Does the world need another design maturity model? Maybe not. But it definitely needs a better one.
We reviewed the usual suspects—models from the UX world, innovation labs, design consultancies. Many are dated. Most are limited in scope. Too often, they stop at the team level or focus solely on user interfaces and customer experience. They miss the bigger picture: design as a strategic, systemic lever for organizational and societal value.
So we built a model that reflects how we see design evolve in real organizations. Not as theory, but as a practice. A practice that grows in maturity as it becomes more integrated, intentional, and impactful.
The Problem with Most Maturity Models
Design maturity frameworks are a double-edged sword. They’re intentionally reductive—which makes them accessible, but risks oversimplification. They rarely account for the messy, nonlinear nature of organizational change. And they often mistake structure for progress.
But there’s a reason they persist: they create shared language. For design leaders navigating change, that shared language becomes a tool. A way to make the invisible visible. A way to challenge the status quo and point toward possibility.
The real framework isn’t a hierarchy. It’s a map of the system—and the leverage points that can unlock transformation. Design isn’t the goal. But it’s a crucial practice in creating futures worth living.
Where do you see your organization on this maturity curve?
The 5 Levels of Design Maturity
Here’s how we see the journey—based on years of real-world innovation work inside complex organizations:
- “Stuck in a Corner”: Design is isolated. It’s decoration. Designers are focused on pixels, not problems.
- “Sharing Our Toolbox”: Design thinking spreads. Teams dabble. Customer satisfaction improves. It’s a start.
- “Scaling Design”: Experience design becomes systematic. Output is measurable. But impact remains surface-level—tied to short-term wins.
- “Getting Strategic”: Design takes the long view. It’s about foresight, systems thinking, and value creation for customers and shareholders/the organization.
- “Getting Systemic”: Design integrates with the DNA of the organization. It shapes culture, strategy, and stakeholder ecosystems. It works at the level of systems, not just products..
This model isn’t a ladder. It’s a lens. A way to see how design is showing up—and how it could.
Why This Matters for Mission-Focused Organizations
Organizations with bold missions often operate at a paradox. Their intent is systemic—change the world, solve wicked problems—but their design capabilities are stuck at Level 2 or 3. That’s a missed opportunity.
Mission-driven organizations need more than empathy maps and customer journey workshops. They need strategic design. Systems design. The kind that sees beyond the user and into the architecture of the system itself.
Do You Have to Climb the Ladder?
No. You can leapfrog.
This is where a strategic design partner comes in. The right partner can accelerate your maturity. Not by handing over a playbook—but by co-creating the conditions for design to thrive. To help scale what’s already working while imagining what’s never been done.
Because let’s face it: traditional organizations resist change. They develop immune responses to anything unfamiliar. That’s why maturity isn’t just about skills—it’s about integration, trust, and persistence.
One More Thing: The Model Isn’t the Work
The work is seeing. Thinking. Making. Connecting. Socializing. Integrating. Scaling.
The real framework isn’t a hierarchy. It’s a map of the system—and the leverage points that can unlock transformation. Design isn’t the goal. But it’s a crucial practice in creating futures worth living.
Where do you see your organization on this maturity curve?
Mark Kuznicki
Mark (he/him) is the kind of person you want around when things feel messy. He has a knack for bringing clarity to complexity, helping teams, leaders, and organizations navigate change in a way that makes them more sustainable and ready for the future.