By now, you've seen the business media talking about design with every second breath—"design thinking" will lead the way to innovation, growth, and new products. Outsourcing and consolidation of design, engineering and R&D will cut costs and increase profit margins. The 21st Century will be a "Conceptual Age"—a society of creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers. Companies must connect with their customers—offer products and services that resonate on an emotional level—to be successful you must evoke the "warm fuzzies".
In these stories, and more, two broad themes emerge. One is that given the technology and communication systems available today, most components of traditional design services will be commoditized to the point where price is the only differentiator. The other is that these very same cost cutting and efficiency measures, while disruptive to the design industry in its current form, will ultimately transform the industry for the better. Tomorrow's clients will seek to apply design skills and methods much earlier and more significantly in the product development cycle, while research will focus on the customer, not the marketplace, and strategy will focus on growth and innovation, not the cheapest vendor.
Bruce Nussbaum, design champion and editorial page editor at BusinessWeek observes that design studios at the forefront of this revolution are evolving their "core competencies from drawing to thinking, from styling to innovating, from shaping things to visualizing new business paradigms." He continues by suggesting that corporations look to the design industry as a "resource to help with the broad array of issues that affect strategy and organization—creating new brands, defining customer experiences, understanding user needs, changing business practices."
A report on the APDF study "State of the Design Industry-2004" states "Beyond the conventional parameters of design, creatives are stepping-up to fuller problem solving roles, offering perspective and innovative thinking—work done away from the Mac." While the design industry is gaining awareness of this shift in their business, their roles relative to their clients and their future growth opportunities, the fact remains that the nature of the trend is of an order of magnitude much greater than imagined. History shows that once industries disappear, they are gone for good, along with the expertise and way of life they entailed.
So how exactly do you evolve and retool your design business? What are designers doing once they have redefined their role? Conversations with practicing professionals revealed quite a few insights.
Stone Yamashita Partners is a San Francisco based consulting firm founded in 1994 that embraced this way of thinking from the start. Their philosophy is that an integrated whole-brain approach combining the intuition and empathy of the "creative" side with the logic and analytical ability of the "business" side is an extremely versatile and powerful tool for facilitating growth and change for their clients. According to Greg Parsons, a principal at SY[P] who holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, "if we don't have one person with both sides in their background, we create teams with business oriented thinkers who understand design and designers who think like businesspeople." Another principal, Liz Sutton, adds "Design thinking allows us to observe, deconstruct, understand the problem and then present an elegant solution. Business allows us to put the dollars and the numbers in place."
Jump Associates is another West Coast consultancy that has been practicing in this space for the past seven years. Alonzo Canada, an associate with a background in architecture, interaction design and business development, states that their clients are seeking "actionable roadmaps to growth." To provide these, his firm uses social research techniques to unearth unmet needs. Employing proprietary frameworks—one is called an "opportunity map"—they identify opportunities for their clients and then develop compelling solutions that speak to their customer's needs. The end results are actionable recommendations backed by clear depictions of where the client will be in one year, in three years, or more, supported by the metrics that a business plan requires. Their team members typically have at least two of the three core skills—social research, design and business strategy.
The majority of those reaching out to embrace this trend have their roots in the UI industry rather than industrial design. While traditional product and graphic design practitioners enter the field with a foundation based on design history, emphasis on form, method and process, those in the UI field come from myriad backgrounds such as software engineering, marketing, and brand strategy. Without a common heritage and education, these designers are more comfortable working with disparate client groups and in interdisciplinary teams.
Furthermore, the interaction design and user experience field is such that a successful end result frequently requires an in-depth study of the client's business strategy, marketing and corporate objectives. Thus, from the very beginning, these design professionals have been closely involved in the tangible manifestation of corporate strategy to a far greater degree than most product designers. Until recently, industrial design teams were typically called in much later in the process, after key decisions—what to make, whom to make it for, and why—have been taken. Design strategy in this context has had implicit reference to either a specific member of a product family or a range of products, integrating with the company's brand, rather than the evolution and definition of the brand and the strategy—the positioning of the company—and then making it tangible through product design.
