departure, the development agency for creative industries in Vienna was founded in late 2004.
At the start of departure microgiants was asked to consult departure and help to define design policies for the Vienna city government. To show how the design market is structured the Danish design ladder model was adapted for Austria.
The design ladder cluster the demand for design in four different parts: The first part is not aware about design, the second uses design at the end of a process to apply products to different target groups, the third uses design in different stages in the product development process and only the fourth group uses design as a strategic tool where products are developed, engineered and and built. For this forth group of companies, products are made around the needs of the users and design has a strategic role for the whole company.
