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Design not only critically enables innovation, lending businesses a competitive advantage and significantly differentiating them within the marketplace, but also provides a means of addressing environmental and social sustainability challenges. Therefore, design academics and practitioners have become increasingly interested in design's impact on social enterprises, which pursue both economic and social value creation. However, thus far, design has performed a limited role in social enterprises, mostly contributing at the operational level to improving processes and activities rather than functioning at the system level to facilitate economic prosperity and competitiveness in service of long-term sustainability. This research proposed a strategic framework can cultivate design-innovation ecosystems (DInEs), enabling social enterprises to activate and strengthen their approach to design. This process began with exploring the current role of design within social enterprises and observing existing design support practices (strategies, funding and programmes) targeted at social enterprises. The insights gleaned informed the recommendations for developing DInEs for social enterprises, which, in the context of the framework, guides stakeholders regarding various design utilisations (strategies, funding and programmes) that incorporate different aspects of support (foundations, catalysts and actions), enabling different stakeholders (e.g. social enterprise support bodies, design support bodies, universities and governments) to understand of the roles and impacts of design on social enterprise growth at both the systemic and operational level. The study contributes to theoretical and practical understandings of the research object by introducing structural units and methods for cultivating an environment within which design can be utilised strategically and systemically to enhance the long-term sustainability of social enterprises. These findings identify critical components of DInEs, enabling design academics to further refine DInE theories and provide stakeholders with a roadmap for fostering productive DInEs. These outcomes can benefit policymakers, social enterprise and design support practitioners that want to strategically engage design to support social enterprises.

Walking is the most regular activity for older people to keep healthy and is a popular means of transport for seniors doing their daily errands. Pedestrian pavements play an important role regarding the quality of walking among older people, whereas poorly designed or badly maintained pavements may pose challenges to walking. An empirical study was conducted in London with 41 senior residents aged 60 and over. It aimed to identify hazardous factors of the pavement, explore the behavioural and physical impact of pavement hazards on older people and gather the elders' requirements for improving the pavement. A mix of qualitative methods and quantitative methods collaborating interviews, observations, cultural probe, and questionnaires were used to collect data. Qualitative analysis encompassing transcription, coding, and categorising and statistical analysis, assisted by the use of software, were applied to examine the data. The study outcomes show that hazardous pavement factors were made up of poor pavement conditions and pavement obstructions categorising broken conditions, uneven surfaces, narrow pavements, slippery obstacles, parked vehicles, overgrown plants, and so on. These factors could increase the risk of falling to the participants, cause physical burdens to the participants and limit their walking and view. The participants had to adapt their walking behaviour or gait patterns to avoid the hazardous factors. For example, they often adopted cautious steps, walked slowly, stepped aside, gave way to other people, adjusted their pace, or stopped walking to mitigate the walking risk caused by pavement hazards. Regarding minimising those accident-prone conditions and creating a safe and comfortable walking environment for older pedestrians, the participants came up with suggestions for improving the pavement. Wide and flat pavements, clean paved surfaces free from obstacles, and a pedestrianised pavement with well-maintained and uniformly designed street amenities were found to be mostly requested by the participants. The empirical outcomes have been translated into a map-based toolkit to enable researchers, namely local councillors, urban planners, neighbourhood designers, and road engineers, to have a better understanding of the relationship between pavements and older adults and to further explore the study topic through a participatory study with older adults as the participants. In the participatory study, users can use the tool to identify hazardous factors of pavements and their impact on walking in the study participants and to propose recommendation to enhance the walking environment based on a printed map of a local pavement environment. As to the outputs of the study, plenty of analysable data which are systematically categorised by the tool will be provided to researchers. Then, researchers can prioritise problems with the pavement, analyse the significant walking behaviour associated with the pavement hazards and make improvements in the pavement. The toolkit has been evaluated by target users in interviews and workshops with questionnaires applied to collect feedback. According to the user feedback, the tool encouraged elderly participants to actively share their views and to generate ideas in a group activity. Also, the tool enabled researchers to conduct an efficient group study, to develop their work with new knowledge and to create an assessment report and design guidance for the age-friendly pavement environment.

Since the establishment of the wireless sector, design has been playing a wide range of roles. Specialized literature has been extensively reporting the use of this discipline associated with NPD, focusing on hardware and software development in the mobile communications. On the other hand, evidences of its use to support forecasting are scarce and generic. Finally, formal publications addressing future forecasting from a design perspective in the context of mobile communications have never been reported, leading to a knowledge gap that needs to be addressed. This research investigates the strategic roles, applications and contributions of design and designers for future forecasting in the wireless telecom sector. As a comprehensive discipline, it is used to examine and identify a number of factors that might influence/impact in the development of visionary solutions supporting the design team of traditional handset manufacturers to make better decisions in order to ‘shape’ the future in the wireless industry. Considering these ideas, the aim of this research is to create a ‘design-led future forecasting model for mobile communications’ to assist and support traditional manufacturers’ design team. This PhD study relies on a qualitative methodology comprising a number of data collection and analysis tools (e.g. literature review, case studies analysis, in-depth experts’ interviews, workshops and Grounded Theory). To create the intended framework, extensive secondary and primary data; theoretical and practical inputs were brought together, analysed and combined. The proposed model was evaluated through two rounds of experts’ interviews complemented by two workshops with potential users (e.g. design students) to check and explore its practicalities when applied to design for the future. Finally, this study bridges future forecasting and the wireless telecom through the use of design to address the literature gap. The richness of the developed model provides practical assistance to traditional manufacturer’s design team informing about a broad spectrum of aspects that should be considered when designing for the future in the mobile telecom industry, supporting strategic decision making in different stages of the future-led design process.

