The role of visual communication design continues to increase in importance around the world. In Bahrain, organisations are increasingly considering visual communication design as a means of accomplishing organisational goals. The research aims to understand the process by which design managers in organisations in Bahrain manage and evaluate visual communication designs to gain strategic advantage. Even though the management of visual communication design has not yet been recognised as a separate category of design management in Bahrain, its processes and approaches may differ from other management applications. This research opens with a contextual overview of the visual communication design management field, before presenting an understanding of how visual communication design can be utilised as an innovative approach to the strategic structuring organisational thinking. Methods have been developed for investigating how Bahraini client design managers manage visual communication design projects. Observational studies and interviews with client design managers and creative directors have been conducted to obtain an understanding of the visual communication design process, together with evaluation procedures in the Bahraini context. These empirical investigations have led to the development of a conceptual framework that describes the visual communication design management process and the evaluation procedure that is carried out by client design managers in Bahrain. The remainder of this thesis explains the outcomes of each phase of the research. The unique contributions of this study are embodied in a discussion of the findings together with reflections and recommendations for those involved and interested in design management in Bahrain.

[pt] O design tem obtido destaque e respeito nas empresas, deixando de ser considerado um atributo meramente estético. No entanto, o conceito de que o design efetivo seja um bom negócio vem se tornando consenso muito mais baseado em evidências qualitativas do que em aspectos tangíveis. Essa lacuna na mensuração das contribuições do design para o desempenho motivou a realização deste estudo, cujo objetivo principal foi identificar se empresas que adotavam o design efetivo como estratégia competitiva apresentavam desempenhos superiores. Para tal, foi necessário compreender os fundamentos teóricos relacionados à contribuição do design para a competitividade, estabelecendo as relações entre desempenho e os fatores de integração do design à gestão das organizações, o que permitiu a proposição de um modelo teórico. Os dados primários foram coletados a partir da aplicação de questionários na indústria eletroeletrônica - setor de utilidades domésticas - e, com as respostas de 67 empresas, foram realizados os testes estatísticos. Os resultados não puderam ser validados para a população como um todo, mas permitiram indicar que os grupos de empresas que se encontravam nos estágios mais avançados de adoção de design apresentavam desempenhos superiores, assim como, através da utilização da técnica de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, os resultados indicaram que a integração do design à cadeia de valor influenciava positivamente o desempenho dessas empresas. / [en] Design has become a highlight among many companies receiving attention that goes beyond simple aesthetic considerations. However, the concept that effective design is good business is more linked to qualitative evidences than on tangible aspects. The gap in the measurement of contributions made by design on the performance of a company motivates this paper whose objective is to identify whether companies that have adopted design as a competitive strategy in fact present superior performances. To develop this thought, it was necessary to understand the theoretical fundaments related to the contribution of design management to competitiveness, establishing the relations between performance and the factors of design integration with organizational management to allow for the elaboration of a theoretical model. The basic data was gathered from a questionnaire based on statistical tests, distributed to 67 companies in the electroelectronic industry, from the household appliance sector. The results could not be validated for the population as a whole but rather indicated that groups of companies that were in advanced stages of design applications presented superior performance results. Furthermore, through the use of Structural Equation Models, final analysis showed that the integration of design in the value chain is influencing in a positive way, the performance of the companies who adopted design resources.

According to innovation literature, between 50% and 90% of innovations fail. An explanation for failing innovations is offered by scholars in the field of innovation resistance, who argue that it is more relevant to pay attention to the reasons why consumers reject an innovation, rather than learning about their motivations to adopt a new product or service. At the same time, previous marketing literature has devoted little attention towards design, despite its strategic importance and its role as a driver of innovation and competitive advantage. The purpose of this study was to investigate how companies perceive innovation resistance towards service innovations and how it is reflected in the service design. The major takeaways in this study revealed that companies were aware of all the barriers, except for social risk and perceived security risk. Furthermore, companies made most service design adaptations based on the usage and value barrier both prior and post launch. Also, although the tradition and norm barrier and image barrier were considered critical for an innovation’s success, companies did not change the service design accordingly. Finally, it was revealed that companies followed a hybrid approach of innovation, where more of a design-driven innovation strategy was used to generate innovation ideas and a user-centered approach was applied by involving consumers in pilot studies and listening to the consumer voices post launch.