If this is indeed the dawning of a conceptual era, where the skills and abilities needed to be successful are the very cornerstone of the design profession, then designers cannot afford to continue wearing blinders in the face of the opportunities available. Chris Conley, assistant professor at the Institute of Design, Chicago writes how "the application of this expertise beyond what is normally considered a "design project" is accelerating design professional's relevance to business. Understanding the broad relevance and power of these skills, distinct from traditional business skills, makes it possible to break down the barrier between the designer and the business person." Firms that expect to prosper in this evolving arena cannot wait for outside influences to define their future structure and strategy. They must take an active role in re-inventing themselves and their business. Designers are uniquely positioned to take on an introspective project like this, possessing the very skills needed to transform products, services and businesses, even their own.
This is not an easy proposition, and there will be bumps in the road. Jump's Canada cautions "It's an emerging market and a certain amount of expansion will take place with a number of different firms entering to offer these services. They'll see that it's not as simple as it sounds to get real results. I'm already starting to see this now, neophytes getting in the game, who think it's just a matter of getting a videotape recorder and following people around and coming up with cool designs. It's not that easy. It's offering clever, compelling solutions combined with business planning so that competition cannot come in and clock you. This needs the multidisciplinary team I mentioned to do it. It's a major opportunity for the design industry to raise its value, to offer compelling solutions that allow differentiation."
For designers, managers, and design firm owners who want to take the initiative and begin moving towards the new model of design teams described above, there are a few specific things you can do to get the ball rolling.
Engage your client in your process. They know their business best, and by collaboration you are enhancing the level of discourse and flow of information, rather than accepting the project as a simple design task. Ideally, this leads to an expansion of the range of services you can provide for your client. Their participation will also increase their buy in on your final concepts.
Understand the context in which the final product has to reside. Cordy Swope, design strategist and founder of normal life, puts it this way; "Understand and respect all other disciplines. Engineering, Marketing, Design, Advertising, Branding, Media, Finance...these are established disciplines with their own terminologies, theories and sets of best practices. It is a big (and arrogant) mistake to declare war on them or their practitioners. You will not win if you do. They are all components of your client's business."
Develop an understanding and appreciation for user research and ethnographic studies. If you don't have in-house talent in this area, hire or partner with specialists in this field. Research is a specialized field, and not everyone is suited for this task. Don't try to force someone on staff already into this area if they don't have the inclination.
Expand your knowledge base to include business strategy. If you read only design magazines, materials catalogs and general news websites, increase your subscriptions to include multiple business magazines, newspapers, and blogs. An understanding of the market forces shaping your client's decisions and the ability to present in language used by business will go a long way when pitching your solutions.
Form partnerships with other firms and professionals to jointly offer integrated solutions that go beyond the traditional product design deliverables. Make sure that these partnerships benefit and are a good fit for both sides. Future turnkey service offerings must go beyond sourcing and manufacturing.
In essence, the design industry must respond to their customer's needs, retool and reconfigure their offerings, and structure engagements based on value rather than cost. Firms that can design compelling solutions to meet these needs will gain clients and take advantage of emerging business opportunities, growing into the leaders for the next phase of professional design practice.
Niti Bhanis a global nomad, neither fully immersed in the West nor entirely at home in the East. With background spanning engineering, business and design, Niti is most adept doing what no one does best. Her present incarnation is as Director of Admissions at the Institute of Design, IIT. She can be reached at 'niti-at-nitibhan-dot-com'
Luxury brands are selling to secretaries, mobile phone companies are hiring fashion designers, seniors are acting like teenagers, young men are spending more time on their looks than girls, expensive mass advertising has lost it’s edge, consumers are fed up with choosing from a hundred types of toothpaste... need we say more?
You may have experienced that traditional demographic criteria such as age, gender and income no longer accurately explain buying attitudes. You may also be aware that cool branding does not automatically trigger purchasing or loyalty. The world of the consumer has changed. So our methods of consumer analysis must change too. But do companies actually know what to do?
