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Business Degrees in Design – Online and Traditional

Learn about business design and read about business degrees in design, online and traditional.


business design online students

Though still a young business concept, business design is, on the surface, about employing creative business solutions. In his article, "The Business of Design," Fast Company writer Bill Breen explains what business designers do: "They take on a mystery, some abstract challenge, and they try to create a solution."

Breen again, in his 2004 paper "Masters of Design," says that design's power "runs far deeper than aesthetics." If you are "mapping out a sales strategy, or streamlining a manufacturing operation, or crafting a new system for innovating, you are engaged in the practice of design."

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Innovation and Emotion

So, why is this new? Isn't this what business executives and strategists have been doing for decades? Not really. Most companies don't give a second thought to expending financial and operational energy on all aspects of their business, but these are quite different than the elements of business design, which focuses on that which does not yet exist. This metaphysically-inclined school of thinking is a proponent of unexplored territory in order to help companies deal with business and customer issues on a more global scale. In fact, innovation is the word that is most used when it comes to explaining business design. Innovative business design taps into the emotions of the customer, and business design-driven products such as Apple's iPod or the Mini Cooper automobile, are proof that appealing to the customer's passion is a smart—and profitable—venture.

BusinessDictionary.com defines business design as the "interrelationship between a company's major processes and the main resources required for it to achieve its objectives and provide value to its customers." More organically, business design meshes creation and innovation with traditional business tenets and concepts. As the fusion of these two distinct schools of thought drives more of the world's business, business schools have begun to reassess what, and how, they teach, shifting from solely B-school to D-school concepts. Some schools, such as Stanford University, have opened their own school of design that teaches design thinking and theory to business students. Others are teaming up with design institutes and expanding their curriculum to include courses that unite business people with non-business people

find business degree design online programs

What Business Degrees In Design—Online and Traditional—Are There?

Business in design degrees are still an evolving specialty, and nearly all are dual-degree bachelor's or post graduate degrees that offer a fusion of the two schools of thought. Courses in such topics as Integrated Product Development, Design as a Strategic Business Issue or Managing the New Product Development Process are part of some MBA program curricula. Schools such as Georgetown, Harvard Business School and Northwestern University are beefing up their business school syllabus with design classes, and Stanford even offers a class called "Creating Infectious Action," which invites graduate students from widely-different programs to collaborate on projects that urge creative exploration within a business-based objective.

Online certificate programs are offered in business design, generally for professionals employed in business fields such as marketing, advertising, e-business and IT. One fast-growing specialty is the sustainable business degree in design online, where students learn to conduct business practices in a social, economic and environmentally-conscious fashion.


Changing the Way Business Is Conducted

No matter what area of business you choose, design as a business concept will most likely be part of your study program. The future of business is rapidly changing to embrace new challenges with creative—instead of static—solutions, and earning a business degree in design, online or traditionally, will not only open doors to a new frontier, but will gratify the need for responsible business practices that help change and shape the world economy.

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find business degree design online programs