Presenting Design Power Index’s method by World Design Business Organization and Consulus
By Lawrence Chong and Rebecca Teo
The updated assessment method of Design Power Index was presented at a briefing on 25th February before DPI 2025 honorees in Singapore.
The Design Power Index (DPI) enters its pivotal second phase, expanding from Singapore’s foundational index to a multi-national index that will include India and China in 2026. This is the world’s first longitudinal tracking index that systematically quantifies how companies and organisations through design that shapes economic outcomes.
The inaugural cohort for Singapore’s index consists of renowned companies such as Singapore Airlines, Capitaland, and Razer. Collectively, the 40 entities had a collective value of SGD$140 billion, have a global presence spanning 60 countries, and employ around 140,000 people. These 40 entities agree that design matters in shaping economic outcomes.
Design Power Index’s method is built on four pillars and 12 Power Signals. It evaluates how organisations across sectors harness design to capture value, shape markets, accelerate technology, and drive social impact.
DPI is a longitudinal economic index measuring how design exercises real power in the economy, not merely as aesthetic excellence, but based on achieving sustained outcomes. This is similar to how green design is assessed on the basis of climate change outcomes.
From Recognition to Assessment.
Last year’s Phase 1 recognised Singapore’s companies, organisations, and government agencies through a curated review of publicly available information. It serves as a foundational exercise to gather a diverse cohort; it aims to act as a qualified and diverse baseline of organisations from private companies, including listed and non-listed, to government agencies that impact policies, to education and academic institutions, and non-profits that shape sustained economic outcomes.
DPI does not measure design activity, design intent, or creative output. It measures the extent to which design has materially influenced outcomes and scale. It measures applied outcomes, the demonstrated ability of design to:
- Generate economic value (Business of Design)
- Shape or create markets (Market of Design)
- Accelerate the adoption and scale of technology (Technology of Design)
- Produce durable social and environmental impact (Social Impact of Design)
Design Power Index Assessment is administered like self-disclosures required of listed entities, consisting of structured self-declaration across all four pillars, independently validated for defensibility and comparability by an independent panel, and further reviewed by the Consulus team of analysts.
The Four Pillars of Design Power
All four pillars answer the same underlying question:
How is design exercising power in ways that produce observable outcomes over time?
These pillars represent universal dimensions of organisational power, applying equally to conglomerates, government agencies, universities, and non-profits:
- Business of Design (Value Capture)
How does design materially drive identifiable economic value capture?
Focuses on design as a revenue engine, proprietary asset, sustained advantage. - Market of Design (Market Shaping)
How has design reshaped market structure or value creation dynamics?
Focuses on new markets, category redefinition, and competitive trajectory. - Technology of Design (Adoption & Scale)
How has design enabled trusted, scalable adoption of systems or technology?
Focuses on adoption acceleration, trust enablement, and ecosystem scaling. - Social Impact of Design (Durable Impact)
How has design produced measurable, sustained societal or environmental outcomes?
Focuses on stakeholder reach, outcome depth, and impact institutionalisation.
Assessment Structure: 12 Power Signals
Each pillar contains three Power Signals, forming 12 precise assessment questions evaluated across five tiers:
- Distinctive Power (Highest)
- Advantage Power
- Rising Power
- Emerging Power
- Foundational Power (Lowest)
Power Impact interpretation rests on four dimensions:
- Causality: whether design materially influences outcomes
- Economic materiality: size or strategic weight of the outcome
- Organisational scale: team, business unit, enterprise, or ecosystem
- Market influence: internal, multi-market, or system-level
How DPI 2026 Works: The Assessment Journey
Timeline
March: Invitation and survey access for qualified organisations from Singapore, China, and India
May: Submission deadline
June: Independent Panel validation & interviews
July: DPI Participants received their Power Profile
September: Design Power Index 2026 Publication at World Design Business Forum on 9th September, with select entities who scored distinctive power in one or more categories sharing their power profile. And select power profiles can receive their 2026 DPI awards on 10th September at the DBCS+WDBO Gala
Organisations self-declare their highest evidence tier, supported by annual reports, case studies, and metrics. An expert panel then validates for causality, materiality, and scale.
Who Qualifies: Scale Meets Impact
From 2026, new entities from Singapore, India, and China must demonstrate 5+ years of operational history and meet at least one criterion:
- USD 50M+ revenue or valuation
- 300+ employees or 2,000+ students
- USD 10M+ annual expenditure
These thresholds ensure organisations possess sufficient scale for design decisions to demonstrate meaningful economic, market, technological, or social impact. Phase 1 participants do not need to meet this criteria and can advance automatically with longitudinal benchmarking.
What Organisations Gain: Present Method and Economic Value of Design Initiatives
Each participant receives a personalised Design Power Profile synthesising performance across all four pillars, benchmarked against their national cohort.
Top performers earn:
- Best in Power Pillar recognition
- Best Across Power Pillars distinction
- World Design Business Forum case study presentation opportunity
Participation positions organisations as design economics leaders to stakeholders, investors, and talent markets.
DPI 2026 proves design can be measured as rigorously as any other economic asset, establishing its role as the defining capability of the 21st century.
Interested organisations: Contact secretariat@wdbo.org.
Design Power Index (DPI) is by the World Design Business Organisation, a global organisation dedicated to establishing design as a strategic economic asset that drives prosperity and social impact. Founded by Design Business Chamber Singapore and Consulus.
Design Power Index is administered by Consulus, a global impact investment and creative change firm involved in shaping economic and financial indexes to shape the development of an Economy of Communion such as the multifaith economy mark, Asian Wellness, cities of dialogue.
© 2026 World Design Business Organisation
