Guest post by Smrita Jain

It’s Monday morning, 10 am. We all gather around our conference table, some having their tea or morning joe. We start our usual struggle of understanding what the client is requesting. What we ought to deliver, when to deliver, how many, what material or platform and, most importantly, why! I Question Everything.

With messy job numbers, project managers are clueless as to how a job code is supposed to work. I scratch my head, struggling to infuse these numbers with logic. A project code is supposed to categorize each task correctly, so that the back-end server systems are clean and organized flawlessly.

 

Designers Make Better Managers

In case you didn’t know, Designers Make Better Managers. Presentation experts Nancy Duarte and Garr Reynolds, in a 2009 interview for MIT Sloan Management Review, helped world-renowned executives, politicians and thought leaders deliver stronger presentations. How? Duarte and Reynolds compelled them to think like designers in order to make their subjects better managers.

During my days at the Pratt Institute Manhattan Campus, we were required to create campaigns from scratch. We had to do everything within a few weeks time — from content writing, to coming up with headlines and tag lines, to logo concept and finally executing the idea into with a visual language that would work across all platforms. Within a few months of my design internship in 2010, I realized why we were trained to work that way. Now that I have my own strategic design firm, I struggle to explain the design process to my clients. I sometimes feel that it is really the clients who need graphic design lessons more than designers themselves.

So how and where do I begin my process? I get the job code straightened out. I can almost guarantee that the client will mark everything as urgent. Let’s say for example, the assignment is to design a brochure. I start collecting assets, but before I know it, I am told the content is not ready. The client (a.k.a. the account executives) wants me to start with the design right away (even without content). Their team usually takes so much time writing, that the designer is only left with a day or two to complete the design around the content. I always question why a “designer’s time” ends up getting cut so short.  Oftentimes I’m being asked to design without having time to fully understand the written content. Design isn’t do-it-yourself. It’s not a random act of putting together sections of headlines, sub heads, images, logos and other elements on the page to make up a layout.

 

Process.

You cannot blindly design anything from user experience interfaces to a simple brochure layout without knowing what content you’re working with. No matter how many clients I have worked with, client education becomes the cornerstone for any project before it begins. It’s almost like saying “shree ganeshay namah” (a ritual saying by many Indians before starting anything). And just like that, it has become a ritual in my 5 years of graphic design business, to explain the design process to the client before starting any project.

 

Content Management.

Any good visualizer can easily assess a design. Just by looking at the content you can understand what mood and design system would be most appropriate, whether the headline is too long, if the bullet points are a page long or if the content itself needs to be revised because it will not fit or content itself is not good quality. The concept of Less Is More can be applied not only to graphics and visuals, but to copywriting as well. Many times clients are clueless as to why they want a particular project done in the first place. Designers and their clients often forget that clarifying the reasoning behind the project is most important, strategically, before starting the work.

One of my independent projects, Calm Under A Palm, was like that. Today this client is one of my greatest friends. She loved the fact that I sat down with her and took ample of time out of my schedule to explain the design process to her.  We talked about launching a brand and how to prioritize the needs of the brand. We went over not only visual strategy, but content as well. Applying the skills that I picked up at Pratt Institute (thanks to my awesome professors) I was able to share ideas on what kind of content writing would work for her, how typography and imagery can work together, and how she can develop a successful brand as a whole.

 

Intervention.

I learned this the hard way. I am super proud to say that I was lucky enough to intern with some of the world’s most renowned creative directors in New York. I didn’t work in fancy advertising agencies. Instead I interned at authentic design studios that practice design in its purest form. That’s the beauty of having the opportunity to learn in a small design studio environment. Being exposed to the work of these result oriented creative directors and the experience I gained is indescribable. A designer’s intervention is much needed during the strategic phase of any job, from signage, to event branding, to visual identities. I believe many project managers fail to understand this while they are on call with a client. Oftentimes the role of a designer is reduced to mere production and execution of a preconceived idea.

 

What are designers supposed to do?

Speak up! With cut-throat competition in the job market, designers often face this challenge and are compelled to accept design decisions that are not coming from actual designers. How sad is that! At the end of the day, what matters to them is to make the client happy. It’s okay if you think that way. But I don’t agree with you here. Because of my immense love for art and design and the millions of proactive thinking glands in my brain, I have let go of clients who do not let me do justice to the design practice itself. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to be forced down to a level where design is secondary to content. They must go both hand in hand in order to make design that successfully accomplishes a client’s goals and fulfils their needs. Design itself, and the role of the designers, is beyond just sitting at a computer, performing Photoshop miracles. Designers should be brought in during the most constructive phase of any project, which is the strategic phase. It is up to the designer to bring together the puzzle pieces of the design process. It is the designer’s duty to create a tactical design solution that answers the client’s needs, justifies the design theory that is applied, and provides greater job satisfaction.

Design itself, & the role of the designers, is beyond just sitting at a computer, performing Photoshop miracles. Click To Tweet

Ethics.

Design should never be free. The work designers do is not just waving a magic wand. I prefer to build strong, constructive and collaborative relationships with my clients. I value my work, and so do the people who choose to work with me. That’s why you won’t see me participating in free creative pitches. Strategy is involved, taking into consideration the client’s needs, objectives, product, and much more. If a brand purposefully misrepresents itself, or if its work harms life or the environment, I won’t be a good fit. Great design helps companies further their objectives. And I refuse to help a company further its objectives if I don’t agree with its mission. Whether you’re neck deep in a project or just getting to know a prospective client, it’s important to define your process and make your voice heard.

From questioning everything, to managing a project from start to finish, designers should be the driving the force of content that justifies both design and message strategy. They have to intervene at the appropriate time before the essence of design and communication is lost. They have to think and act proactively and responsibly. These are some of the forgotten words, traits, skills, phrases and practices that a designer must reinforce anytime and every time, when a client arrives in their world of creativity!