”När man inte står för något faller man för vad som helst.” Det är ett citat som kan gälla många områden, till exempel politik, men även företagande och design management. Det kan lätt kopplas samman med varumärkeslogiken och brand management. Starka varumärken står för något specifikt och kan stå emot externa och interna kriser. Men inte hur länge som helst. Det krävs ett gediget arbete bakom kulisserna i ett företag för att åstadkomma och upprätthålla ett starkt varumärke. Detta arbete kan betecknas design management. Företaget Materia och dess grundare Lars Bülow och Kersti Sandin Bülow, som har betonat vikten av design management i sin ledar- och företagsfilosofi är ett bra exempel på detta. Design management har som begreppspar inte fått samma spridning som brand management, inte heller samma status, trots att brand management till stora delar bygger på samma princip och idé som design management. Detta kapitel visar den teoretiska utveckling av design management och designtänkande och hur det har praktiserats i ett antal framgångsrika företag, där Materia är ett intressant svenskt exempel.

This report is the result of a survey of Swedish apparel manufacturers which has been carried out within The EU financed Baltic Fashion Project. The purpose of this project is to support the fashion industry in the Baltic Sea Region and the objective of this part is to investigate the Swedish subcontractors, manufacturers for the apparel industry.

The report describes nine innovation projects that have been conducted within the Baltic Fashion projects. Several of these are dedicated to new design concepts in order to make design more social and reflect traditional values. Some projects are focused on the use of new technologies and smart materials.

Design Thinking is a rather new concept for increasing innovation capabilities in organizations. Organizational Development is a concept from the 1950s aiming at modernizing organizations through participatory methods. As organizations struggle with constant change and to become more innovative we will compare and discuss design thinking and organizational development and explore what we can learn from these concepts that have many similar aspects. Design is argued to be moving into new territories, changing its focus towards the ideas that organizes a system or environment (Buchanan, 2001). At the same time there are clear resemblances to new organizational development not the least regarding participatory methods (Eneberg, 2012). In this paper we describe the ontological and epistemological development of organizational theory, change, and development with the aim to discuss the role of design thinking as an enabling concept in the revitalization of organizational development that includes a reintroduction of democratic values in organizational change.

Kreativitet och entreprenörskap nämns i olika sammanhang som positiva drivkrafter för ökad konkurrenskraft. Entreprenören och designern delar en speciell visionär förmåga att se på problem och i dessa se nya lösningar. Förmågan att se det som ännu inte finns. I vår studie har vi kunnat följa hur den visionära förmågan fungerar som kreativ drivkraft, och hur framgångs- rika företag skapas när designers och entreprenörer möts med gemensam vision och mål. I detta kapitel redovisar vi utvecklingen av tre företag där design är kärnan i verksamheten, men med olika produktkategorier och marknader. Det är tre företag som fick en snabb tillväxt och erhöll designpriser för sina produkter; POC, Zound Industries och Whyred. Den kreativa processen beskrivs ofta som kaotisk, det vill säga motsatsen till strukturerad och välordnad. Det stämmer dock inte särskilt väl överens med verkligheten. I vår studie har vi kunnat konstatera att entreprenören är, om inte kaotisk så i alla fall driven av intuition, ofta ostrukturerad och ibland oförutsägbar, men oftast starkt inspirerande för sin omgivning – som sedan måste ta hand om idéerna, vilket kan vara mer eller mindre komplicerat. Designerna arbetar kreativt och intuitivt, men designprocessen är en tämligen strukturerad process. Resultaten kan däremot vara mycket oväntade.

Denna rapport är den tredje i ordningen som har sin upprinnelse i Humboldtuniversitetets 200-årsjubileum och i ambitionen att föra en kvalificerad diskussion om vilka roller som högskolor och universitet spelar idag. Rapporten ägnar särskild uppmärksamhet åt fenomenet tvärvetenskap och de utmaningar som en sådan ansats innebär, men den för också upp grundläggande principfrågor om akademiska friheter och värden till diskussion.

One of the aims with the Baltic Fashion project has been to strengthen the fashion industry with a focus on small and medium sized enterprises. The Baltic Sea Region has a large textile industry but all countries have different traditions and characters in regards to textile and fashion. Some countries are strong in textiles and production but not in fashion branding, and vice versa. Some countries still have a large textile manufacturing industry, whereas other countries lost most of the textile manufacturers 30-40 years ago. One of the work-packages within the Baltic Fashion has therefore focused on developing innovative topics as basis for carrying out activities that will support the fashion industries in different ways. One aim has also been to transfer the innovations and learning outcomes between the partners.

