There have been numerous studies which link business success to design. Indeed, one can say that design constitutes a form of innovation. It is therefore hardly surprising that design management courses are now to be found among the offerings made by leading business schools. Nevertheless, one should note that many such courses have only recently been established.
ESADE, by contrast, has been active in this field for over twenty years, developing design management programmes, courses and seminars very closed related to innovation and marketing: the School imparts regular undergraduate and MBA courses on design and innovation management. Other work in this field includes:
- extensive research has also been carried out in the field, the results of which include: "Llibre Blanc del Disseny a Catalunya" [White Paper on Design in Catalonia] (pub.Generalitat de Catalunya, 1984); "Diseño y marketing de nuevos productos. La gestión del producto en la empresa industrial" [The Design and Marketing of New Products. The management of Manufactured Goods] (pub.PH.D.Thesis, UPC, 1989); "Disseny i artesania" [Design and Craftsmanship] (pub. CIDEM, 1999); "Diseño: rentabilidad social y rentabilidad económica" [Design: Social and Economic Benefits] (pub. Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, 2001); "Guia per gestionar la innovació. Desenvolupament de producte: la gestió del disseny" [Guideline for innovation management. Product development: design management] (pub. CIDEM, 2003); "El disseny: un valor necessari. Cinc casos d'estudi" [Design: a necessary value] (pub. BCD, 2003); "Disseny i innovació en packaging. Cinc casos d'estudi" [Design and innovation in packaging: Five case studies] (pub. BCD, 2004); "Orientación al diseño y orientación al mercado" [Design orientation and market orientation] (PhD dissertation UPC, 2007);...
- the direction of Ph.D. theses and capstone projects;
- the publication of books and articles;
- the participation in congresses; lectures;
- the involvement in related management bodies (ddi, FAD, BCD, Catalan Crafts Centre, CIDEM, etc.);
- co-operation agreements with CIDEM [Centre for Innovation and Business Development] to carry out applied research and also with OAMI [OHIM, the European Commission's Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market, Trade Marks and Designs];
- consultation work commissioned by ONUDI, BID,...
- contacts have also been forged with companies in the industry, other bodies, and Spanish and foreign universities active in the field of design management.
With this background, the ESADE Chair of Design Management was established on 2nd April 2003 and the professor Dr. Jordi Montaña was appointed as its director.
The aim of the Chair is to create a future in which good design improves the world of products, of communication and of the environment of organizations, a future in which design is managed correctly and in which all organizations, companies and managers see design as a tool of innovation and a key part of their strategy.
