Design is changing [Part 2]

In today’s global business environment, there is an emerging need for multi-disciplinary teams. Design problems are increasingly complex and less easily definable - thus demanding input from a wider variety of perspectives and professions. We need to ask questions about the skills designers need to operate effectively in this situation. Is our profession capable of tackling the challenges inherent in the contemporary context?

When faced with the task of design and implementation of a globally applicable branding system capable of being applied appropriately and consistently throughout an organisation in all cultural contexts and markets, the typical single-discipline design team is faced with a task that they cannot solve effectively with the design alone. The job is more than simply designing a logo and applying it to corporate communication systems. The input of a range of industry professionals is required.

The traditional skills of designers is not appear adequate to maintain a leadership role today, despite the obvious flexibility of design professionals to adapt to technological change and to take on design management as a core competency. Corporate business is already applying a multi-disciplinary approach because it requires innovation in the face of the problems it is encountering.

Although not exclusively so, design has often been a relatively linear process familiar to many as problem solving. The usual process has been to; define the problem; analyse and break it down; ideate a range of possible solutions; select the most likely solution to implement; and in conclusion evaluate to see how effectively we solved the problem. Projects had a definable beginning and end. The role of the designer often began after the major part of the product was complete. We were often brought in to “package” the product for consumption for example. To make it look pretty, make it sell to a target audience. Generally, the designer worked alone, or as part of a single-discipline team.

The world outside your studio window has changed since you started reading this article. It has become more complex, more competitive, and faster. The only way to cope in this environment is to innovate. The complexity and speed of the changes and the corresponding problems we face in business today is beyond the scope of one person to cope with. There are so many diverse aspects to the problems facing business and societies today that the teams whose responsibility it is to create innovation must consist of individuals with very diverse backgrounds and skills, each contributing their own expertise to part of the problem puzzle. Nobody has all the answers.

Design is no longer just product development, visual identity or packaging. In many cases, the problems we are faced with are multi-faceted, containing a diversity of issues and far reaching implications.

Timeframes are compressed. We have to achieve solutions faster. Technology helps us do this, but it is not enough. There is no longer time for the linear sequencing of various processes to bring products to market. It all has to be done at the same time! This requires a different set of skills and processes. We are now in the era of parallel processing. Today’s designer is often required to work in a parallel process with other professionals as part of a dynamic multi-disciplinary team developing aspects of the process and product or solution simultaneously. What kind of tools and skills do we need to operate effectively in this scenario? How do we educate design students for this kind of work? These are important questions for design professionals everywhere.

© Ian McArthur 2005