This report is the result of a research study on how some of the established and successful Swedish fashion companies have become international fashion brands. The purpose of the study is to analyse how and why these companies have made different choices, which barriers they have experienced and overcome, what mistakes they have made, what lessons they have learned and what knowledge they would like to share with new upcoming companies and young designers. Twelve medium-sized and small Swedish fashion companies participated in the study, which aimed to provide a deeper understanding on how Swedish fashion companies have acted and progressed to expand internationally. The companies that participated in the study were ACNE, Cheap Monday, Filippa K, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, Hope, House of Dagmar, Hunkydory, J.Lindeberg, Odd Molly, Rodebjer, Tiger of Sweden and WeSC. These companies are brand-oriented with creative marketing, stand for good quality and high fashion degree. The majority were founded and built up by entrepreneurs with many years of experience and a good working knowledge of the fashion industry. All the companies that participated have been established on several markets around the world for many years. We have interviewed leading persons in these companies, who have participated in the decision-making of internationalization and also been part of the implementation. We have also used the annual report and financial development of these companies for the purpose of discussing the development with the persons we interviewed. The study shows that most Swedish fashion companies have a clear vision and a goal to become exporting brands since their inception as the Swedish market was considered to be too small. However, it has been shown later that the majority of the companies have become successful in Sweden as well and that it is possible to sell high quality goods with a high degree of fashion in a middle price segment also in Sweden. The common key success factors for international expansion have been their ability to position their brands properly and offer the international markets a good quality, high fashion degree to reasonable prices. They also emphasize the importance of a high capacity to deliver on time. However, some of the companies have been forced to self-evaluate their organizations during and after the financial crisis in order to focus on fewer markets rather than a broad expansion. They now prioritize profitability over growth. The challenge and difficulties in expanding into far away markets are due to trade restrictions, bureaucracy and cultural differences. In contrast, countries closer to the home market and EU-countries are considered to be easy export markets even if countries like the United States remain as an attractive market to invest in. For the future, some companies are looking to invest in Asia and South America even if the strategy today is to focus on the markets where they are already present. Common for all the companies in the study is that the key to international success requires very good knowledge of each market, true dedication and a large industry network. This report is conducted by the Swedish School of Textiles and is part of the research taking place within the research program F: 3, Fashion, Function, Future, which brings together the research within the field of fashion at the University of Borås. The project is a collaboration with Association of Swedish Fashion Brands and the Fashion Incubator.

We are all affected by fashion: as individuals when we use clothes and other products to create an identity and an image and as consumers participating in the wheel of consumption and economy. As researchers, we try to understand fashion and its actors and how research can contribute to a better society and prosperous industries. This issue of the Nordic Textile Journal presents both articles based on research conducted at the University of Borås and articles from other researchers who share our interest in sustainable fashion and the textile industry.

Some products are considered ‘bad taste’ and therefore of less value. However, if we focus on what a product does with and for its users, rather than on what a product is, we can disregard superficial statements based on taste and instead get a better understanding of good design. This reasoning is based on the relationship between ‘good taste’ and ‘good design’, terms which are sometimes confused and treated as synonyms. In this article, we explore the tension between ‘good taste’ and ‘good design’ and how designers can use that tension in the design process. We consider ‘good taste’ to be rooted in a subjective context of inherent values, whereas ‘good design’ arises from competence and is based on professional skill. In this paper, ‘bad taste’ is exemplified by products associated with the lifestyles of rap artists and the subculture of bling. Our experience is that bling products often generate strong feelings and opinions and are dismissed by many as ‘bad taste’ because their appearance is incompatible with what is perceived to be ‘good design’. In the context of a course on trends, industrial design students were given the task of exploring how bling products are perceived in everyday life. Their views on bling were compatible with how bling is presented in the media. The students perceived bling products to be far from what is regarded as ‘good taste’ within their own culture. Consequently, they were unable to regard bling as a source of inspiration in their design work. However, when the students began to consider what the product does rather than what it is, they were able to use bling as a source of creativity. What other design opportunities are overlooked by regarding products as being in ‘bad taste’?