Bridging the Gap Between Design and Business Value – An Interview with Founder Craig Edis
Craig Edis is the founder of The Wink Collective, where he helps designers bridge the gap between craft and business, empowering them to operate strategically, professionally, and creatively. With over 20 years of experience in design and marketing and nearly a decade in product leadership, Craig specializes in transforming complexity into clarity, crafting digital products that are intuitive, efficient, and grounded in user psychology.
Craig Edis, Founder
What strategies do you use to empower businesses to leverage design as a key driver of growth and innovation?
Design is often misunderstood as the “department of making things look pretty.” My strategy is to reposition design as a strategic translator. It sits directly in the centre of a Venn diagram between user needs and business goals. To drive growth, a business must move design from a service that happens at the end of a project to a strategic partner that sits at the table during the first conversation.
We empower businesses by teaching them to tap into how designers actually solve problems: through empathy, critical thinking, and innovation backed by considered risk. When design is used to mitigate risk rather than just create an aesthetic veneer, it becomes a profit centre.
Innovation isn't about guessing; it’s about using design to bridge the gap between what the market wants and what the business can profitably deliver.
How do you ensure that your design solutions are not only creative but also aligned with a company’s broader business goals?
The litmus test is simple: validation. The greater the perceived risk to the business or the size of the financial investment, the deeper the user and market validation must be. Creative solutions are worthless if they don’t move a business KPI.
At The Wink Collective, we ensure alignment by insisting that every design choice is defensible via data. If you can’t explain how a design decision impacts ROI, conversion, or retention, then it’s art, not design. We focus on “the ROI of certainty,” using design as a logic-based tool to ensure that when a company hits ‘go’ on a project, they aren't just crossing their fingers. They are executing on a validated strategy.
What challenges do companies often face when trying to integrate design thinking into their strategy, and how do you help them overcome these?
The biggest obstacle is the language barrier. Executives speak the language of spreadsheets and business outcomes; many designers speak the language of pixels and aesthetics. This creates a disconnect where design is brought in far too late, usually just to polish a solution that was already decided upon.
I help organizations realize that design should be used to solve the problem, not just decorate the solution. Many businesses, and designers, don't understand the difference between art and design, and that leads to wasted capital. We help them think holistically and adopt a user-centred approach, providing the business context so the value of design becomes relatable to the bottom line.
It’s about moving away from subjective opinions (“I don't like that blue”) to objective business requirements (“Does this blue drive the intended user action?”).
How does The Wink Collective differentiate itself from other design consultancies, and what unique value do you bring?
Most consultancies focus on the what – the final deliverable. We focus on the how and the why – the mindset, the relationships, and the operational efficiency. There is a massive difference between knowing how to design and actually being a strategic designer.
We challenge traditions that no longer make sense: executing without questioning, treating design subjectively, and ignoring data. In my previous work, I’ve seen that by shifting to a more collaborative, context-driven model, we could increase the efficiency of producing and selling design by at least 60%.
We address the soft skills that are often ignored: communication, critical thinking, and cross-functional collaboration. We also focus on the operational efficiency of design teams. So much budget is leaked through archaic, misaligned working practices. We stop the bleed by ensuring design speaks the language of business and aligns with the actual mechanics of how a company makes money.
Why is it a mistake for early-stage startups to treat design as an afterthought, and how does that impact their long-term investment?
Startups are the biggest victims of “assumption debt.” They often build experiences based on guesses, neglecting to speak to users or involve design until they’ve already built a bloated, confusing platform or brand. By the time they realize the user experience is non-linear and unintuitive, they’ve already wasted a significant portion of their investment.
I’ve seen platforms experience organic growth only to realize their original architecture can't support it – resulting in a universal bucket of features where users are overwhelmed, and errors are frequent. Treating design as a “later” problem is an expensive mistake. Design is a risk-mitigation tool that ensures you aren't building the wrong thing beautifully. For a startup, design isn't a luxury; it’s the insurance policy that ensures your product actually aligns with market needs before the capital runs out.
Design isn't a department; it's a driver of ROI. If you’re tired of treating design as a “polishing” service and are ready to integrate it as a core business function that mitigates risk and drives growth, let’s talk.
Work with us at The Wink Collective.
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