The Three Pillars of Strategic Design

“Strategic design” is first and foremost focused on solving real problems for users.

That’s essential, but it’s not enough. Strategic design must also create sustainable value for the company. Without this balance, even the best ideas risk never reaching the market—or failing once they do.

A critical stage in user-centric design thinking is the translation of ideas into real, testable product concepts (the development phase). In this phase, high-resolution prototypes are created and tested with users before any final decision is made on which concept to move forward.

At this point in the process, it is crucial to select the winning concept based on three essential criteria:

Desirability – Viability – Feasibility

• Desirability: Do users actually want this? 

  This is the most intuitive to assess, since it relies on user testing, interviews, and observational insights.

  
  

• Feasibility: Can we build this product within the desired timeframe? 

  Feasibility evaluates whether the product can realistically be developed with the company’s existing competencies, technology, and timeline. A compelling idea that cannot be delivered within the time-to-market window is a non-starter—and in some cases, delays can even compromise the company’s existence, as funding evaporates.

  
  

• Viability: Does this product make financial and strategic sense? 

  This is often where companies stumble. Teams may focus heavily on optimising the user experience while losing sight of rising product costs. A product without a healthy margin restricts the ability to use a broad range of commercial channels. If distributors are involved, their margins must be accounted for early—ignoring them weakens the business case from the start.

Strategic design succeeds when all three pillars—desirability, viability, and feasibility—align.

It is like the "glue" that holds these three together, ensuring the solution is sustainable, usable, and profitable.

Companies that understand this process and execute accordingly are the ones that create sustainable, defensible innovation.

Force	Focus	The Risk of Ignoring It
Desirability	Human/User	You build something that works, but nobody wants it.
Viability	Business	You build something people love, but it bankrupts the company.
Feasibility	Technology	You dream up a solution that is impossible or too expensive to build.