A glutton for all things drenched in history, my first stop in mainland Europe this summer was Copenhagen, Denmark. And I was excited. I was inching closer into Scandinavian territory, swooning at the proposition of finally traversing myth-soaked lands while downing pints of Danish lager. What I found was a modern city fused with old grandeur and an emphasis on design. (In actuality, after leaving JFK I entered Europe through Iceland’s airport in Reykjavik. And being Danes, their sense of architectural design using wood, steel and glass was, for lack of a better word, enchanting.)

My initial impression of Copenhagen was welcoming. With the strong sense of community infused with an open utilitarian social emphasis, despite the lack of mighty heroes and thundering gods, Copenhagen was an instant love affair. The proclamation elegantly draped along a large stone building confirmed it: “Design can save the world!”

But what did these Danes mean when they declared design could do so much? And what could such a simple word save us from? The word “design” may appear simple, though describing it may not be.

Howard Gardner, Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education suggests there are varying forms of intelligence, with our most recent era focused predominantly on the numerical, logical and mathematical type. The result: skewed focus on numeric value leading to what I refer to as the productivity/production problem— a slant towards quantity of output rather than quality of output.

Design means many things to many people. Most look at the word thinking “creativity” and “imagination.” What most miss is the conjunction with left-side-brain attributes. Organization. Structure. Hierarchy. Dominant factors in successful problem solving. And this is exactly design, a language unto itself, one stemmed in solutions and problem-solving. Like the physicist who applies mathematics as language to convey the functions of the universe, designers use problem-solving to construct the visual and read language describing our world.

In the span of fifteen days, Fast Company Design published two articles dealing with the emerging design-focused entrepreneurial movement in the United States, and specifically, Steve Jobs and the design-centric nature of his startup-like company. Tumblr, Twitter, Behance and 37Signals are all technology and social-based companies sharing the commonality of design or creative backgrounds.3

“The emerging trend represents a headlong crash of creativity into capitalism.”4

It is this remarkable trend both Gardner and the Danes speak of. To simply lump the concept of design as purely aesthetic or superfluous is to undermine the very value of artistic-based intelligence. Intelligence manifested through marriage of the analytical and the inspirational. This is where true innovation exists.

"When we look at a design, we don't see a design, we are experiencing it."6 Steve Jobs and Apple understood this and that is why other companies will continue to try and be like Apple but completely miss the point. Tech specs, numeric crunching and features will not make a difference in this shifting economy. The Danes, and much of Northern Europe, understand this and why they believe functional and inspired design can make a difference. We are beginning to as well.

IQ, quantified intelligence, cannot exist as the sole form of intelligence. Artistic intelligence, crafted experience, social development and human interaction. It will take a heaping dose of the human quotient to lead entrepreneurship forward.