The integration of design into the cultural and strategic fabric of an organization, especially into the development process, is a challenge faced by many corporations. For design to become a significant and sustainable contributor to driving value it must become systemic, embedded in culture and influencing strategy, before it can improve capabilities.
The Design Academy Inc., in partnership with Equip Design Integration consultants, is applying a new design capability audit model to assist companies in leveraging design as a key value driver. The audit is appropriate for small to medium sized entrepreneurial businesses as well as for larger corporations. The team has recently completed an audit for a large U.S. corporation.

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The Audit model has been developed with the aim of leveraging design in product, as well as in market development. It synthesizes and analyzes the diverse, but highly inter-dependant disciplines of industrial design, user interface design, brand and communication design, engineering design, design process management and design strategy development. It sets out to identify capability gaps and opportunities for design leverage.
The audit has been found to also provide a valuable secondary benefit of raising the design consciousness and strategic awareness among non-design professionals in senior management who participated in the audit process. In many cases it has had a profound effect on the CEO and the Board and created a catalyst for rethinking strategic vision.