‘The business value of design’

In the digital business domain, design goes much further than form factors and user experiences. It concerns a well-considered approach to large, impactful, and even strategic initiatives. “Being able to actually see and feel the proposed solution can help effectively redesign complete business models and processes”, says David Cleaves, Head of Creative EMEA at Argodesign.

Think of creating added value by intelligently unlocking and connecting multiple systems and sources, creating new possibilities for the user or customer. For example equipping a new or existing office building with the best digital tools for collaboration. Helping airlines optimize their backend by designing a faster aircraft turnaround process. Or co-creating a car that is better connected and more enjoyable to ride.

David Cleaves leads the effort to build a leading design consultancy in Argo’s Munich and Amsterdam studios. As a subsidiary of DXC since 2018, Argodesign still operates independently. It partners with the parent company on specific large-scale, high-impact corporate design projects. In such cases traditional consulting is combined with a more visual and tangible approach.

CIO challenges

During CIODAY2024 David will talk about his work for various leading companies worldwide. “We see that CIOs everywhere face two main challenges: cutting costs or increasing revenue. Regardless of the CIO’s profile – entrepreneurial or more service-oriented – our approach can help them address these issues.” His keynote also provides more insight into the increasingly digitally designed future. David Cleaves moved to Europe in 2013 to work at Frogdesign. As Executive Creative Director he established long-term client relationships with a range of European companies, including Porsche, Volkswagen, Audi and Montblanc. He left Frogdesign to join BMW Group Design, where he led the department responsible for Advanced User Experience Design, including concept cars, apps, series vehicles, and BMW’s in-car intelligent agent.

For the first ten years of his career, he worked as a user experience designer on websites, software applications, mobile apps, and digital strategies for clients in North and South America, including six years with Razorfish, where he led the UX team on the complete redesign of Delta Airlines’s digital ecosystem as well as a six-country digital strategy and redesign for Nextel Latin America.

In his spare time, David enjoys writing fiction and learning European languages.