Design Strategy

Framing and defining innovation opportunities that are grounded in the realities of today and the possibilities of tomorrow.

Innovation is a leap of faith. Our design strategy services shows you where to step.

Navigating the future can be daunting (and so can navigating the present).

With a design process at the center, we use proven tools and methods to frame innovation opportunities, architect a plan to get there, and guide clients through the rollercoaster of innovation.

Every project is custom-designed to match your challenges and needs.

Product design strategy
Business strategy
Strategic foresight
Technology strategy

What's the future of ____?

And what plans do we need to position ourselves in front?

Through rigorous analysis and synthesis, we uncover the patterns, directions, and insights that inspire concept development and inform a viable design strategy at any level of the business model.

Actionable plans that balance the outward and inward view

The voice of the customer is critical, but innovation fails without the voice of business and context from emerging trends.

We look both outside and inside your organization to craft innovation plans that aren’t just desirable, but feasible and viable, too.

Our Work

"What we accomplished in six months with Delve would have easily taken us 18 months to get through on our own."

— Leah Ujda, Director of Research & Design, Widen Enterprises

What our clients and users are saying

Featured Case Studies

More case studies

Fiskars: Product Roadmap

Delve built a multi-year roadmap of platforms and correlating new product concepts that would have resonance with both consumers and retailers.

Award
Winner

SafetyNet: Payment Security Insurance

"Delve helped deepen our knowledge about design thinking and prototyping the customer’s needs/preferences, which is paying high dividends in quickly building our customer base." Dan Kaiser, President, SafetyNet

Widen: Adjacent Opportunity Exploration

Widen was interested in identifying opportunities that were feasible within 3-5 years based on the innovation ambition of its leadership team.

Sometimes a breakthrough idea is the easy part of innovation. Navigating the organization and turning that idea into reality is often the hardest part. That's why you need design strategy.

— Stefanie Norvaisas

Our Recent Thinking

More insights

Be More Innovative

How STEEPLE Analysis Informs Design Strategy

STEEPLE analysis is a tool for scanning your external environment. It helps teams understand phenomena and imagine new opportunities.

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Predict the Future

Speculative Design and a Cone of Possibilities

Speculative design requires people to suspend their disbelief and allow their imaginations to wander. Here's one tool to ground it in reality.

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Predict the Future

Future-Readiness Checklist: Are You Prepared to Lead in the Future of Your Industry?

Is your innovation incremental, strategic, or visionary? Use Delve's Future-Readiness Checklist to gauge your approach.

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Predict the Future

Cast a Vision: Four Steps to a Forward-Looking Technology Roadmap

In order to meet the needs of future users, companies must anticipate disruptive technologies and develop a path to innovation.

Be More Innovative

How to Make Way For Radical Innovation

Before starting on an innovation strategy, decide which type you're chasing: Incremental, disruptive, or radical innovation. Each requires a unique approach.

Predict the Future

How ‘Forecasting and Backcasting’ Enable Disruptive Innovation

Forecasting and backcasting provide a framework for disruptive innovation by establishing a solid structure to support big, strategic thinking.

How to Design Health Products of the Future

Want to lead in the future of your industry? Using Delve’s megatrend framework, we placed sociocultural trends in the context of industry and technological trends to envision consumer needs long-term.

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