Managing the Design Process-Concept Development

An Essential Manual for the Working Designer

Terry Stone

• Publisher: Rockport Publishers
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9781592536177
• eBook ISBN: 9781610580663
• Topic: Design
• Subtopic: Graphic Design

This book illustrates the point where theory meets practice in the design studio environment. This book examines design management concepts and methods in real-world applications. Unlike other books on design management, this book is visually stunning, featuring many image-rich case studies to illustrate the fundamentals of design management in a way that speaks to a design audience. The information is not something that is typically taught in design (or business) school—it's learned on the job, making this an invaluable reference for designers.

Chapter 1
Applied Creativity

Creativity in a Business Environment

Design is a process, a service, a way of thinking, and an activity that results in objects, systems, artifacts, and outcomes. These results must all work aesthetically, functionally, and commercially. In short, design is applied creativity.

Design is not just for designers. At the very least, it involves a client—someone with a problem, goal, or objective—who engages the designer to provide solutions or meet needs. Design can serve a person, company, product, service, or idea. The client usually has someone they are directing these efforts toward—a customer, community, or audience, and it is typically commissioned by one person, but intended for another. According to AIGA, the professional association for design, “The act of designing is an inherently powerful act. In that act, we share the stage with CEOs, government officials, civic leaders, passionate activists, and fellow citizens.” Getting a handle on the collaborative nature of design required to deal with all these variable factors is no small task.

The Design Council UK says, “Good design is a quantifiable benefit, not a cost. Its value can be measured economically, socially, and environmentally.” Design is a balance of many factors, some objective and some subjective. Clients’ business or organization requirements, technical parameters, cost and time constraints, are all measurable and objective things. While aesthetic preferences, interpretations of design elements like color and form, emotional reactions, and cultural influences are all subjective.

Everything manmade is designed by someone, so it makes sense to consider exactly how and why things are designed. Every business’ requires a designed identity, environment, business papers, sales and marketing materials, and a website. It’s inevitable. Recognizing this and investing in a great design, rather than letting it just happen, is a key ingredient in every successful business.

More and more, clients recognize the value of design. But not every client really understands how to work with a designer. Getting the best out of their design consultants, participating in the process, and effectively interacting with creative people takes practice. Some clients do it over and over. There are individuals who are tasked with this job in large organizations. Small business owners may hire a designer once and rarely after that, simply maintaining the design they started with.

Many designers have trouble managing the design process on their end as well. They have trouble planning and implementing. There are myriad details to deal with, and lots of personalities—from clients to design team to outside suppliers. When you boil it all down, the actual creative act of ideation, is about thirty percent of the project, with seventy percent of the time dealing with issues of facilitation, communication, technology, relationships, expectations, technical specifications, manufacturing, etc. In short, any given job will be largely dealing with management of the design process.

Project Profile in Applied Creativity

HGM Branding designed by Alt Group / Auckland, New Zealand

Hudson Gavin Martin (HGM) is a boutique legal practice formed by three partners, who advise on intellectual property and technology law in Australia. Multidisciplinary design studio, Alt Group, based in Auckland, New Zealand, worked to develop a visual identity, environment, and range of communication tools that challenged expectations of how legal service firms express their brand. “The experience was conceived of as an ongoing conversation that reveals ‘ideas’ that come in threes,” explains Alt managing director, Ben Corban. “Three is more than a partnership—it’s a team. Culture and customs offer up all sorts of threesomes, humorous and otherwise.”

RIGHT
The identity uses the copyright, trademark, and registered symbols to directly reference the firm’s core business. The registered symbol couldn’t be legally used until the logotype was registered with IPONZ (Intellectual Property Office of NZ). An interim “‘launch” logotype was produced with an asterisk and small copy (Registration Pending) in place of the ® symbol until registration was complete.

BELOW
Copy became a key part of the identity to assist in communicating the company culture and offering. “The three wise men, Hudson, Gavin, Martin, are cool, calm, and collected. They advise on clients’ equities, assets, and liabilities and are ready, willing, and able,” says Alt creative director Dean Poole. “A three-word copy approach was used across a range of collateral—for example, in the brochure above, the three-word groupings run into each other like concrete poetry.”

