Paolo Ramazzotti
Founder, Mind The Gap &Founder,& Lecturer, University of Tartu Pärnu College
Talk
From beautiful to valuable: designing for relevance, visibility, and choice
Design creates business value long before anything is built, launched, or measured.
In a world where technology — and AI in particular — accelerates execution, the real opportunity lies in what hasn’t changed: how organisations are understood, trusted, and chosen. This keynote offers a calm, strategic perspective on how design contributes to business outcomes by shaping clarity upstream — where priorities are set, meaning is defined, and decisions take form.
Rather than focusing on tools or trends, the talk reframes design as a strategic interface between intent and action. It explores how designers support decision-makers by helping translate strategy into coherent signals across touchpoints, enabling better choices, stronger alignment, and more effective execution.
The result is not speed for its own sake, but direction — and a clearer understanding of where design creates the most leverage in times of acceleration.
Workshops
Designing business value upstream: a strategic clarity workshop (4h)
- February 20, 2026 at 10:00
- Estonian Academy of Arts, Põhja puiestee 7, Tallinn - Room: A-501
Designers have always worked closest to customers — mapping journeys, shaping experiences, and improving satisfaction. In a period of rapid technological acceleration, this perspective becomes even more valuable: not because designers should lead organisations, but because they help decision-makers make sense of complexity before action is taken.
This workshop focuses on how design creates business value upstream — before tactics, tools, or execution. Participants will explore how relevance, visibility, meaning, and outcomes are shaped early on, and how clearer intent and alignment lead to stronger results across channels and teams.
As interfaces become less visible and decisions are increasingly influenced by automated systems, recommendations, and AI-mediated processes, clarity becomes a strategic asset. Design’s role expands from shaping what people see to helping organisations be understood, trusted, and chosen — by people and by systems.
Through hands-on group exercises based on realistic scenarios, participants will diagnose where value is being created, diluted, or lost, and how better alignment at the start improves everything that follows. The workshop introduces a practical strategic framework used in real consulting and leadership contexts — not as a prescription, but as a shared reference point to guide decisions, briefs, and collaboration.
Participants will leave with:
- a clearer understanding of where design creates business value before delivery
- a structured way to support decision-makers with clearer priorities and trade-offs
- practical tools to align teams, agencies, and stakeholders
- a reusable lens to guide strategy before committing to tactics
Who this workshop is for:
- Designers and design leaders supporting strategic decision-making
- Product owners and managers responsible for coherence across touchpoints
- Business and innovation leaders navigating change and acceleration
Format:
- 4-hour, in-person, hands-on workshop
- Group exercises and guided discussion
- Strategic and non-technical
- No participant limit
220€
272.8€ with VAT
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