Digging deeper with client engagement

February 9, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Filed under Collaboration, Design Process, Design business, Uncategorized

Designers see themselves as problem solvers, and their first instinct when faced with a client’s challenge is to charge in—armed with available information, their own biases, and previous experience in similar situations—and deliver the Big Idea. But the problems designers are asked to solve are getting bigger and more complex. Often, they run much deeper than just the initial challenge the client presents. And as a result, they demand a much deeper level of engagement between client and designer, suggests Mark VanderKlipp.

Designers “…must elevate ourselves from the product level to the systems level, from designing artifacts to designing entire ecosystems, from being problem solvers to becoming solution finders,” says VanderKlipp, president of Corbin Design and a member of the SEGD Board of Directors. His article for Design Intelligence explores a deeper level of client engagement, and suggests four ways of “Forging Invaluable Partnerships.”  –P.M.K.

Back to the future?

January 12, 2010 at 9:24 am
Filed under Architecture, Design business, Green Related

Design and construction-related business are in for a long, slow climb back to mid-2000s levels of work, according to the latest issue of DesignIntelligence. An emerging “new normal” will require firms to batten the hatches and look critically at their business structures, practices, services, and brands.

But there are glimmers of hope. “2010: A Year of Convalescence,” featured in the journal’s January/February issue, identifies 25 significant trends that architecture and design firms can use to hang on during a painfully slow economic recovery.

Authors James P. Cramer and Jane Gaboury say sustainability will drive design in the coming years, so companies that embrace these types of projects will have better chances of thriving. They also focus on creating new business models, building strategic collaborations, using metrics to measure systems performance, and leveraging evidence-based design to demonstrate design’s impact on client’s businesses.  –P.M.K.