Kainos

Kainos is a company with a long and proud engineering heritage. Embracing design makes a statement that excellent digital delivery can be combined with a clear focus on users and good design principles. What characteristics do you think a Chief Design Officer should embody? While there are different 'flavours' of Design Officer roles, there are som... e common underlying characteristics. Seeking out and being comfortable in uncertainty is a key skill. Considering disparate or even opposing ideas and being able to recommend solutions that combine them helps avoid quick and easy solutions. Balancing qualitative with quantitative thinking helps provide insight that can create more innovative ways forward, and of course being sensitive to user needs. Why do you think more and more companies hire the role of Chief Design Officer these days? The practice of good design has proven to help companies achieve sustained commercial success. Organisations always aim to create and maintain sustainable advantages against the competition and design is one of the key ways for them to achieve their goals. Recent reports have shown that those companies that have embraced design in meaningful ways have higher revenue growth and higher returns to shareholders. Design is about market relevance and meaningful results; design makes commercial sense. What are your main priorities in your new role as Chief Design Officer in Kainos? In the immediate term I will be working with others across the business to build and deliver design driven offerings; distinct packages of work to be delivered using design thinking. Whether it is a data problem we are solving or an AI solution we are considering, a design framework can help deliver meaningful and impactful solutions. The overall aim of the role however is help embed a design mindset internally and with clients. In your life, what choices have been fundamental to your career? It has to be taking on projects and roles that challenge me. Looking back, I have always been attracted to opportunities ...Read More