IDEO is a design consultancy based in Palo Alto, California, with other offices in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, London, Munich and Shanghai. The company helps design products, services, environments, and digital experiences.
There are a million things to learn in design school, but what about the things you need to know "about" design school? In an effort to be clear and concise—something your teachers are always bugging you to do—here are exactly 1000 words of advice for design students (clichés included):
Keep your ear to the ground.
The best gossip is any gossip. Start there and then do your homework. If a course or a teacher is reputed to be great, odds are that there's something there. Same for the inverse, but don't be dissuaded by advance reviews of a difficult or challenging teacher or course—sometimes the best fit is a tight one.
Do your homework.
There is no question that in design school, what you put in is what you get out. It's not exciting and it's not revelatory, but it really does turn out that the students who work the hardest and commit themselves the fullest end up with the best stuff. Inspiration and perspiration. You need 'em both.
School is expensive. Come on time. Stay late.
College in many countries is prohibitively expensive, so make sure you're getting your money's worth. Arrive on time and insist that your teachers do too. Stay after class and ask questions; find out about more than just what the class covered. Don't be a pest, but don't be a pushover either. Why? Here's why:
We work for you, not the other way around.
Teachers have an annoying habit of setting up the power dynamic to make you feel like they're in charge. I hate to roll out the "you are consumers of an educational product" argument, but the reality is that teachers, administrators, librarians and deans are all there in the first place because you decided to attend. And they really do work for you. So be clear about what you want and need, and team up with other students to make sure that those desires are communicated to the people in power. Use the library; ask for help. Make us work for you. You've already paid, right?
Hone your presentation skills.
Walking the walk and talking the talk are different skills. And no matter how good a designer you are, without a certain level of presentation skills, nobody will ever know. Practice public speaking, present your head off in class, and write, write, write. There is no underestimating the harm to your future that bad presentation skills can unleash. Really. You could stop reading this now and you'd have the best stuff.
Photograph everything. If you do one thing in preparation for the new school year, buy a camera. We miss the old 35mm SLRs, but we're realists and recognize the irresistible benefits, instant gratification and economies of digital. Buy as many megapixels as you can, and if you can swing one of those sweet prosumer SLR digitals, do it. Make sure you bring your camera to class (not the expensive one though—your roommate's) and have fellow students photograph you presenting your work, conducting interviews, that kinda thing. Finally, have others take pictures of you making your models up in the shop. When you've looked at enough portfolios (car, toothbrush, chair, toy, form study, car, toothbrush, toy…), those "process" photos are positively the most exiting thing in your book to a jaded interviewer. "Did you make this model?" Well, yes. I did.
Do more; consider auditing a class.
"The people who do more are people who get more done." Duh. It's no secret that busy people often get a lot accomplished, and this is the same for students. Take an extra-curricular, non-design class (especially if grades aren't important/necessary for you), or, at the very least, consider auditing one course per semester. (Auditing a class means attending and doing the reading, but not taking up the teacher's time with homework, or taking up the class's time by asking questions. Get the word on the street, sit in during the first couple weeks of the semester, charm the pants off the teacher, and bask in the rays of someone telling you something you didn't already know. Most students aren't familiar with auditing, but it's offered in most schools.)
Read the paper.
This is the single best way to be and stay connected with the outside world. A killer-talented designer with nothing so say isn't much use to anyone (though the marketplace would expose the idealism of that argument!), and there's nothing more dangerous than an ignorant mass producer. If you live in a city that has a good newspaper, subscribe. If you don't, find a good one at your library, or read countless ones on the web for free. What's a good newspaper? The New York Times. There. That's a good one.
Get off campus.
School is great, and, after all, that's what you're doing there in the first place. But school design programs are kind of like the "official" program—the real stuff is happening by people who finished school (or often ignored it altogether), and your best investment is to connect with the communities of creative people who are doing design for a living and a life. Training in school is only part of the equation. Being submerged in the culture of design practice is where the real action is.
Don't work alone.
