“When everything is connected to everything else, for better or worse, everything matters.” — Bruce Mau
If you really think about it, what someone thinks or does is not nearly as interesting as why they think it or do it. While research companies around the world have built great businesses around the “what” and the “how many” – all of which is important at some level – in today’s world we care far more about the why, because we have data which allows us to see motive, purpose and intention at a level no other generation has experienced.
Over a decade ago, I became intensely interested in why design mattered to people. Design thinking fascinates me, and I read everything I could get my hands on - including Massive Change by Bruce Mau, giving me an even deeper understanding of the impact and import of design.
During my tenure as CEO of Dwell, I created an “insights group” empaneling around eight thousand people, all of whom were screened against six agreement statements focused on good design. Now known as the Design Insights Forum (DIF), our company MOCA+ owns ten years of data on this group – which in and of itself is a powerful lens - 2009 recession to the market highs of 2019.
We know that everyone has data in some form and in various quantities at their fingertips, and successful brands carefully use that data to segment their customer sets, and ascertain in real time, what’s working and what’s not. But what does it all mean beyond what’s obvious about one’s current customer? This is where DIF comes in. We are the conduit to your most important customer – because we give you insights beyond the quantitative data and give you a lens which is a more powerful connection to your community and the community you want to grow. We think of it as connecting by design.
There will be so much more to share as we glean more from this panel, so look for our DIF Index and DIF Forecast in the coming months.