Clients who value your designs are good. Clients who also value your design process are better. Before we can consider this statement, we must first understand that there is a difference between clients and consumers. All too often, the particular traits that characterize the "client" are confused with those that define "consumer". And when this occurs, it becomes quite difficult to clarify exactly what it is that our clients are buying and, likewise, what we are selling. When buying a car or a sofa or kitchenware, consumers rarely consider the design process that a creative team employed in order to create that particular car or sofa or dish. How many consumers of Tupperware's FlatOutTM Containers know that they were designed by Frog Design? Consumers choose to purchase based on a product's price, its function, the appeal of its color and form, or how well the marketing campaign has influenced their desire. What happened behind the scenes - how the gizmo was dreamt-up and given form - is inconsequential and is therefore not part of the value proposition to the consumer. But consider the client, like Tupperware. What was Tupperware buying from Frog Design, and more specifically, why did they choose Frog? Certainly, it wasn't because of Frog's great selection of plastic containers. Tupperware chose to "buy" from Frog because they were convinced that, of all the product design firms in the world, Frog Design was most capable of envisioning and creating their next big-hit product. Tupperware liked what Frog had created for other clients (in other industries), but they also recognized that Frog's design process was at the core of all those great designs. And most important, Tupperware understood how that process would benefit them. Behind any design, there is the process, or the how, by which it was created. The definition of "design process" is a subject worthy of further discourse. But let it suffice to say that it is not just a systematic method of work or a rigid script of production phases. It typically combines structured problem solving, guiding principles of a design philosophy, and non-linear elements of improvisation, iteration, and intuition. Many clients don't fully understand how designers create. And if your clients don't understand it, or even know about it, then they won't value it. The challenge is to define a distinctive design process and to shape it into a proven method for consistently achieving successful solutions for your clients. Building Your Unique Creative Process Design firms are in the business of selling design as much as they are in the business of creating design. Ideo, ThoughtForm, and Frog Design are good examples of design firms that have established unique approaches to design and have built successful reputations on their design process. On Ideo's web site, they promote their core value by expressing how they work, more so than by showing what they make. "Head in the sky..." IDEO's teams, culture, and methods are the special ingredients that fuel our approach to innovation and design. We begin with a deep exploration of business, human, and technical factors. Observe. Brainstorm. Prototype. Repeat. Point of View. Essence. Heart. "...ness." Whatever you call it, it's there: a shared mindset, the place where the efforts of our problem-solving engine converge. Expressed in a visible and tangible way, it informs and inspires the design process. "...feet on the ground." What's a good idea worth if it can't be realized? IDEO's world-class designers and engineers ensure that the power of the vision is preserved in the journey from concept to final production. A key idea here is the notion of the "journey". Ideo's unique value proposition is in the positioning of a 3-part creative process as a journey, not a destination. Ideo spends a lot of time and energy in developing and evolving ever more effective design processes. As much as any award-winning product in their portfolio, Ideo leverages their "journey" as a key strength in order to attract more business, more press, and to bolster their credibility. ThoughtForm (formerly Agnew, Moyer, Smith Inc.), based in Pittsburgh, has been developing their signature approach to design for over 25 years. On their website and marketing literature, they define their approach to the design process through four creative phases or "shapers"; Experience Crafting, Fog Lifting, Vision Catching, and Agile Design. "ThoughtForm's design solutions stand apart because of the processes we use to bring them to life. We call these processes shapers because they help us give form to elusive thoughts and ideas. Although we apply these four shapers with different intensities to match project needs, they remain at the heart of everything we do." ThoughtForm's "shapers" have become both a guiding principle in their design process and a strong marketing tool, especially in differentiating them from their competitors. Their "shapers" establish the sort of value proposition that has attracted companies like SteelCase and MacDonald's. Frog Design's clients include Logitech, Motorola, Virgin Mobile, and Acura (just to name a few). To help their clients stay on top of their industries, Frog has redefined the design process and has created a trademarked set of tools, that includes frogInsightsTM and frogThinkTM. Their website explains that "strategy and design must arise in concert." And to this end, frogInsightsTM provides a methodology by which "traditional research methods are used in unconventional ways." (FrogThinkTM is there own spin on brainstorming.) Benefits Beyond A client's desire to work with your creative team can be, and should be, anchored more firmly in your creative culture than in your beautiful portfolio images. Part of your marketing strategy should encourage prospective clients to see beyond the end product and to value the benefits of your unique design process. Your ideal design process should be flexible enough to be tailored to a client's individual needs. It should be focused around repeating successes. And it should be easy for non-designer folks to understand the benefits to them. It's not just a unique design product that you are peddling; it should also be your unique design process. The total value proposition that a client is buying into is essential. Beyond having a strong marketing tool to help generate more business and educate clients, there are many benefits to having a respected and recognized design process. Here are just a few to consider: 1) Clients who understand and value your design process are more likely to respect the time and effort that goes into creating effective design solutions. Your design process should be shaped around getting the best results. Most every client would agree that they deserve no less. 2) A valued design process establishes a platform through which clients and designers can forge real working relationships. No design process should exclude client participation. Your design process is your chance to define and manage how such a relationship works, on mutually constructive terms aimed at meeting expectations. More importantly, when a client is allowed to participate at key points along the journey, they feel a sense of ownership early on. 3) When clients believe in your design process, they are far more likely to believe in your creative product - the design. They know that good design does not just happen in a moment of inspiration, but that there is a well-informed rationale behind the creative decisions. The resulting design makes sense to them and it is not just a pretty picture competing with lots of other pretty pictures. 4) An effective design process enables efficient project management through all phases of design. It can provide an outline for scheduling goals, deliverables, and feedback. And it can provide a framework through which successes and failures can be measured over time. 5) An established design process gives your team a core benchmark to rally around. It can help keep tough projects and passionate creative minds on track. And when new hires join the team, there exists a centered knowledge base for training and for transitioning smoothly into your firm's culture. "This is who we are. This is what we do. And this is how we do it." Thoughts From the Designer's Seat: Design Process 12-15-06 by Steven Michael Marx Shaw