Design is increasingly becoming a key business activity that interacts with science, technology and culture to enable innovation to take place. The notion that design is a key enabler for wealth creation, global competitiveness and economic growth is gaining momentum. Governments, corporations, businesses and universities around the world are now exploiting creativity and innovation to sustain global competitiveness. The importance of design lies not only in the design of individual products, services or systems, but rather in the whole process of design strategic thinking in which design is seen as a significant business and economic imperative for innovation. Design thinking and the ideation, design and development of emotional delights, experience and dreams are the new forces for increasing the value of goods and services of a nation. Innovation is becoming the greatest asset. In the new economy, a creative workforce will enable a nation to positively integrate its products and services into global value chains –forging new competencies, developing niches, and establishing a high profile, national identity, brands, jobs and wealth, and partnership or cluster participations in creative activities between education, industry and government sectors. National design policies are important strategic plans for directing and improving a country’s design and innovation competitiveness. They help to drive economic competitveness, develop innovative businesses that generate significant employment, high-value-added goods and services, and sustained technological progress. This presentation will discuss these forces in detail, and highlights the bold New Zealand national design policy designed to transform an agriculture economy into a design-savvy nation.