While many South African organisations focus on customer-centricity and user experience, SA is still catching up to global benchmarks when it comes to design maturity.
Global pioneers have been forging ahead and embedding UX research into design practices for several years, while South Africa remains in the early stages of the development of design maturity.
There has been a notable increase in design hires with UX/UI job titles in South Africa, and design has become more visible in organisations than ever before.
Unfortunately, many organisations now ‘have design’ but they have not yet shifted how they think about design.
Underestimating the power of design
In many cases, designers are still seen as little more than the people who make screens look good. They are often brought in late during the delivery phase to implement design from a UX or a UI point of view and are not part of the strategic planning from the outset. They are treated as a delivery service, not as a decision-making partner.
South Africa has no lack of design talent; what is lacking are the systems and leadership to activate that talent. At executive level, design is frequently misunderstood or underestimated and is measured by how fast it ships rather than the long-term value it delivers.
Design maturity doesn’t happen by accident − it happens through intention.
Another challenge is that many companies skip research to save time but end up wasting time fixing the wrong things.
Organisational structures limit design maturity when designers are brought in after key decisions have already been made, feedback loops are broken or non-existent and when teams work in silos, without shared goals or visibility into each other’s processes.
True maturity requires structural alignment between vision, process and accountability.
Design can be powerful. In mature, design-centric organisations, design is a strategic partner that can drive measurable, impactful change informed by insights and not assumptions, and it builds strong alignment across product teams throughout delivery.
Scaling versus growth
While local organisations may believe they are maturing their design capabilities, they tend to be scaling rather than growing.
What is the difference? Growth implies depth. Scaling without growth means duplication without evolution. Scaling is about volume. Growth is about value. One increases delivery, while the other improves direction.
Scaling encompasses hiring more designers, producing screens faster, and expanding visual coverage across platforms.
In contrast, with growth you get stronger collaboration across product, engineering and business; evolving research practices and design operations, and strategic involvement of design in early decision-making.
Growth asks: Are we building the right thing? Scaling asks: How fast can we ship it?
If designing just for the sake of designing something and getting it to market, there’s only a 50-50 chance of it succeeding. If validated thoroughly with customers, the company has a lot more certainty, and the money that's being spent on developing the designs into a workable solution is far better spent with a lot less risk involved.
We don’t grow design maturity by accident, we grow it by design – through intentional structures, shared language, and a culture that sees design as a thinking partner, not just a delivery service.
Design maturity isn’t about headcount – it’s about how deeply design is embedded in how a company thinks, builds and evolves.
A mature design practice is like a nervous system for the business – it senses, learns and adapts.
In mature organisations, design is embedded early in product strategy, backed by user research and data, measured by outcomes (such as user satisfaction, efficiency, retention) and supported by design operations and cross-functional team alignment.
Mature organisations treat design as a capability that connects strategy to execution, where design guides decisions, reacts to change and strengthens over time through feedback loops and iteration.
But design can only grow as far as the organisation allows it. Without intentional structure, talent alone won't translate into maturity. And even the most talented designers cannot succeed if the system isn't designed for them to thrive. If organisations want the benefits of great design, they must invest in creating the culture, structure and mindset to make it possible.
Getting there
Design maturity doesn’t happen by accident − it happens through intention. It is about designing the conditions where design isn’t just delivering but is actively helping shape direction.
To move towards design maturity, organisations must start by involving design early – at the point of framing the problem, not just solving it. They need to treat user research as a continuous, embedded function – not an optional line item when timelines allow for it.
Organisations should also align around shared outcomes, not isolated outputs. They need to ask: How are we improving customer experience? What signals tell us we’re moving in the right direction?
They need to build rituals and systems that support collaboration – not just between designers, but across product, engineering, research and business.
Most importantly, they must create a culture that respects enquiry – that sees value in slowing down, listening, testing and evolving.
South Africa doesn’t need more design – it needs more design maturity.
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