being consistent with the Integration of Technology: This will help to incorporate technology, Artificial Intelligence, as well as analytics so as to enhance efficiencies but above all to make a difference in consumer experience. This mostly lies in the realm of 'how', rather than in the realm of 'what'. This shall be all about innovation rather than the aesthetics of design. This innovative design may well be the next big leap for the country, as it has very cutting-edge design innovation in the realm of the aesthetic.