What has design ever done for us?

I'm in the middle of some new business development at the moment - both for myself and for one of my clients. It's always hard to try to get an introduction and gain 30mins to talk through where one can help the business. No matter how one tries, it always comes across as selling.

Demonstrating experience, enthusiasm and ethics are easy - it's relevance and ROI that are more tricky! One of the greatest barriers in trying to open doors to new clients is the actual word design itself.

I graduated in the middle 80's when the word had been adopted to describe a particular attitude and approach - aligned closely with 'Yuppies' in the press and media. The word 'designer' came to be both descriptive and indicative of a period when perceived style, high price and gimmicky expressions of technology seemed to be all the benefits it offered.

With the advent of the home makeover shows on TV in the early 21st century, another version of the power of design seeped into consumers heads. Whilst arguably being entertaining and potentially liberating - and also making stars of LL-B and others - for the professional design community, it cemented an unhelpful image and scope of design based activities for consumers and clients.

So, my challenge now is how to describe the benefits that design and design thinking can bring to business and their customers without using the word design? Over many drafts (and a few draughts) in the past few weeks, I think I have it!

I think the core of it is imbuing emotion and sense appeal into products, services and communications that trigger planned or scoped positive emotional responses from users - and what do you know? Steve Jobs is there already....'"Design is the fundamental soul of human-made creation........' He could go far.

Perhaps I should dig out my black polo neck again for any potential job interviews.