Stoke

Moving Northwest - New Territory for the Business of Brand Design

by Dave Miller

from Communication Arts

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"Go West, young man, and grow up with the country."

In 1851, Indiana newspaper writer John Soule’s advice became the mantra of discovery and prosperity among 19th Century Americans. Go forward and seek opportunity. Go West.

Surely an exciting time to pioneer, much of the West was uncharted, with vast stretches of unclaimed territory.

The business of design now enjoys a similar window of opportunity, to stake its claim and fortune.

Throughout the economy, brand design firms are helping clients explore areas of market growth and opportunity. Innovative products and preferred services are being defined and developed by the principles of design – concentrating value in the time consumers spend with a brand through the user-centered balance of form, fit and function. From the smart form factor of OXO kitchen products, to the delightful simplicity of Netflix, to over-sized viewing windows on the new Boeing 787, design has become a driving force of business.

“Consumers generally have enough ‘stuff,’ they simply don’t have enough time. Design is fundamentally about concentrating value in time – making experiences more pleasing, intuitive, delightful and efficient. Consumers have immensely rewarded companies whose design of products and services respects the quality of time they spend interacting.”

As with the pioneers of the American West, the new frontier of design will reward those with additional skills, resolve and resourcefulness.

As design has become more important to business, business has become more adept at design. Rising above the semi-private reserve of visual artists, our broadening field is attracting accomplished engineers, developers, modelers, strategists, technicians and marketers, coupling business and design disciplines to imagine new things in new ways.

Faced with the need to differentiate their brands, business leaders have become more empathetic to users of their products and services. With mounting competitive pressure, design is a means to distinguish the products and services that drive revenues, margin and growth. “Design is the most effective mechanism by which companies demonstrate that they are thinking about you,” said Erin Keaty, Partner at Stoke Strategy.

Within leading companies gross margin is considered a team sport - and every division is being asked to play. And for greater numbers of companies, design has been rotated into the starting offense. Look around: Samsung. Caterpillar. Philips. Steelcase. Callison. International Trucks. Puma. As a consequence, designers are asked to adopt the playbook of business, the rigor of strategy, the role of research and accountability for performance.

Unfortunately, while business has quickened its adoption of design, quite a few designers remain somewhat cool to business. In fact, business schools appear to be teaching about design faster than design schools are teaching about business.

Many old guard defenders of the trade regard design as primarily a set of skills, something scarce and precious that has to be conserved and protected. At the same time, the abundance of graphic arts graduates has seemingly made beautiful the new average, and turned visual executions of “luxury” into lazy, aesthetic clichés.

The design business will plateau if it doesn’t advance past aesthetician. “Looking good” is a poor substitute for “being different.” Helping clients achieve both is a cause to which true designers can offer tremendous value.

Design must be viewed in a context broader than its artifacts, as the concerns of design - including perspective, user-centrism, empathy, elegance, simplicity and disruptive thinking - helps businesses challenge the conventions that keep their brands stiflingly the same. Only by framing design in the context of its contribution to business can we avoid having design become further commoditized.

This means design can’t settle in its traditions. Design can’t simply stay put. Design must get up and move.

Moving “Northwest”

From global advertising agencies to small design shops, the pathway to a creative engagement with clients is pretty-well rutted:

The client develops a brand strategy – the promise of value and difference it will make to the market.

A business plan is developed, aligning the human, financial and physical resources around execution on that promise.

A brand concept is developed, what Seattle-based Art Director Frank Clark calls “a governing principle and plan for expressing a strategy, using words and images in an engaging or inspiring way.”

Design is then developed, the creative articulation of that concept.

Design management practices and visual standards are adopted, assuring the consistent execution of the creative.

Design goes into production, assuring materials meet required specifications, for time, cost and quality.

Design is distributed, through printed materials, built environments, electronic media.

When placed in sequential order, we see that the upstream has traditionally been the domain of the business “suits.” Downstream has been the domain of "creatives."