This dissertation evaluates and elevates the perception of the strategic use of design for airlines, especially a Silent Design airline like Saudia Airlines. Saudia Airlines is an international airline located in the Gulf region in the Middle East. In comparison to some other Gulf state airlines, Saudia Airlines benefits from its large geographical coverage, and is considered to be one of the richest and longest established carriers in the industry. However, the rapid growth during the past few years of other Gulf carriers (e.g. Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways) highlights the necessity for improvements to be made by Saudia Airlines so that it can sustain its position in the global market. These three mega Gulf airlines have shown major developments in their strategic use of design in delivering innovative and differentiated design touch points in their customer journeys. The purpose of this research is to ‘create a design management conceptual framework (DMCF) to assist Saudia Airlines in evaluating and elevating the perception of the strategic value of design.’ To date, airlines adopting a Silent Design approach have rarely been addressed in empirical studies. To achieve this, secondary research investigated several topics, mainly the perception of the strategic use of design, the operational use of design and how design was managed based on design management evolution. Furthermore, design outcomes are presented after implementing the strategic use of design, to deliver innovative and differentiated results. Moreover, the case studies of several companies are presented that use design at a strategic level, especially in the airline industry. The primary research investigated key stakeholders’ views (customers, design experts and Saudia Airlines’ employees and design consultants). The findings from these investigations, and emergent key themes and sub-themes created the prototypes that led to the formulation of the DMCF, which is the main contribution of this study. The DMCF was developed and tested with experts in the field. The proposed framework is considered a significant starting point for airlines that want to evaluate and elevate their perception of the strategic use of design. The DMCF addresses the significant results of this study and key points are made, as follows: 1) Four key dimensions are identified: a) organisational mind-set, b) structure and design capabilities, c) design process and communication, and d) customer experience, which could evaluate and elevate the strategic use of design. 2) The Silent Design culture is identified as pertaining to Saudia Airlines in this study. This culture emphasises the moderate ambition of the strategic use of design by using it at an operational level. It also includes an ill-defined structure for managing design and a lack of design capabilities. In addition, it has an unclear design process and ad hoc cross-departmental collaboration. The overall result is that the Silent Design organisations’ customer experiences are characterised by undifferentiated products and services. 3) The Strategic Design culture is identified and addresses the airlines that make good use of design. This culture emphasises the strong ambition of the strategic use of design by using it at a strategic level. It also includes a systematic and clear structure for managing design. It has a clear design process and clear cross-departmental collaboration. The overall result is that Strategic Design organisations maintain their position as innovators and differentiators within the airline industry. 4) Some recommendations are made that target how to bridge the gap between these two cultures, including appointing a design leader within a Silent Design culture airline. This would elevate the airlines’ perceptions of the strategic use of design.

In recent years, the importance of the Muslim market has increased; it is now estimated to consist of 1.8 billion people, and is widely viewed as the next central global opportunity. However, it remains ineffectively exploited, which might be because of designers' lack of understanding of Muslim consumers' culture and needs. In addition, the absence of any guidance to help designers understand the Islamic philosophy, values and hidden meanings is considered the main issue behind many commercial brands' misinterpretation or misuse of Islamic art. As a result, this research investigated the current use of Islamic art in commercial brands and developed a tool to inspire and assist designers in applying Islamic art appropriately, as the misuse of Islamic art can significantly spoil brands' reputations. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including case studies, focus group, user surveys, expert interviews and a creative workshop. The research results indicate that appropriate applications of Islamic art and cultural symbols can enhance brand communication, allowing it to be more pleasurable and memorable. In addition, 32 guideline cards were proposed and evaluated through a focus group. According to the evaluation outcome, the cards provide successful results when compared to existing Islamic art applications relating to products and brands. The cards tool is an effort to assist designers in unleashing hidden values in Islamic art and to guide them to its proper use in branding. The proposed guideline cards tool provides the basis for assisting designers and design teams in concept development and inspiration during the design process. It offers several benefits. First, it provides information on Islamic art, which includes Islamic art philosophy, hidden meanings and fundamental visual elements, with the aim to broaden the designer's/design teams' understanding. It also enhances designers' creativity and confidence to experiment with uncommon Islamic art elements in commercial brands and products, with the aim to help produce more recognised Islamic art and cultural designs. Finally, it provides guidance in terms of what is appropriate and inappropriate in Islamic art and culture, thus preventing any misinterpretation or misuse.