BELOW
The company name is revealed in clean typographic signage, (below, top). The brand idea of three related words that symbolize Hudson Gavin Martin was extended to the environment through corporate art and environmental graphics as well. A custom carpet signals a welcome, with the words: Hop, Skip, and Jump. Text-based and image-only artworks reveal the trilogy of business—like the knife, fork, and spoon posters, (below).

BELOW
A hat trick placed on a triangle-shaped plinth, made from three bowler hats and a bronze apple, (above), continues the symbolic reference to the three-way partnership. In the boardroom hangs a modernist triptych constructed from red, green, and blue LEGO bricks. Framed posters, like Bacon Lettuce Tomato, (below, bottom), echo the three-word idea as well as picnics with a bright-red, checked background that suggests a tablecloth.

BELOW
Core elements of the Hudson Gavin Martin identity and the tools of the intellectual property trade—the ©, ® and ™ symbols were incorporated to spell out the word Christmas. “The concept of three is an important part of the Hudson Gavin Martin brand,” notes Alt creative director, Dean Poole. “Christmas was stated three times and the gift itself was in three parts—wine, a rolling pin, and a candle—all the ingredients for a celebration or three. A holy trinity, if you will.”

BELOW
The copy strategy of three key words was extended into the website page headers—Hello, Hello, Hello; Signed, Sealed, Delivered; Shake, Rattle, Roll; Extra, Extra, Extra. The Hudson Gavin Martin site was built on a bespoke content-management platform to allow self-publishing of relevant issues based articles and campaign elements for recruitment and promotion.

Design’s Importance to Clients

The Danish Design Centre (DDC) has developed the concept of a design “ladder” that describes four levels of commitment to design that clients may have:

Step One: Nondesign
Design is inconspicuous and performed by staff members who are not design professionals. Design solutions are created based on “shared perceptions of functionality and aesthetics.” End-users needs and points of view are not considered.

Step Two: Design Is Styling
Design is viewed as the final aesthetic finish only. Sometimes it is created by designers, but generally, other professionals are involved.

Step Three: Design as Process
Design is viewed as a work method and adopted early. Design solutions are focused on end-user requirements. Design is seen as a multidisciplinary approach that requires a variety of expertise.

Step Four: Design as Innovation
The designer collaborates with client executives in adopting an innovative approach to substantial parts of their business. The design processes are combined with the company vision to impact al aspects of the client’s products or services.

Defining Design’s Power Role

Everything, but especially communication, is becoming increasingly complex. Things change so rapidly due to technology and new ways of interacting as human beings. It had given us more connectivity, but in many ways, less time to enjoy it. Plus product life cycles are shorter, and there is increased competition and a much higher demand for productivity and quality. There is also simply so much competition for everyone’s limited attention. We may have become multitaskers, but you have to wonder how well any of us is accomplishing the task at hand. With increased capabilities there are also increased expectations; therefore, there’s no feeling of ever really “advancing.”

The power of design is that it helps us to rise above these conditions and gets people connected with products and services in real and meaningful ways. Some things clients can expect design to help them accomplish:

• Establish or improve an image

• Identify them (clearly show who/what they are)

• Articulate the brand, its mission, and promises

• Differentiate them, make a product or service stand out from competitors

• Alleviate uncertainty and confusion in the marketplace

• Understand and track performance against competitors

• Boost aesthetic appeal

• Cut through overwhelming amounts of information

• Properly position the product or service

• Develop targeted message

• Package a product or service

• Communicate the benefits and advantages of a product or service

• Establish or improve customer connections/relationships

•...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• The Design Process
• Chapter 1: Applied Creativity
• Chapter 2: Big Goals
• Chapter 3: Design-Centric Research
• Chapter 4: Strategic Thinking
• Chapter 5: Informed Risk Taking
• Chapter 6: Creative Briefs
• Chapter 7: Aesthetic Considerations
• Chapter 8: Managing Expectations
• Directory of Contributors
• Index
• Bibliography
• Resources
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Copyright Page