If you’re looking for evidence that design is becoming more important to enterprise application development, take a look at enterprise software vendor Infor. The firm has recently taken several steps to embrace good design as a fundamental part of its corporate culture.
The company has built a large design agency, known as Hook and Loop. Originally, the agency had just five employees, but it now has 80 and plans to hire three dozen more.
Infor’s website promises “Beautiful business software for your business processes,” and a sign admonishing “No fugly software” hangs in a prominent position in the company. They’ve redesigned many of their core applications, and they’ve even arranged their work spaces to bring designers into close proximity with executives.