From craft to design 4.0: the evolution of design thinking toward sustainable strategic advantage

The accelerating technological and social change vis-à-vis recent discourse on Design 4.0, suggest that design in contemporary times operates at the level of organisational culture and societal transformation rather than simply at the level of products and services. Yet the implications of this shift for how firms develop and deploy design as a strategic capability are still not well understood. This study traces the evolution of design from a peripheral, aesthetic function to being a core strategic competence in the business environment. It employs a critical narrative review guided by SANRA and informed by ROSES reporting principles, using a qualitative interpretive synthesis of extant literature supported by illustrative case examples from grey literature. Design’s progression was charted from its craft origins to its current role as a driver of systemic innovation. The findings link design-based approaches to sustainable competitive advantage and also reference the need to combine sustainability and new digital technologies like artificial intelligence with contemporary practice. The research concludes with a conceptual framework combining human-centred design thinking, technological extension, and sustainability governance aspects. This integrated framework positions design for businesses and allied stakeholders, as an essential organisational capability that can be used to navigate complexity and create resilient, human-centered value in an era of profound uncertainty.