Design Maturity

This chapter explores the relationship between an organization's design maturity and various professional outcomes for service design professionals, including salary and job satisfaction. Understanding design maturity can provide insights into how different organizational contexts impact the role and value of service design.

The Survey Question

Our survey asked respondents to assess the design maturity of their organization using a predefined scale.

How would you describe the design maturity of your organization?

Respondents rated their organization's maturity on a 5-point scale, where each level represents a deeper integration of design into the business:

  1. No design function
  2. Design is a service
  3. Design as a capability
  4. Design as a strategic partner
  5. Design as a core business driver

History of the Question

The question regarding design maturity was introduced in the 2024 survey to better understand the organizational context in which service designers operate. The options have remained consistent since its introduction.

Filter the Data

Median Salary

This chart displays the median salary for service design professionals across different levels of organizational design maturity. The data can be filtered by country and year to provide a more granular view of compensation trends.

Note: We only show the median salary based on the data from people at agencies and in-house (excluding freelance).

Satisfaction Score

This chart illustrates the average satisfaction score of service design professionals in organizations with varying levels of design maturity. The satisfaction score is based on a 1-10 scale, providing insights into the overall job satisfaction levels within each maturity level.

Respondents Breakdown

This chart shows the distribution of survey respondents across different levels of organizational design maturity. It provides a clear overview of the representation of service design professionals within organizations at various stages of design integration.