Note: This is part 5 in an 8 part series by design instructor and NoD author Dave Holston. To view Dave’s previous entries please click here.

Strategy guru Michael Porter states that the underlying idea behind strategy is alignment, that is, getting employees to make good choices based on a common value proposition. The reinforcement of the proposition is critical, and must be expressed through every aspect of the organizations culture, in particular the design of its communications, products and services.

For designers, the client’s business strategy is an essential ingredient in making design decisions. Through business research designers answer the question, “how do we articulate the client’s strategy through design?” Design’s role in supporting strategy takes on many forms, including bringing efficiencies to the design process and Read the rest of this entry »

Note: This is part 4 in an 8 part series by design instructor and NoD author Dave Holston. To view Dave’s previous entries please click here.

The proverbial “seat at the table” has always been a coveted spot for designers. The price of an invitation is the ability to show accountability in design decision-making and a return on design investment. Design research is the foundation of these two areas. Without it, design decisions cannot be made, and success cannot be measured. However for most designers, research takes a back seat to the familiar and comfortable creative side of the design process.

The goal of a designer’s work is to influence a target audience’s thinking, and ultimately their behavior. We know that the craft of design has great power in determining the success or failure of these outcomes. Consider how the nuances of typography can change peoples understanding of words, or how a powerful image can touch people in meaningful ways. Yet there is little rigor for design decision-making. Most decisions are made on the designer/client level, often based on intuition, past experiences and assumptions.
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Note: This is part 3 in an 8 part series by design instructor and NoD author Dave Holston. To view Dave’s previous entries please click here.

The term “professional designer” can apply to anything from a service provider to a strategic partner, depending on a person’s individual experience, their approach to problem solving, and their relationship with a client. At one end of the scale, a design vendor simply responds to a specific request made by a client and provides them with a commodity. They perform tasks that can be easily replicated by others. Competition at this level is based primarily on cost. In the middle of this scale are design professionals who offer direction and some degree of specialization. They bring not only expertise to the table, but also a degree of professionalism. At the far end of the scale stands the design consultant. They are able to serve in an advisory role, guiding the client through the design problem solving process. As design problems become more complex and require broader collaborative thinking, advisors provide not just solutions, but actually lend insight and depth, and help synthesize information amassed or created by collaborators.
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Note: This is part 2 in an 8 part series by design instructor and NoD author Dave Holston. To view Dave’s previous entries please click here.

Good news for right brainers

Whereas the craft of design; creating logos, layouts and Web designs, is becoming as much a property of amateurs as it is professionals, designers need to find new areas of unique value that they can provide their clients. By addressing the areas of complexity, co-creation, context and accountability, designers position themselves to better meet the needs of their clients and the demands of a changing economy.

In 2000 Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan stated that technical know-how would be superseded by “the ability to create, analyze, and transform information and to interact effectively with others.” This idea was echoed in Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind, in which Pink projects that the future economy will be driven by six key “senses” – design, story, symphony, empathy, play and meaning. For designers with a collaborative spirit and the ability to conduct and synthesize research, this is good news. Read the rest of this entry »

Note: This is part 1 in an 8 part series by design instructor and NoD author Dave Holston. To view Dave’s previous entries please click here.

Design is a commodity

A few years back I attended a design management seminar in San Francisco. The seminar was held on a refurbished ferry-boat docked at Pier 3 and featured a notable design speaker. The view of the bay was fantastic, and the information presented at the session was compelling. But as I look back, the most remarkable thing about that seminar was lunch.

I had the good fortune to be seated at the same table as the speaker. Others at the table included business owners and designers from a wide variety of areas, all looking to harness the power of design. Our conversation ran the gamut from design leadership, research, ethnography and our own personal design war stories. I tried to think of an insightful question to ask the speaker, but the best I could come up with was, “So, do you have any designers on your staff?” Jeez, could I have asked a more banal question? But his answer left me speechless. “No.” he responded off-handedly, “Design is a commodity.” Read the rest of this entry »