What Is Design Management?

Design management describes how businesses incorporate design aspects to help achieve business objectives, create products and services, attract customers, and support marketing efforts. Design management is essential to businesses and operates in various ways depending on the industry and design discipline. It also offers multiple career opportunities, advancements, and a competitive salary. 

Continue reading to explore how businesses utilise design management to develop products, encourage organisational success, and more. You can also discover design manager roles and how you can begin your journey into this career.

What is design management?

Design management offers a way to apply planning and problem-solving to products, services, brands, and marketing to meet customer needs and business goals. It encompasses every design discipline, including graphic design, engineering, architecture, textiles, and fashion.

Design management typically operates on various levels. In larger organisations, this can involve an entire team. The typical responsibilities of a design manager include the following:

• Creating a design brief based on client or company needs

• Ensuring that designs meet necessary standards, requirements, and specifications

• Assisting in setting and managing design budgets

• Training and supporting the design management team

• Working across teams to meet business goals

• Managing designers and assigning responsibilities to meet their skill set

• Reviewing designs and requesting changes

Why does a business need design management?

Design management is essential because businesses can use design elements to stand out from their competition and distinguish themselves from their offering and branding. Its usefulness extends into almost every business aspect, from product development and launch to operations.

Businesses incorporating design management can link their products, business practices, and brands under a unified message connecting with the customer. Design management can help:

• Improve customer relationships and loyalty 

• Streamline internal processes 

• Increase sales whilst meeting budgets and timelines 

What are the main areas in design management?

Design is an umbrella term that covers many mediums, processes, and disciplines, including branding, engineering, and product design. Some popular areas include:

• Brand: A design manager in this area looks at a company’s message and determines how to project that through design. One example is how a business chooses fonts, colour schemes, and tone of voice for social media posts. 

• Business: Business design applies the design process to business functions. It typically means defining a problem, researching options, brainstorming solutions, building and testing prototypes, and adjusting accordingly to help improve efficiency at all levels. 

• Engineering: Engineering design management is similar to business design. However, it usually applies to technical areas like manufacturing or system design instead of the business.

• Products: Product design professionals manage processes for developing and launching products. Their work often emphasises building relationships between internal and external collaborators to achieve goals.

• Services: Service design management extends to the services customers need to use. It requires considering the relationships between all the people using a service and how the design meets the customer's needs. 

How to start a career in design management

To start a career in design management, you need a combination of foundational knowledge, skills, and experience. Typically, an undergraduate degree is a requirement to work as a design manager, but earning an HND might be enough to help you enter the field, as long as it is in a related discipline. At the master's degree level, you may earn a degree in design management, which some employers look for when hiring for this position. 

You may also find it helpful to have a firm grasp of business and design processes, which you may develop through business courses or work experience. Companies routinely specify the qualifications and experiences they want, so it’s essential to research what the industry you wish to enter expects from candidates. This information can help you plan your next steps.

Get higher education

The qualifications for a career in design management vary depending on where you plan to work. Some common areas in which to pursue your undergraduate degree are civil engineering, architecture, business, construction, or a creative field. You can even acquire a bachelor’s in design management. It gives you practical experience designing and creating pieces and understanding business practices and models. You may need a graduate degree for some design management jobs. 

Consider credentials

In addition to a degree, earning credentials may enhance your CV. A design manager’s job often includes acting as a project manager. Therefore, you might consider acquiring some helpful qualifications from the Association of Project Management (APM) to prove your knowledge. The APM Project Professional Qualification or the APM Major Project Leadership Specialist Certificate are two possibilities. 

Gain experience

Experience in design is essential for a career in design management. Many people in the design management field start their careers as designers in their desired industry. This may be construction, architecture, fashion, graphic design, or product design. Your experience helps you develop a strong understanding of the sector whilst providing practical knowledge.

An entry-level design role may help you build experience and knowledge of business processes, styles, and products. It's also a good opportunity to start your design portfolio and document your work, interests, and achievements. 

Build necessary skills

You can expect to use both technical and workplace skills in design management. Generally, a design management professional needs to demonstrate the following skills:

• Attention to detail

• Creativity

• Critical thinking

• Design skills in the appropriate medium

• Leadership

• Listening

• Problem-solving

• Project management

• Teamwork and collaboration

Career progression: How to become a design manager 

To become a design manager, you may start in an entry-level position in your field. This is the point in your career where you further develop your skills and industry knowledge. For example, when working in the construction industry, you might begin your career as a trainee or a technician. 

After gaining a few years of experience, the company may advance you to the building information modelling (BIM) coordinator or mid-level designer position. From this role, you might transition into a design manager position, which is considered a more senior-level job. If you hope to advance even further in your career, consider seeking chartered status through the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). Gaining this status may assist you in reaching a project director position.

Salary 

Design management positions typically fall into three corporate hierarchy levels: operational, tactical, and strategic. According to Glassdoor UK’s September 2024 data, the median salary for a design manager is £52,822 per year [1]. However, you'll find a variety of jobs available within these levels, with median salaries ranging from nearly £27,000 to £94,000 per year.  

*All median annual salary data is sourced from Glassdoor as of September 2024 and does not include additional pay, such as commission and benefits.

Operational level

Operational design management professionals are responsible for the day-to-day design process. They typically design and lead a team of designers to meet business outcomes that higher-level leaders usually establish. Some common operational-level design management positions and average salaries include:

• Team leader: £27,474 per year

• Senior designer: £41,843 per year 

• Corporate designer: £33,289 per year

Tactical level

You’re typically responsible for structuring design projects to achieve business objectives at this level. A tactical design management professional manages the design processes and all resources. It’s about creating structure and ensuring high-level systems are in place to support design. Positions and average annual salaries include:

• Design director: £72,020 per year  

• Brand design manager: £46,865 per year 

• Design and innovation manager: £43,068 per year 

Strategic level

This is the highest level of direction in the company’s design. At this level, a strategic design manager ensures that designs meet corporate strategies. You may develop product strategies and branding to support and strengthen the company’s vision. Positions and average annual salaries include:

• Chief design officer: £94,116 per year 

• Vice president of innovation management: £38,911 per year 

• Strategic design manager: £52,702 per year 

Continue learning about design management on Coursera

If you enjoy innovation, design practice, problem-solving, and leadership, the field of design management might be a great fit for you. 

Are you interested in getting started in your design management career? You could benefit from building your knowledge and skills with a Specialisation on Coursera. For example, the Product Ideation, Design, and Management Specialisationdelivered by the University of Maryland, offers an excellent opportunity to explore topics like developing innovative ideas, product management skills, establishing product-market fit, and more.