Hans Kaspar Hugentobler

Design Planning Education and the

adaptive economy: towards the next
generation of a methodological
framework
Abstract
Recent developments in industry suggest that design is getting new attention in
corporations previously not known for a strategic attitude towards design in the
business context. At the same time, a handful of educational institutions are
introducing new educational programs with a focus on the relationship between
business and design on a strategic level. Business management programs are
beginning to talk about design as a competence for designing business. Today
businesses have become powerful institutions on the planet. Increasingly
metaphors for discussing business refer to the biological lexicon due to a shift
from the industrial to the next economic generation: the adaptive economy. The
term innovation is getting a new emphasis in publications, business literature and
design promotion. In this context of an increasing convergence of design and
business under the label of innovation and within organizational structures
transformed by the adaptive economy, implications for the next generation of
Design Planning Education are being explored.
Keywords
Adaptive economy, business management, cross-disciplinary teams, design
education, design planning, innovation, problem-solving, strategy
Overview
1. Motivations and Purpose
2. Design Education
3. Design/Business Trends
4. The Adaptive Economy
5. Innovation
6. Corporate Context
7. Implications
8. Looking ahead
9. References