Design works for the strategy
We don’t work for design.
What does this phrase mean? It means that we are approaching design as a tool to serve solutions and results, not as a means to itself. This may be counterintuitive, i.e., isn’t that always the case? you might ask. But it signals a transformation in our thinking about what we do here at the Studio. In the past we might have defined ourselves by the design solution we brought to a project – we are “web designers” or we are “graphic designers”. Really, what we were all along was “solution designers”, but we weren’t stating it that way.
What is the solution? Perhaps you have a goal for your organization – a desire to create new traffic across your threshold, a need to increase ticket sales, a wish that you could connect to a particular audience. Does design have a role in addressing these goals? It does – it just might not be what you or we think it is in the first blush.
Take the first example. Customers crossing your threshold. Advertising or direct mail might be two ways to approach that goal. But how about architecture, interior design, signage? How about event planning, social networking, community building? Are these spaces where design plays a role. It does – if you look at design as a process for thinking about a goal.
The design and structure of underlying systems are often core to the success of any initiative. If you are a warehouse that ships product to end-users, the design efficiency of the systems you use to manage and process orders have a direct impact on customer satisfaction. Do you approach your web presence from the same perspective of optimizing customer experience? What could evolve in that space that would substantially change the behaviour of the system and its ability to deliver results?
For us, this is not new thinking, but it is a new way of talking about what we do every day. We’re here to address your goals, your challenges, your opportunities and find ways that Design optimizes the path towards achieving success.