DESIGN GOVERNANCE
Design governance is about creating the infrastructure and systems that enable your design function to operate strategically and deliver consistently at scale. It’s the difference between having talented designers working in silos versus having a design organization that’s aligned, efficient, and directly contributing to business objectives. When I audit your current design governance, I examine five critical areas:
Roles & Responsibilities (R&R) – I assess whether your design teams have clear accountability, appropriate decision-making authority, and proper integration with marketing, innovation, and commercial teams. Often FMCG companies have unclear handoffs between brand teams, design agencies, and implementation partners, creating bottlenecks and inconsistent outputs.
Processes – I evaluate your design workflows from brief to market launch. Are approvals streamlined or do projects get stuck in endless revision cycles? Do you have standardized processes for different project types, or is every brief treated as a unique snowflake? Efficient processes mean faster time-to-market and reduced costs.
Tools – I review your design technology stack, from creative software to project management platforms to digital asset management systems. The right tools enable collaboration, maintain brand consistency, and create reusable design systems that accelerate future projects.
Deliverables – I examine what your design function actually produces – are templates standardized? Do you have scalable design systems? Are brand guidelines actionable or just decorative documents? Clear, standardized deliverables ensure quality while reducing rework.
Suppliers – I assess your agency relationships and vendor management. Are you getting the right expertise at the right cost? Do your external partners understand your business objectives, or are they just executing creative briefs in isolation?
Regulatory & Compliance Design – Especially critical for FMCG with varying international regulations, nutritional labeling requirements, sustainability claims, and category-specific compliance that must be baked into design systems from day one.
Retail & Channel Strategy – How your designs perform across different retail environments (premium vs. discount, online vs. offline, international markets) and the specific design requirements for each channel partner.
Supply Chain Design Considerations – The intersection between design ambition and manufacturing realities, packaging logistics, shelf-life requirements, and cost implications that can make or break a launch.
Digital Ecosystem Integration – How physical product design connects with digital touchpoints (QR codes, AR experiences, social media activation, e-commerce optimization) for a truly integrated launch experience.
Post-Launch Optimization Framework – Design systems that allow for rapid iteration based on real market performance, A/B testing capabilities, and the governance structure to implement changes quickly without losing brand consistency.
Stakeholder Alignment Methodology – Specific frameworks for getting buy-in across complex FMCG organizations where product launches involve multiple countries, categories, and internal stakeholders with competing priorities. The outcome is a design organization that is adapted to current consumers expectations – faster project cycles, more consistent brand expression, reduced costs, and design teams that can focus on strategic thinking rather than administrative chaos. This directly impacts your ability to respond quickly to market opportunities and maintain competitive advantage through superior customer experiences.