A complexidade no desenvolvimento de projetos para edifícios de escritórios está relacionada a dificuldades na conciliação de interesses de empreendedores, projetistas, construtores e usuários finais, e a diversidade e especialização cada vez maiores das disciplinas envolvidas. A clareza quanto aos pontos que devem ser definidos, e quem deve defini-los, ainda na fase de concepção deste tipo de projeto, é fundamental para que o empreendimento apresente viabilidades técnica, construtiva e de negócio, e a gestão do processo do projeto deve ter domínio total destas questões nesta fase. A proposta deste trabalho é apresentar as informações críticas das diversas disciplinas, que devem ser definidas ainda na concepção da arquitetura, e sua correta seqüência de inserção no processo. Para tal, a metodologia adotada baseia-se em revisão bibliográfica e na realização de um estudo de caso, cujas condições de contorno são consideradas ímpares: a empresa contratante de projetos é uma incorporadora que tem o domínio das informações sobre as necessidades mercadológicas do produto, tem um corpo técnico que apresenta condições de avaliar e escolher soluções técnicas construtivas, e também é uma empresa de administração predial, ou seja, opera o funcionamento do edifício construído, resultando em decisões de projeto que realmente focam o custo do empreendimento em seu ciclo da vida, o que não ocorre freqüentemente no mercado brasileiro. Propõe-se o desenvolvimento de um fluxo de informações de projetos que indique a necessidade e a etapa de cada informação na fase de concepção do projeto, o que ajuda a esclarecer o correto papel de cada agente no processo e constitui uma ferramenta extremamente útil para a gestão de projetos. / The complexity in office buildings design development is related to difficulties in incorporating the interests of all the players involved (owners, designers, contractors and end-users) and to the increasing diversity of specialist designers. The clarity about key points definitions and who should make them, during the design conceptual phase, is imperative for technical, constructive and commercial feasibilities of the project itself, and design management must have complete control of these aspects. The aim is to investigate what critical information from several design subjects should be defined during this conceptual phase and its correct insertion sequence in the design process. In order to achieve this investigation, the research is based on the case study method, the studied object of which has distinctive conditions: the design team contractor is a real estate company that fully understands office building market needs, holds an experienced technical team to evaluate and select constructive solutions and, also, is a facility manager. Due to this, their design decisions actually focus on the project entire life cycle, which is not common in the Brazilian market. In conclusion, the development of an information flow is proposed, during the design conceptual phase, which indicates when each piece of information should be located in the design process, which is helpful to elucidate the correct function of each related player and to establish a useful tool for design management.

A complexidade do subsistema fachada está relacionada à dificuldade de gerenciamento de todas as etapas que antecedem sua montagem na obra. Nesse contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho é propor recomendações em todas as etapas de desenvolvimento do processo de projeto da fachada para edifícios comerciais de múltiplos pavimentos ou edificações que, embora de tipologia diferente, adotem sistemas de fachadas semelhantes aos da tipologia de edificações comerciais, como é o caso do edifício hospitalar que integra o estudo de caso desta dissertação. A proposição da metodologia foi baseada em estudos bibliográficos e comparações entre exemplos reais do processo de projeto e produção de empreendimentos em fase de construção. Dessa forma, o desenvolvimento deste trabalho foi dividido em pesquisa dos tipos de fachadas mais utilizados em edifícios comerciais, pesquisa sobre o processo de projeto das fachadas (diretrizes para a concepção, critérios de desempenho, identificação dos agentes da cadeia produtiva), estudos de caso de empreendimentos em fase de construção, análise comparativa dos resultados desses estudos e elaboração das recomendações. Na pesquisa foram contemplados tanto aspectos de gestão quanto de tecnologia, e incorporadas contribuições de profissionais atuantes na cadeia produtiva do desenvolvimento de projetos. As recomendações propostas consideram a melhoria do desenvolvimento do processo de projeto das fachadas nas etapas e atividades de projeto, nas etapas de integração projeto-execução e nos escopos de projeto e consultoria, abordando os aspectos de gestão do processo para projetistas, consultores, coordenadores e construtores. / The complexity of the façade subsystem is related to the difficulty of managing all the stages that take place before its assemblage. Considering this context, the purpose is to propose recommendations to all the phases of the façade development design process of multi-storey commercial buildings which, no matter the different typology, adopt similar façade systems, as is the case of the hospital building under study in this dissertation. The methodology proposed was based on the literature review and comparisons between real design process and production of projects under construction. Thus, the development of this dissertation was divided into: research of the most used facade types in commercial buildings, research into the design façade process (conception guidelines, performance criteria, and recognition of the productive agent chain), case studies of projects under construction, comparative analyses of the results of these studies, and elaboration of the recommendations. Management and technological aspects were considered as well as the contribution of active experts of the productive chain to the process flow. The proposed recommendations take into account the improvement of the façade process flow during the design phase, interface design-construction and design and consultant scope, involving the management process, consultants, coordinators and the construction company.

