Was the invention of the wheel the work of an engineer or a designer? As a designer myself, I would say that it was the work of a designer. I will not try to demonstrate it here as the invention of the wheel is a bit too far back, but I’m ready to argue in the comments.
In the contemporary era, with the rise of the Internet, we have also witnessed the rise of the designer as an entrepreneur. Airbnb, Square, Pinterest, or Etsy, to name just a few, were all founded by designers. Even bigger companies, like Apple, have notoriously put the design process as a priority goal.
This said, why does good design foster innovation?
It makes new technology more attractive
It’s as simple as that. Innovation that doesn’t look attractive enough usually sits in labs. When people look at products, they imagine possessing it and using it, they don’t just theoretically think about the amazing new material used or the innovative algorithm. They just don’t. If you had these two cars in front of you, which one would you choose? The one that looks like it was designed for the Smurfs, or the Tesla?
Source: The REVAi/G-Wiz i electric car and Tesla Roadster Electric Car
Obviously, we all know that before Elon Musk’s innovation with Tesla, most electric cars looked like the one on the left.
It makes new technology easier to adopt
Apart from a few geeks that try every new gadget they can put their hands on, most consumers are afraid of change. Consequently, to get these people to use new technology, you need to make it very user-friendly, so that they can start using it quickly.
For that purpose, nothing beats design. Think of the iPhone, bringing touchscreen to the masses through a good device and interface design. Did you know that the first patent for a touchscreen was filed by Eric A. Johnson, an engineer for the Royal Radar Establishment in England?
If you look at the development of technology in Switzerland, my home country, you will notice that MedTech and FinTech are the most successful sectors. Within these, the most popular companies are pretty much always producing good design. In the case of MedTech companies, it is even shown that design can save your life.
In the world of finance, the most popular example of a successful FinTech company is not Swiss, but it does have an amazing design that contributed to the success of the service. Revolut makes the process of opening an account and getting a credit card very fast, mostly because of a flawless user interface.
Conclusion
What should we remember of all this? In short; if you want to build a successful startup, you better hire great designers.
