MiBiz - Michigan's Business News

The economic future of West Michigan will depend on many factors. It’s a future that hinges, in part, on the results of key investments from business and industry, which will be measured in jobs created, the number of startup companies and the amount of corporate reinvestment. But other drivers aren’t as easily quantified.

Most certainly, one of those intangible regional economic assets is design. It’s no surprise that West Michigan has benefitted from innovative design thinkers in the past, those people who realized how to craft world-class furniture from blocks of locally sourced wood or how to shape metal into the machines that drove the industrial age to new heights. It’s a similar multi-faceted, problem-solving process that drives the region’s successes today and that will help West Michigan excel into the future.

Design in this region is diverse. West Michigan is much more than a furniture design hub, although it certainly is known for that expertise. Working among us are industrial designers coming up with creative new products or medical devices, fashion designers working on trendsetting shoes and clothing, packaging specialists crafting meaningful new displays for food or other products while creating less waste, landscape architects creating green and efficient new spaces, building architects and interior designers employing leading-edge technology and the best products for lasting built environments, and communications designers building graphical and technological solutions for clients, among others. The companies these designers work for serve not only local interests, but also a national base of clientele. Their presence in West Michigan helps create wealth, attract and retain young talent, and position the region to innovate in preparation for changing economic realities.

While companies across the region thrived in part because of a strong legacy of design, it needn’t be an exclusive concept. Thanks to an infusion of new educational possibilities, all businesses and individuals have the opportunity to learn and implement design thinking for their own benefit. The programs profiled herein offer learning opportunities for all designers and non-designers in all levels, from college students to professionals to business leaders looking to add design to their corporate infrastructure.

While West Michigan has design-related industries and advocacy groups and centers of learning and has been recognized around the world for its design efforts, no one had outlined the role of design in regional economic development. Just what defines a design-centric region?  Fortunately, Design West Michigan tackled that question and came up with a nationally recognized definition for the term, which will serve as a benchmark, a point of measurement for this region and others.

Without knowing how West Michigan stacks up to that definition, the creators set about to get a better understanding of the role of design in business through education and advocacy efforts. Through this exploration of those activities, MiBiz and its key partners want to help explain the role of design in economic development.

This supplement fortifies our commitment to an ongoing discussion about design, a long-term dialogue about what makes the region design-centric and a hotbed for design innovation. Look for future conversations to be presented in MiDesign, a new section on MiBiz.com, as well as in MiBiz and its family of publications. Prepare for an interesting journey.

— Joe Boomgaard,
Managing Editor, MiBiz