A crescente difusão do uso da tecnologia BIM mostra que um novo paradigma para o trabalho colaborativo em projeto precisa ser criado. Em diferentes países e cenários, percebem-se muitas barreiras a serem transpostas para o aproveitamento pleno dos benefícios do BIM. Faltam conhecimentos sobre a integração da nova tecnologia para a melhoria do processo de projeto. Falta também uma compreensão abrangente e uma visão geral de fatores não tecnológicos, caso das relações e interdependências na intersecção entre a gestão do processo de projeto e o BIM. Nesse contexto, a escassez de teorias que busquem a integração entre o domínio da gestão do processo do projeto e a tecnologia BIM motivou o desenvolvimento do presente trabalho. O objetivo geral desta tese é desenvolver uma estrutura conceitual para a gestão do processo de projeto com o uso do BIM. Com uma profunda revisão bibliográfica, mostra-se a difusão fragmentada de conceitos e a tendência na produção de aplicações práticas para a implementação do BIM sem, contudo, estarem elas respaldadas por suficientes reflexões conceituais. Como principal contribuição, a estrutura conceitual desenvolvida procura sustentar o conjunto de metodologias aplicáveis à nova tecnologia e demonstra como relacionar os domínios da gestão do processo de projeto e da tecnologia da informação. São propostos também indicadores de desempenho para medir tanto o nível de desenvolvimento do projeto quanto controlar a qualidade do modelo. Outra contribuição relevante do trabalho é a reformulação do conceito de LOD (nível de desenvolvimento ou de detalhe) para o de Nível de Maturidade, composto pela gestão dos requisitos do programa de necessidades, gestão do nível de desenvolvimento do modelo, medição do nível de interferências físicas e a proposição de um sistema de planejamento e controle do processo de projeto adequado para o BIM. Finalmente, foram feitos testes práticos em dois modelos BIM de edifícios, que possibilitaram a demonstração dos indicadores de desempenho e a sua aplicabilidade prática. Com a estrutura conceitual proposta, entendemos ter contribuído com um novo olhar sobre como deve evoluir a gestão do processo de projeto no contexto da tecnologia BIM. / The increasingly widespread use of BIM technology shows that a new paradigm for design collaborative work needs to be created. In different countries and settings, many barriers to be transposed are perceived to fully exploit the benefits of BIM. There is a lack of knowledge about the integration of new technology to improve the design process. Also lacking are comprehensive understanding and an overview of non-technological factors, besides the relationships and interdependencies in the intersection between design management and BIM design process. In this context, the small number of theories that seek integration between the design management process and BIM motivated the development of this work. The overall objective of this thesis is to develop a conceptual framework for managing the design process by using BIM. The literature review shows a diffusion of fragmented concepts and trends in the production of applications for the implementation of BIM; however, they are not sufficiently supported by conceptual reflections. As the main contribution, the conceptual framework developed seeks to support the set of methodologies applicable to new technologies and shows how to relate the fields of design management process and information technology. Key performance indicators to both measure the project development level and monitor the quality of the model are also proposed. Another important contribution of the thesis was the reformulation of the LOD (level of detail or development) concept to Maturity Level, comprising the management requirements of the program requirements, managing the model development level, level measurement physical interference and proposed a system of planning and control of the design process suitable for BIM. Finally, tests were conducted on two practical BIM models of buildings, which enabled the demonstration of performance indicators and their applicability. With the proposed conceptual framework, we believe to have contributed to a new perspective on how to evolve the management of the design process in the BIM context.

