OP Financial Group (OP) has worked long and consistently on building a design maturity that includes an internal design team and customer-centric design culture. Eventually it became necessary to separate strategic design from operational design so that design needs would be met at all levels. OP has entered the unchartered territory of strategic design, the most advanced level of design according to 'Danish Design Ladder'. We will examine the team's competence structure to illustrate what skills and experiences were identified as necessary to work successfully. We will show through case studies how changing the company culture builds the internal understanding of design's value and how this in turn grows the demand to involve designers at the strategic level.

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Tervehdys! Hi there!
#SDNGC18 - Unchartered Territory of Strategic Design by @tuomanni and @ullajones

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Uncharted Territory
of Strategic Design
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Highlights
Our journey to design as a strategy
Design maturity framework
How to know you have arrived
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Design maturity model by Danish Design Center
STEP 2: Design as form-giving
Design is viewed exclusively as the final form-giving stage
STEP 1: Non-design
Design is an invisible part of product development
STEP 3: Design as process
Design is not a result but an approach
STEP 4: Design as strategy
Design is in relation to the company’s business vision
and future role in the value chain

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STEP 1: Non-design
Design doing: Doesn’t exist
Design people: There are no formal design roles
Design culture: How to innovate is the hot topic
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 2

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STEP 1: Non-Design
Design is not customer
driven

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STEP 2: Design as form-giving
Design doing: Mobile app & Pivo mobile wallet startup
Design people: Development Center in Oulu with first designers
Design culture: Service Design in isolated pockets. Projects win
awards.
STEP 1
STEP 3
STEP 4

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STEP 2: Design As Form Giving
Designers working at the end of the
process

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STEP 1
STEP 3: Design as process
Design doing: Training internal customers to ‘buy’ design. All
projects are good projects
Design people: Omni-channel designers, Business Designers
Design culture: Systematic metrics. Part of R&D process Impact?
STEP 4
STEP 2

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STEP 3: Design as Process
All projects are good projects

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STEP 4: Design as strategy
Design doing: Changing focus to business
management
Design people: Design is not only for designers
Design culture: Thought leadership, Design DNA,
Design training
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3

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STEP 4: Design As Strategy
Changing focus to business
management

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STEP 4: Design as Strategy
Design is not only for
designers

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STEP 4: Design As Strategy
Thought leadership

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Design at OPLadderStep&DesignResources
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
1996 2011 2015 2017

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WHY INVEST IN DESIGN?
DATA DRIVEN DESIGNDESIGN IS A MINDSET
HUMAN + MACHINE
OP on YOUTUBE

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Take-aways: Step 4
Step is a winding
road
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1. Metrics: from external to cultural
2. Designer becomes a coach
3. Design brings business value
4. Design is only done collaborately
5. Hunt for unicorns ends here!
#SDNGC18 - Unchartered Territory of Strategic Design by @tuomanni and @ullajones

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Step 5: Design as a Culture
• It is time to write the next steps?
• Don’t get stuck on methods on ladder 3
• Celebrate craftmanship and design ethos
• Lifecentric design
• Inquiry as a general approach
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#SDNGC18 - Unchartered Territory of Strategic Design by @tuomanni and @ullajones

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Thank you!
Kiitos!
Ulla Jones
Design Culture Lead
twitter @ullajones
LinkedIn: Ulla Jones
+358 50 551 6630
ulla.jones@op.fi
Tuomas Manninen
Head of Design & CX
twitter @tuomanni
LinkedIn: Tuomas Manninen
+358 40 541 7498
tuomas.manninen@op.fi