What is Sun*'s New Service "Design*Value Up" that Achieves "Strategic Design"?

In an era where anyone can mass-produce "visually appealing" designs using AI, what's needed is a standard for discerning "what to choose" when creating a product.

No matter how good a feature is, if its value isn't communicated to users, it won't be a chosen product. What determines whether value is communicated is design, such as UI/UX, visuals, and brand experience.

This article introduces a way of thinking that transforms design from something judged by a "vague sense of goodness" into a business strategy for "intentional selection."

Why "Gut-Feeling Design" Hinders Business Growth

Do any of these situations sound familiar?

In review meetings, phrases like "it's kinda nice" or "it feels a bit off" fly around, but no one can explain why it's good or what's different. Preferences of the loudest voices dictate the direction, only for someone else to overturn everything later. Before you know it, you're repeating the same discussions over and over.

The more design options there are, the greater the need for criteria to discern which one to choose. If design is judged solely on individual intuition and there's no shared standard within the team, decision-making becomes personalized.

Personalized decision-making affects various aspects of a product. Inconsistent UI/UX not only confuses users but also makes it harder for them to grasp the product's value. Over time, this can impact business metrics like CVR (Conversion Rate) and LTV (Lifetime Value).

Lack of decision criteria leads to indecision on direction and repeated design revisions, incurring significant costs. Even if you realize something "just doesn't feel right," if you can't articulate what needs to be fixed and how, it won't lead to concrete actions for improvement.

Gut-feeling design, without you realizing it, hinders business growth.

What's Needed to Turn Design into a Business Strength To break free from gut-feeling design, you need to build three foundational pillars to support decision-making.

1 Verbalizing Value Make the value that serves as the premise for design – "Who are we delivering what value to?" – into words that stakeholders can share.

2 Designing Decision Criteria Create a measuring stick to determine "Why are we choosing this design?" Having criteria leads to evidence-based decision-making, rather than relying on intuition.

3 Translating into UI/UX Concrete the verbalized value and criteria into actual screens and experiences, making them tangible for users.

Only with these foundations can design transform from "something that feels good" to "value that is intentionally chosen and provided."

Sun*'s Concept of "Strategic Design"

At Sun*, we have systematized good design into a reproducible process.

By ensuring that everyone on the team can judge based on the same criteria – "Why this design?" – decisions are no longer personalized, knowledge accumulates within the team, and a system for continuous improvement is fostered.

Furthermore, we approach "Who are we delivering what value to?" from a business perspective, consider "How do we achieve that?" from a technology perspective, and design "How will users experience it?" from a creative perspective. By having BTC (Business / Technology / Creative) collaborate, we create designs that stay true to the business objectives.

The role of design changes depending on the business phase. In the idea validation stage, it's ●●; in the launch stage; and in the growth stage, it's ●●, with different actions leading to business results.

Create Design Decision Criteria with "Design*Value Up"

Some of you might be thinking, "I understand the importance of criteria, but I don't know where to start." Transforming design into strategy doesn't mean it's easy to jump into a full-scale renewal or large-scale development.

First, you want to align on the design direction and concrete image in a short period. "Design*Value Up" can be utilized in such situations.

"Design*Value Up" is a package service provided by Sun* that comprehensively handles "verbalizing value," "designing decision criteria," and "translating into UI/UX" within one month. It progresses from value-clarifying workshops to actual UI design in a single flow.

Before committing to significant investment or development, it provides a common foundation for subsequent development and decision-making by organizing design decision criteria and concrete images.

What You Gain with "Design*Value Up"

"Design*Value Up" provides materials not just as data, but as a means to internally judge and explain "Why this design?" and to utilize it in subsequent decision-making.

Specifically, it covers everything from issue extraction, design concept setting, tone and manner refinement, mood board and emotional design, wireframe creation, to screen design. These are ultimately organized into screen designs and work documents.

By creating documented materials, subsequent design decisions can be made based on shared criteria, not intuition. This not only aligns the team's understanding but also serves as a basis for explaining design intentions externally.

What We Value in Each Workshop

The biggest feature of "Design*Value Up" is that we meticulously build the foundation for decision-making, step by step, before finalizing the design. These "verbalizing value," "designing decision criteria," and "translating into UI/UX" are given concrete form through the following four workshops:

・Refining Tone and Manner

To determine the direction of UI design, we organize and visualize the currently envisioned atmosphere to align stakeholders' perceptions.

・Proposing Direction

Before narrowing down to a single option, we compare multiple proposals side-by-side. By comparing choices, we align the decision criteria themselves – "Why are we choosing this one?"

・Creating a Mood Board

We visualize discrepancies in understanding that words alone cannot bridge, creating a shared perception of the final outcome.

・Emotional Program

We design the emotions we want users to feel when interacting with the product. Design is constructed not from visual appeal, but from the emotions evoked during the experience.

What's common to all workshops is the stance of "transforming intuition into criteria that the team can share." Instead of entrusting design to one person's sensibility, we break it down into words and criteria, one by one. This is the uniqueness of Sun*'s design process.

*Actual workshops are available both in-person and online.

Connecting to Development, Verification, and Growth Starting from Decision Criteria

Once the design direction and decision criteria are established, the next phase is to move the business forward. The values and decision criteria verbalized in "Design*Value Up" serve as a basis for design in subsequent development.

We refine the organized design into UI/UX, expand it into a design system and brand materials, and proceed with growth through prototypes and MVPs (Minimum Viable Products). "Design*Value Up" is not just a one-off design improvement, but a starting point that leads to subsequent business promotion.

From the design refinement stage to the business growth stage, Sun* provides support tailored to the business phase, combining the necessary expertise.

Move beyond "vaguely good" to a state where your product is "intentionally chosen."

If you are facing challenges in designing your product's value as an experience that resonates with users, please feel free to consult Sun*.

Contact for Inquiries about This Service https://sun-asterisk.com/service/development/#contact

About Sun*

Company Name: Sun Asterisk Inc.

Location: Otemachi Building B1F, 1-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Representative: Taihei Kobayashi, Representative Director

Founded: 2013

Business Activities: Digital Creative Studio Business

URL: https://sun-asterisk.com/