Os empreendimentos desenvolvidos no setor da construção têm se tornado cada vez mais complexos exigindo uma articulação eficiente entre os processos de toda a equipe multidisciplinar envolvida para o sucesso de sua implementação. Visto que decisões na fase de projeto podem influenciar todo o ciclo de vida do empreendimento, a colaboração e compartilhamento de conhecimento entre as equipes, aliada ao atendimento às expectativas do cliente, representa um potencial para melhorar o desempenho dos projetos e minimizar estruturas e processos ineficientes no setor da construção, aumentando o valor agregado ao projeto, obra e operação. A função de gestor do processo de projeto (design), antes exercida pelos arquitetos, tem sido conduzida em muitos casos, por incorporadoras ou construtoras, que têm desenvolvido competências para a gestão do empreendimento como um todo, como estratégia de criação de valor para seus clientes e para controlar os riscos associados ao projeto. O estudo propõe analisar a forma de atuação das construtoras na gestão do processo de projeto através de estudos de caso e verificar quais práticas associadas à gestão de conhecimento têm sido empregadas e qual a aplicação no processo de projeto (estruturas de comunicação e informação; mecanismos de alimentação de novos projetos; transmissão de informações do projeto para a obra; ferramentas e técnicas para captação e armazenamento de conhecimento gerado ao longo do projeto e adquirido nas obras). Com base nas revisões bibliográficas e estudos de caso serão propostas diretrizes para implantação de iniciativas voltadas à gestão de conhecimento, que aliada à gestão de projetos atuem como ativos estratégicos da empresa construtora. / Projects developed in construction sector have become more complex demanding an efficient articulation of the multidisciplinary team processes to achieve the success of its implementation. Due to the fact that decisions made in the design phase may influence all the project life cycle, the multidisciplinary team knowledge sharing and collaboration across organizational boundaries, represents a potential for client and user expectations attendance and project performance improvement. Besides, minimizing inefficient structures and processes in construction sector may improve the earned value of the design, construction, operation and maintenance. Design manager function, usually performed by architects, has been lead by management companies, and in many cases, by contractors, who have developed project and design management competences as a strategy to create value for their clients and control risks associated with the project. The aim of the research is to analyze contractors performance in the design process management through case studies and to verify knowledge management practices applied in this process (communication and information structures; feedback mechanisms for new design; design information transmission to the construction site; techniques to capture and storage knowledge generated throughout the project and acquired in the construction site). Based on the bibliographical review and case studies, guidelines for knowledge management allied to design management will be proposed to increase construction company strategical advantages.

Com o advento dos movimentos modernistas e pós-modernistas, o mercado da arte sofreu modificações bastante particulares que se refletem nas relações entre vários agentes do campo. Hoje, a lógica de funcionamento do sistema de artes associa o mundo da arte contemporânea ao do espetáculo e do entretenimento. Existem complexas redes de relações entre o sistema das artes com o sistema econômico, político e cultural, e as exposições configuram-se como uma interface entre o setor de produção cultural erudita e o público. Dentre essas relações, interessa a este trabalho aquela referente às instituições artístico-culturais e seus visitantes. Nesse contexto, a Gestão do Design se destaca por ser um campo de conhecimento que abrange muitos pontos de contato entre um agente e o outro. Possui potencial para ser aplicada também em instituições artístico-culturais uma vez que é um meio para gerenciar o design tanto no planejamento como na elaboração e disseminação de projetos, traduzindo os objetivos estratégicos da organização em produtos/serviços. O escopo deste trabalho consiste na investigação de como instituições artísticas de Porto Alegre gerenciam o design. Para tanto, foi realizada uma fundamentação teórica sobre assuntos relacionados ao tema, como Gestão do Design, design de exposição e arte enquanto mercado. Também foram realizados dois estudos de caso sobre o uso da Gestão do Design no MAC-RS e na FIC para tentar compreender as possíveis semelhanças e diferenças de abordagem nos setores público e privado dessas instituições. / The advent of modernist and postmodernist movements, the art market was subjected to modifications which are reflecedt in the relationship between various actors of the field. Today, the operating logic of the Art system associates the world of contemporary art to that of spectacle and entertainment. There are complex networks of relationships between the Art system and the economic, political and cultural systems; exhibitions appear as an interface between the scholarly cultural production sector and the public . Among these relations, interests to this project those referring to artistic and cultural institutions and their visitors. In this context, Design Management stands out as a field of knowledge that covers many common points between one agent and the other. It has the potential to be applied also in artistic and cultural institutions since it is a way to manage design both in planning and in developing and disseminating projects, converting the organization's strategic goals in products / services. The scope of this study is to investigate how artistic institutions of Porto Alegre manage design. To achieve this goal, a theoretical foundation was held on issues related to the topic, as Design Management, Exhibition Design and art as a market. There were also conducted two case studies on the use of Design Management in MAC-RS and FIC to try to understand the possible similarities and differences in the approach to public and private sectors of these institutions.

