We start with a clean sheet of paper and a pencil. 

That’s where all designers begin. 

For centuries, creatives across many different disciplines have always been a piece of paper and a pencil that visualised the idea – a good enough state that can represent an ambition. 

From ambition, we move to process, tools, time and resources, and that’s where it gets a little complicated. Design (or any creative venture) was always under the demand of a budget, time, or immediate need to solve a specific problem. That is why design was always under someone else's direction. 

Business creates the plan, roadmap, delivery schedule, and so on – design does not unless the proposition is complex enough to track all of these things together under one roof. Even then, the design was not the one that decided under which conditions these specifics would be actioned and delivered.    

There is so much ambiguity, significant (static) pine charts, slides and graphs explaining the process (copied from early 20th-century manufacturing lines), workflows or delivery methods that surpassed its creators. 

But when it comes to practical execution in a specific environment, one method does not allow integration of the other. Not to mention that mental models of the majority of our processes are categorically different and look at the problem from entirely different perspectives. This creates tension and confusion within the team and all surrounding contributors. 

Our ambition for the magazine is to question and stress-test these methods in practice while providing alternative options, suggestions, and case studies that represent a unique point of view on integrating design function. 

Through practical examples, we help individuals and teams integrate the DaS™ method by connecting the dots and ensuring all participants get what they need throughout the flexible and transparent product design delivery[00].

Let’s look at the history of Design at Scale™ from the perspective of individual designers, design teams or a design function or department within a big organisation. Then we’ll be able to see the impact of Design at Scale on how individuals transform businesses through design.