What Is Design? Part 3

Part 3: Design is about the creative process to get to those solutions.

Thus far, we’ve talked about the importance of research before developing a new identity, as well as the role that design plays with identifying meaningful solutions for organizations’ problems. This week, we’re going to discuss the creative process that leads us to those solutions.

In our industry, clients often tell us that they don’t understand what they’re doing wrong or why something isn’t working. We often reply, “You don’t understand it because you’re in it.” With no objectivity, the solutions may benefit the organization more than its customers. And that’s why people come to us with their branding and marketing challenges. We have the creative horsepower, experience and objectivity to offer solutions from a unique vantage point — plus, this is what we do! Mixed with an equal serving of strategy, of course.

Following the results of our research initiatives, we facilitate a brainstorming process with client leadership teams and decision makers to uncover ideas that may already exist beneath the surface, but haven’t been discovered yet. That process is called Jump Start. We’ve done it for hundreds of organizations across a multitude of industries, and every time our whiteboards are filled up and conference tables covered over with note cards listing ideas that will help shape their new identities. But it doesn’t stop there.

Each design challenge is different, yet remains open to individual muses and group input. Between the Jump Start session and when we deliver the final product, we go through team brainstorming sessions designed to build up a foundation of even more great ideas. Some extract inspiration from within, some build on the thoughts of others and some dig down into the foundations of ideas already ideated. However a person or group finds solution is one thing, but it’s the journey that will shape the result.

Our creative team then takes the results of these brainstorming sessions and applies their knowledge of the client’s needs as well as their specialized expertise. This allows us to create a tailored solution that’s founded in research and safeguarded by objective minds.

The C4:

1. Solutions generated by those “in” the problem won’t help resolve the problem.
2. However, those “in” the problem have a valuable role to play in its resolution when coupled with an objective viewpoint.
3. Each design challenge is different, yet remains open to individual muses and group input.
4. However a person or group gets toward the solution is fine, but it’s the journey that will shape the result.