Effective team working across disciplines is essential to solve the technological and managerial problems associated with construction projects. However, while it is widely accepted that this method of working is critical to the achievement organisational goals, it is a poorly understood process. Generic best practice recipes on how to improve team work in collaborative projects appears to have had limited impact on performance. Unless the realities of implementing and managing such joint endeavours are conceptualised and articulated in a manner that reflects the actual processes and patterns of behaviour, multi-disciplinary team working will remain a poorly understood working model. The goal of this work was to develop a conceptual framework that visualises the real success factors of multi-disciplinary working so that practitioners can apply a new understanding of predictable processes and patterns of behaviours to improve collaborative project outcomes. To achieve this, the project started with an exploration of critical success factors in multi-disciplinary design projects, encompassing extensive interviewing, workshops and a survey followed by a grounded theory (GT) study of collaborative working in six multi-disciplinary design projects. The switch to GT methodology offered possibilities to further probe into the dynamics of multi-disciplinary team working from the perspective of the team members. The findings show that team working in multi-disciplinary design projects can be explained through the social process of informalising. Informalising refers to the strategies practitioners use to cope with the multiple pressures and unforeseen demands that pervade the collaborative design environments. It portrays the relevance of managing of expectations and value-judging to remain effective and efficient in the face of change and uncertainty. These are critical factors that influence the project trajectory and experience of those involved. Alongside these results the work also demonstrates the importance of so called super soft factors such as shared values, creativity and innovation and passion and enthusiasm to achieve positive project outcomes. Overall, recognising that the process of informalising forms an essential part of cultivating collaboration, and hence getting the work done, more attention should be given to understand such activity in today s turbulent and transient project organisations. Knowledge and understanding of this form of emergent and improvisational strategy may enable managers to predict and control patterns of behaviour inherent in the management of collaborative design projects, and positively influence project outcomes in terms of perceived value and profit.

<p>Service Design is a relatively new, unexplored and exciting phenomenon that through an interdisciplinary work methodology designs services. A discussion has been going on for a long time regarding whether there is a difference between products and services. Services are often classified as immaterial, heterogeneous, non-storable and inseparable in relation to products. A question that arises is if something specific characterises the work methodology used regarding service design. The aim with this paper is thus to explain the work methodology when working with service design. To find out the differential and describe the work methodology regarding service design a method is used which includes a case of product design. The work methodology regarding three design cases developed by two different design firms is studied, one of which is a product design case and the other two are service design cases. After that parallels are drawn to chosen theories from the fields Service Management, Design Management and Rational/ Irrational work processes. Some of the conclusions that this paper has generated are that there is a strong user focus in both service design and product design. Another conclusion that has been made is that when working with service design it is important to be conscious about the time- and space aspect to gain a total perspective and a thorough user focus.</p> / <p>Tjänstedesign är ett relativt nytt, outforskat och spännande fenomen som genom en tvärvetenskaplig arbetsmetodik designar tjänster. Det har länge pågått en diskussion huruvida det är skillnad på tjänster och produkter. Tjänster klassificeras ofta som immateriella, heterogena, icke-lagringsbara och oskiljaktiga i relation till produkter. En fråga som då kan ställas är huruvida arbetmetodiken som används vid tjänstedesign utmärker sig på något sätt. Syftet med denna uppsats är således att beskriva och förklara arbetsmetodiker inom tjänstedesign. Arbetsmetodiken vid tre fall utförda av två olika designbyråer studeras, varav ett är produktdesign och två är tjänstedesign. Sedan dras paralleller mot valda teorier från områdena Service Management, Design Management och Rationella/ Irrationella arbetsprocesser. Några slutsatser som uppsatsen har genererat är att det finns ett starkt användarfokus i såväl produktdesign som tjänstedesign. En annan slutsats som dragits är att inom tjänstedesign är det viktigt att ta hänsyn till tid-och rumsaspekten för att få ett helhetsperspektiv och ett ingående användarfokus.</p>