I know you know that design is a collaborative effort, so there's no reason why you shouldn't practice getting along with others while you're still in school. But that's not the real benefit of doing design homework with others: It's more fun. If you don't already know this, then you haven't done design work with others.
Take almost any job. There is absolutely no replacement for the real thing, and practical experience in any design related field is more than you already have. So don't spend six months after you graduate looking for the perfect job. And, certainly, don't wait until you graduate to look for your first design job. You should be doing everything in your power to get some practical training onto your résumé and into your brain and hands before you graduate. That means helping out somewhere once a week, or bagging that summer internship. Do anything design-related. You'll be respected more by future employers, and have some chops by the time you get out.
Well, that's it for me. 1000 words of advice.
Allan Chochinov is a New York-based designer and educator. He is a partner of Core77.
Mihaly Csiksxentmihalyi, es un antropólogo de la Universidad de Chicago. En su texto de 1996 Creativity. Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention define al individuo creativo en terminos de pares aparentemente opuestos de caracteres, que frecuentemente se presentan integrados en una tensión dialéctica.
Líbido generalizada - Restricción. Sin eros, sería dificil tomar la vida con vigor; sin restricción, la energía podría disiparse fácilmente.
Pensamiento convergente - Divergente. El pensamiento divergente genera ideas; el convergente discrimina una buena idea de una mala.
Actitud juguetona - Disciplina ó Responsabilidad - Irresponsabilidad. Explorar ideas amplia y ligeramente, pero superando obstáculos y completando ideas con testarudez, fortaleza y perseverancia.
Fantasia - Realidad. Ruptura con el presente sin perder el contacto con el pasado; encontrar la originalidad cuya novedad está enraizada en la realidad.
Extroversión - Introversión. Ver y escuchar a las personas, intercambiar ideas, conocer el trabajo de los demás para extender la interacción. Trabajar en soledad para explorar y controlar plenamente conceptos abstractos.
Humildad - Orgullo. Humildad en la conciencia de aquellos que han trabajado antes, del factor suerte involucrado en cada logro, y de la irrelevancia de los logros anteriores al enfocarse en proyectos futuros; orgullo en la auto-afirmación asociada con los logros.
Masculinidad - Feminidad. Androginia sicológica que habilite las mejores caracterísiticas de una masculinidad enfática y asertiva, para ser combinadas con las mejores características de una feminidad sensible y atenta.
Conservadurismo tradicional - Rebeldía iconoclasta. Ser capaz de de entender y apreciar el dominio de la cultura y sus reglas, y al mismo tiempo estar deseoso de tomar el riesgo de romper con las tradiciones.
Pasión y Objetividad. Pasión en el apego y dedicación con la causa de trabajo; objetividad y la habilidad para distanciarse y criticar imparcialmente.
Sufrimiento - Goce. Los altibajos que vienen con el involucramiento intenso y la sensibilidad por la propia obra, tanto para las cualidades observadas como la opinión de los demás.
Csiksxentmihalyi anota que estas características conflictivas son dificiles de encontrar en una misma persona, pero que la novedad que sobrevive para cambiar un dominio es usualmente el trabajo de alguien que puede operar en ambos extremos de estas polaridades - y ese es el tipo de persona que llamamos creativa.
Tomado de Design Thinking. What it is. Why Is Different. Where It Has New Value. de Charles L. Owen, 2005. Disponible aquí.
Todas las sociedades necesitan mitos, historias simples que ayudan a la gente a lidiar con las tensiones en sus vidas. Las marcas actuales más potentes tienen éxito proveyéndolos...
Estudio donde los alumnos buscan formarse en el liderazgo y el espíritu emprendedor para la formulación y ejecución de proyectos de diseño estratégico que tengan un alto potencial innovativo en el contexto de la ciudad región y su proceso de internacionalización.
El taller exige una comprensión profunda de las variables que intervienen y son afectadas en el proceso de crear nuevos productos y servicios, tanto de entorno (tendencias y escenarios, investigación de consumo, entorno competitivo y asociativo, prospectiva tecnológica), como propias de las condiciones organizacionales (estrategia, marca, misión /visión y recursos).
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