All it takes is one creative spark to ignite afire.source: DSRUPTR.comI recently wrote about the 5 powerful business insights that prove the value ofdesign.While its incredible to see the business results on the value of design from McKinsey, Harvard, Forbes, and Adobe, I really appreciate the everyday examples to help illustrate the value ofdesign.And the creative spark it takes to move a mountainThe Story of Jacek Utko and His CreativeSparkJacek Utko is a former architect who got a job as a newspaper art director. He really thought newspapers were boring and bland, and that was easily reflected in the low circulationnobody was readingthem!source: Pew ResearchCenterHe was really frustrated. His parents and friends thought he was crazy wasting his time working at a newspaper.And the general public thought newspapers would soon become extinct because most people were reading news online. Not to mention most newspapers were outdated by the time they were printed, and environmentalist thought newspapers wasted valuable resources.source: Pew ResearchCenterBut what should he do? He knew that newspapers werent appealing to consumers, he just wasnt sure how to make them better. Or if they could even besaved.Stepping away from work, he took a trip up to London to attend a Cirque du Soleil performance with somefriends.https://medium.com/media/159d9a937486f25d82878ed2a1bfca82/hrefHe was blown away. He told his friends that they totally transformed a creepy run-down entertainment into performance art!This one performance was the creative spark that would ignite a fire inJacek.He knew right away that he should use design to transform his newspaper from boring text into performance art.Just like a Cirque du Soleil performance.Much like when Einstein was a child and received a magnetic compass as a gift, sparking his lifelong fascination with the invisible forces ofnature.source: created with MidjourneyOr Steve Jobs being inspired during a calligraphy course at Reed College, where he was captivated by the elegance and beauty of typography. This sparked his passion for design. He embraced design to create beautiful form factors and interfaces in Apples productsbecoming a unique differentiator from the bland PC computers.source: DSRUPTR.comJacek quickly returned home to Poland to focus his energy on selling leadership on his vision to radically redesign the newspaper into visually engaging and artisticpieces.The Revolution of Newspaper DesignJacek worked closely with newspaper executives to figure out the business goals of their papers, and then radically reformatted the product to fit thosegoals.Part of the transformation was Jaceks strategic rethinking the newspaper design, moving away from individual page layouts to seeing the whole newspaper as a single composition.As the art director at Warsaws Puls Biznesu in 2004, he redesigned this small business-focused newspaper and immediately won the SND award for worlds best-designed newspaper. Readers responded, and circulation wentup.source: PulsBiznesuIts clear from these covers that Jacek has completely elevated an old newspaper from static information into dynamiccontent.source: PulsBiznesuThe info graphics that Jacek and his team designed are not just interesting bits of data, but compelling stories that take their readers on ajourney.source: PulsBiznesuJacek and his team got people to notice newspapers again. And quite frankly, the designs he created made newspapers hard toignore.source: WyborczaPeople rushed to pick up these redesigned newspapers, often seeing others holding them and curious about the artistry and creativity they saw on thepages.source: DM.focusJacek sat back in his chair with a smile. He and his team had successfully transformed a newspaper into performance art. What seemed like an impossible dream was nowreality.The BusinessResultsUtkos extraordinary design work demonstrates that strategic, user-focused design significantly enhances business performance and reader engagement.The amount of awards and revenue created by Jacek and his team are inspiring:Increased Circulation by Up to 100%: Utkos redesigns for newspapers in Eastern Europe, including titles in Poland, Russia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Latvia, consistently boosted circulation, with some publications seeing increases of up to 100% due to enhanced visual appeal and reader engagement.35% Circulation Growth in Poland: A Polish newspaper Utko redesigned saw a 35% circulation increase over three years, reversing nearly a decade of stagnation, by aligning design with business goals and reader preferences.Boosted Ad Revenue: His redesigns, such as for Bonniers business publications, led to increased advertising revenue, often by as much as 100%, by creating visually compelling layouts that attracted advertisers.Award-Winning Designs: Utkos redesigns won the Society of News Design (SND) Worlds Best Designed Newspaper award in 2004 and 2007 for Warsaws Puls Biznesu, enhancing brand prestige and marketability.European Newspaper of the Year Awards: Three newspapers he redesigned were recognized as European Newspaper of the Year in 2015, 2016, and 2019, driving higher readership and industry recognition.Global Impact Across 35 Countries: Utkos redesigns for dozens of newspapers and magazines in Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa (e.g., Singapore, South Africa) consistently increased readership and revenue, leveraging strategic design.ConclusionBeyond the extraordinary business results from McKinsey, Harvard, Forbes, and Adobe, the world can easily see in this simple example that design has the transformative power as a spark for innovation and a driver of businessvalue.Jacek not only proved that good design can help readers reconnect with newspapers, but he also proved that good design can bring a dying industry back from the edge of extinction.https://medium.com/media/8229a39f9e4605e7d4bc15e0cd1867aa/hrefAnd he accomplished this by going beyond just aesthetics by improving the overall product and aligning content and design with a clear strategy. He collaborated with business leaders every step of theway.Jacek is now an art director for the Bonnier Business Press, overseeing papers in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states, and the work he oversees consistently wins major prizes (including another SND worlds-best in 2007 for Estonias ripev), despite their small teams and limited resources.source: DSRUPTR.comThe story shows that designers have the power to change not only a product but also the entire workflow and culture of acompany.To all designers and innovatorsthis is our creative spark! We need to embrace this story and seize the moment to use design to solve the biggest challenges in our organizations. We all need to be likeJacek.If Jacek can revolutionize the newspaper industry with design, then you can utilize design to revolutionize any industry.How design radically transformed a dying industry was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.