As design has become a pillar of business strategy, design factors are being considered well before the traditional starting-point for a creative project. As business-minded clients have become more interested in design, and therefore more involved, they will have an increasing influence on the conditions in the middle. In fact, most upstream innovations in business today stem from “design thinking,” even though many of the people doing it have never been identified as “designers.”

For designers willing to embrace this shift, that’s a good thing. A very good thing indeed.

If you look at each of the stages of design (above) as a discrete competency, you’ll see there are vastly different levels of compensation, authority and influence for each provider.

Unlike 1851, the promised land for design means moving “Northwest” in the process, joining the design conversation where it is happening earlier and more often.

“Design Leaders” are the smart, creative consultants using design-minded disciplines to solve business problems and create market opportunities for their clients. They hold the ear of senior executives, and enjoy significantly elevated fees. IDEO is one such firm. BMW Designworks is another.

In the vast middle are “Creators,” typically graphic design firms huddled around communications initiatives. These firms often earn greater client and fee elevation based on:

• Reach + Reputation (i.e. Landor’s substantial portfolio and global footprint reinforces the client’s safety net);
• Capacity + Service Range (enough of the right bodies and minds to throw at a project) and;
• Specialization (i.e - Seattle-based Methodologie’s true expertise in annual reports).

At the trailing-edge are the producers – the makers and distributors of communications “stuff.” These lower-overhead agencies and confederations of freelancers have evolved to a level of increasingly high quality, and present an impossibly attractive alternative to the conventional agency for brochures and promotional collateral. The impact of these designers is evidenced by the growing number of clients who want their formal design agency to “just develop the big idea,” followed by visual identity standards and some starter-templates that can be handed-down to a more cost-effective resource.

It may be that moving “Northwest,” truly embracing strategy and meaningfully engaging with business, isn’t a decision of choice – but of necessity. A recent nationwide study of corporate executives, by global consultants Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), sought to identify the desired roles and essential capabilities of leading marketing leaders. Worryingly, the study revealed the decreasing effectiveness and influence of the design industry’s traditional client-side buyers. In their industry assessment of marketing competencies “Growth Champions: A Field Guide for the New Marketer (2006),” BAH stratifies the marketing profession into six categories. Of the profiles, the least influential have become, according to Booz Allen Hamilton:

“Brand Builders – Directing marketing services such as communications strategy, creative output, and campaign execution in support of the company's key brands. Their leadership role and decision rights on strategy and investment are negligible.”

- and -

“Service Providers – Providing advertising, promotion, and public relations services at the request of the company's brand and product teams.”

Beyond their traditional roles, designers have unique disciplines, creativity and perspective to offer these very clients. (Folks! We can REALLY help these clients!) As design-oriented opportunities and budgets are being defined upstream in the business process, design- minded businesses who move “Northwest” will be rewarded by their willingness to explore this territory.

About the Author

David Miller: Partner, Stoke Strategy

David Miller has a diverse background in strategic marketing and brand development. As a founder of Stoke, a Seattle-based brand design firm, he works with leading healthcare, financial service, technology and consumer product clients. Through research andstrategic planning, David guides clients to the organizational change and market positioning that creates winning brands.

David has worked with GE Healthcare, Starbucks, McDonalds, Colliers International, Callison, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, AAA, Safeco, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The Puget Sound Business Journal recognized him as one of Washington's "40-under-40," among the top young business leaders in the Northwest. David's work was recognized by Advertising Age magazine with the "Newspaper Marketer of the Year" award. He was named as one of Graphic Design USA's "50 People to Watch." A noted public speaker and guest lecturer at the UW's MBA program, his writing has been published in Brandweek, HOW Magazine, Communication Arts and Marketing.

David began his career as a copywriter for Brandt Advertising before moving to broadcast media at Surrey Broadcasting. David's interest in consumer marketing and media led him to Radio Hauraki in Auckland, New Zealand where he worked as a marketing consultant with the PRISM Group while also playing rugby for Otahuhu Rugby Club.

An avid surfer and recovering ski bum, he and his wife Heather are also busy with three young children. David served as President of Marketing Communication Executives International (MCEI), served on the board of The Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center-Business Alliance, and served as board chair to the American Marketing Association in Seattle.