Luxury fashion brands face a new challenge as to how to sustain brand growth while maintaining the exclusivity of brands due to the democratisation of the luxury phenomenon which is mainly driven by the emergence of ‘new luxury’ and changes of consumption style ‘trading up’. Luxury consumers are becoming disillusioned with the vulgarisation of luxury goods and prefer exclusive luxurious experiences. In order to keep pace with the changes in luxury consumer needs and promote an image with creative and luxurious connotations, luxury brands increasingly associate with contemporary visual art through diverse kinds of channels. Among the channels, great attention has been given to contemporary visual art exhibitions within a flagship store due to its benefits: geographical location, cutting investment cost and offering direct art experience to consumers. However, there is no theoretical research investigating the main points to be considered in applying contemporary visual art exhibitions to flagship stores of luxury fashion brands. Moreover, there is a need for a systematic approach in applying contemporary visual art exhibitions to flagship stores of luxury fashion brands as relying mainly on a designer’s intuition might pose a problem: delivering different messages from those intended. Through the research, four main propositions were identified which need to be considered when luxury fashion brands apply contemporary visual art exhibitions to their flagship stores: 1) brand communication with consumers, 2) the fit between brand identity and that of an artist, 3) consumers’ value/benefits in the way that enhance consumers’ aesthetic experience of art and 4) artists’ value/benefits. Models including a conceptual model and a design tool kit were developed and tested with experts in this field. The proposed models are decision supporting tools which provide a comprehensive overview regarding the main points to be considered as well as support finding a high fit artist to brand identity. They offer advantages as follows: 1) the conceptual framework improves understanding of the needs/values of the three main stake holders such as luxury fashion brands, consumers and artists for this practice and provides an insight into how to address them in applying contemporary visual art exhibitions to flagship stores of luxury fashion brands 2) the tool kit assists in making a decision when selecting artists or artworks and offers benefits to all the stake holders: 1) luxury brand value by managing their touch points effectively that ultimately lead to enhancing brand communication, 2) consumer value by preventing confusion caused by disharmonious messages from all the touch points within flagship stores, and 3) artist value by finding a matched brand for synergy between brands and artists.

Currently change in cities is accelerating intricately and diversely because of technological advances, information floods, increased openness, and the rising standard of living. While city development depended on the activation of urban marketing, a city of importance and recognition is highlighted as one brand. To increase city brand value, it has become necessary to study the brand equity held by cities and to develop a strategy based on a new approach. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate how a city brand can be developed and through which kind of method. Therefore, the phenomenon of a city was investigated and analysed based on semiotics underpinning the communication of all phenomenon. The purpose of this research was to suggest a new perspective for city branding strategy and to develop a conceptual model for a city branding strategy that is an improvement on the strategies being used by industry and in academia. The proposed perspective is based on semiotics which is the analysis of the interaction between general objects and cultural phenomena. The conceptual model takes elements constituting a city and identifies the core categories comprising branding. From this, it is clear that sustainable city branding is possible, as city assets are developed and brand value is formed. The conceptual model of the city branding process has been positively evaluated through three case studies and five in-depth interviews with experts. The proposed model provides the basis for a city research plan and a tool for the management of the city branding process. The conceptual model offers several advantages as shown below:1. A holistic view of city branding strategy development; 2. A new perspective of city interpretation through semiotics; 3. An understanding of the interaction between city users (residents and visitors) and city with a cognition process and associated image; 4. A clarification of the roles of all component elements within the city branding strategy; 5. An integration of the component elements and core categories for city branding; 6. A new approach to city branding strategy through the conceptual model. Therefore, this research presents a robust theoretical basis for developing a new city branding strategy through the conceptual model.

Focusing on the needs of users, design can leverage new product development process by offering insightful knowledge of those needs. This research investigates the technology development of smart homes. Design is utilised as a product research tool to identify key insights of the home life of the older adults living in the UK, and for the purpose of informing the front-end of the new product development process. The review of the literature in the field of smart homes suggests that the developments have lagged by a technology-push approach, the lack of appropriate concepts from users’ perspectives as well as the lack of development strategy, which has consequently been reflected in consumers’ reluctance towards smart homes. As a result, this doctoral research aimed to ‘develop a user-oriented product design research tool that improves the understanding of the home life of older adults.’ To achieve the aim, this research employs qualitative methodology to develop a research process that utilises the cultural probe, semi-structured interview and video tour. Informed by ethnographic tradition, this research establishes its trustworthiness and credibility by employing a thorough process of analysis (qualitative analysis with computer-assisted software NVivo 8 and peers debriefing) and evaluation (creative workshop and evaluative interview) with practitioners from the field of product design, design management and design education. The result of the field investigation is presented as ten personas and taxonomy of nodes, which form the contribution of this research, a sensitising tool and process. This research contributes a sensitising tool - a design-led, user-inspired and participatory product design research that the offers insightful knowledge of those older adults and their relationships with their homes living in the UK. This sensitising tool is developed for the smart home designers for the purpose of generating new product ideas and challenges designers’ preconception of users and smart homes, and provokes reflections on the practices of user-centred and user-participatory design, as examined in the creative workshop. In addition, this research also contributes to the growing debate surrounding the issues relating to ethnographic user research and the use of cultural probe for the design of new smart homes.