Recently, we took part in Pecha Kucha Boston. Pecha Kucha is a creative lecture format/event that gives a handful of speakers 20 slides and just over 6 minutes to give their pitch. When it was our turn to take the floor, we unveiled not only a bit about or “number one hit single” project Anyone Can Swiss, but the concept of how designers can use “Our Design” to become the new Rock Stars.
Our Design – Working Theory
Our design simply means, all of us: designers, architects, painters, electricians, programmers, taxi drivers etc… Design is no longer limited to single fields of study. It can’t be. If designers are to continue to be meaningful and valuable to the world, they must multi-discipline themselves. It is already difficult enough to convince your clients why design cost money and takes as much time as it does.That’s why, with the Our Design method of working, return on investment is 100% a priority.
The key is to understand and communicate to your client, that design is more than just the planning, graphics, and final tangible object. It is the shaping and influence that you as a designer have over the entire project. From planning and production, to post quantitative and qualitative analysis. You know, the numbers that show your client what you did, actual worked! Otherwise, your just ‘pissing in the wind’ as the colloquialism states.
By first logically analyzing all the connections that come in contact with a project, a designer can find new or ‘un-orthodox’ resources for greatness that may have been overlooked in the past, due to a narrow field of vision and study.
By implementing the ‘Our Design’ method of working, and by learning and applying as much knowledge and skill, to all of the projects you work on, the more value you can bring to the table. The days of the ‘lone-gunman’ designer are over. One mind could make a project work, but many minds, working collectively, can make more than a splash. They can make every project a “Number One Hit Single”.
The Beatles were more than musicians. They were a machine. Turning out Hit Single after Hit Single. It was not the vision of one person, but a collective vision (even in the years after the White Album).
Designers are the new Rock Stars
Do I hire a designer that just does front end? Or do I hire a designer that does front end, back end, and understands social media?
Our design is not just a design process, it is a fundamental shift in the way things have been done in the 20th century. The web and hardware technology have not only opened up new avenues for designers, but have dramatically increased the rate and efficiency that people learn and absorb information. It has also, very quickly, changed the way and rate in which humans communicate.
The days of copy cameras, paste-ups, and type foundries (of physical type as objects), are extinct. We all know, however, that technology does not make you a better or worse designer. It can however make you a more efficient, well rounded designer, and thus, possibly, more valuable to a client.
Designers now have the tools to do a great job, fast. One could say that the availability of the tools to the world (Adobe Products, Typefaces, Etc…), has caused a transparency effect in the world of designer. Now, anyone can access the tools for free (legally or not. That’s an ethics question that is unstoppable). Of course, you have to know how to apply design thinking to the tools to make them work. But the point here is, there is less Magical Mystery to the end user.
Part of the magical secrets of the designer have been revealed, and so, some may say designers must work harder. Well, maybe, it depends on the designer. But one factor is true: Designers must work Smarter, Faster, and More Efficient to deliver a killer product every single time. The way to do this, is to be aware of trends, technology, and the way the world operates. We learn a lot just by watching someone on YouTube or Google something that we want to know. Its safe to say that someone out there has already covered the topic in question. Its free, so go get it!
Our culture is now running on a fast, and ‘in your face’ foundation. Text messaging has replaced phone calls and blogs have killed print news. Designers must constantly be making new connections that can keep their clients running 200% above the rest. “Hit Single” projects can be your fifteen minuets of fame, over and over again, each time bringing in not only notoriety, but new contracts and revenue.
This past Saturday, I attended the annual AIGA Student Portfolio Review at MassArt, Boston.
The event started with all the reviewers, corralled, anticipating and chit-chatting amongst each other about what they do and what they expect to see. As the doors opened, the sight of all the students, looking nice and nervous at the same time, was quite exhilarating. It reminded me of a time not to long ago, when I was on their side of the table.
As I went from person to person, looking at posters, books, and corporate stationery, I quickly realized that the most needed advice to the students, was that of the so-called “Big-Picture”. There were obvious signs that the students have diligently practiced their craft; typography was tight and craft was clean. So after seeing this, I began to tell the students to relax, and that I was not there to nit-pick about un-kerned 12 point type.
I was very interested in hearing what the plans were for these students post-graduation. Where would they take their design skills? A job? Graduate Program? Freelance?
Because of the economy, most students had no idea what was in store next. They did understand however, how important it is to create valuable connections not only to other designers, but companies as well.
I felt I was able to provide some insight to the value of creating connections, and some of the methods that connections can be made. The first buzz word to arise is “Facebook”, then “Twitter”, then the common phrase “I need a website, but don’t want to learn Dreamweaver.” When I here this, I smile politely, and recommend a more realistic approach that is content management based. I explain that HTML websites are OK at best, and then go on to explain the power and simplicity of systems like Wordpress and Indexhibit. Their eyes go wide.
One student in particular, I found was looking for the Big Picture talk. Michael Deal is a design student who loves information graphics and the Beatles.
He found in his design class, while working on an information graphics project, that lots of connections can be made withing a particular subject. He told me quite a few times, that he wished he had an entire class about this subject (information design).
We talked for quite some time about how he could apply his skills in design to not just posters of information, but to business models, products, and events. Probably the best conversation about design happening in the room.
These students at the MassArt Review seemed like fast paced, social network savvy individuals who seem satisfied with their schooling. I could see the wanting though, to take on not just design projects, but larger goals. Overall, a feeling I got from many of the students: “I can do graphic design…now what? How do I make an impact?”
I guess my last bit of advice here would be: Branch out, make connections to what ever can help you move forward. Remember, regular people are your clients, continually get to know the world they live in, and you will be fine.
Michael Deal - "Beatles Citing Beatles"
