Design Business Council > Business of design > Designing your way through a crisis

Designing your way out of a crisis

The experience of working within the Australian design industry over the past 30 years gives us a unique perspective. We’ve seen several major changes in the industry as technology gobbled up jobs and processes. The current crisis with a COVID hangover, global upheavals, AI and client conservatism has created a crisis for design business owners.

Why this matters

Markets are shifting quickly. Traditional ways (business as usual) aren’t going to cut it.

As designers (or design-business owners), you have an opportunity: to not just survive the crisis, but to reshape how you operate and what value you bring.

This article proposes thinking through three “horizons” of change (old way → disruption → new shared-value way) and using that thinking to pivot your business.

What to do now: A practical checklist

Here are steps you can take, with questions to ask and actions to run.

1. Audit your current business model
Questions to ask:

  • What do you currently do for clients? (e.g., visuals, branding, UX, printed collateral, digital service)
  • Which parts of that are purely transactional (you do something, client pays) vs strategic (you help shape the client’s business)
  • How are you measuring your contribution / value to clients?
  • Where are your risks in the current model (e.g., heavy dependence on few clients, commoditised service, low margins, in-house alternatives)

Actions you can take:

  • Map out your business model in a simple canvas (From The Business of design page 32 you can use a Business Model Canvas).
  • For each of your service lines, label it “transactional” or “strategic”.
  • Pick 1-2 services that feel at risk (low margin or highly contested) and mark them for review.
  • Pull together basic financials: What % of revenue comes from top clients? What margin do you really make (after your time, overheads)?

2. Understand the three horizons and position your business

There are three horizons you can choose for your business:

  • Horizon 1 = business as usual (the old way)
  • Horizon 2 = disruptive innovation (new tools / environmental or social change)
  • Horizon 3 = shared value / new model (a future way)

Questions to frame:

  • Which horizon is your business model primarily operating in now? (Most likely Horizon 1)
  • What disruptive forces (Horizon 2) are relevant in your market? E.g., new technology, social upheaval, remote work, clients rethinking budgets, clients expecting more sustainability/social value.
  • What would a future model (Horizon 3) look like for you — where you’re creating shared value (for clients + society) rather than just delivering a service?

Actions to take:

  • Make a 3-column table (Horizon 1 / 2 / 3). Write what your business does now in Horizon 1; write the disruptions you see in Horizon 2; brainstorm 2-3 possible future models for Horizon 3.
  • Identify one part of your service that could shift from Horizon 1 to Horizon 3 (via Horizon 2). For example: instead of just designing a brand identity (transactional), offer a “brand & purpose” workshop that helps clients define their social or environmental value (shared value).
  • Choose one disruptive tool/trend you could adopt (e.g., remote workshops, co-creation with client + stakeholder groups, new research methods). Run a “pilot” of that with a small client or internal proof-of-concept.

It’s already happening

The reason we know this model works is because there are successful design businesses already working this way. We know that you can’t develop this approach overnight. It will take planning, introspection and a lot of upskilling.

The reality is you have to do something. Business as usual is not an option.

If you want to learn more about how the DBC is helping the Australian design community contact Greg Branson.

Greg Branson

Contact Greg Branson if you would like to learn more about the many programs the DBC offers.

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About Greg Branson

Greg’s passion is the research and development of methods that improve design management and the role of design in business.

His longevity is in his ability to change and adapt. Greg’s career as a traditionally-trained photographer; became an academic, teaching photography to design students. He co-founded and ran Mackay Branson design (for over 25 years) until, recognising an area that he loved – design management – was not an area traditionally covered in design education. This lead to him founding Design Business Council. Since then he has worked alongside hundreds of Australian creatives helping them manage their business better.

Greg has sat on the AGDA Victoria and National councils, on a number of University and TAFE Advisory Boards and helped rewrite the VCE Visual Communication curriculum.

Outside of DBC, he is a passionate analogue photographer who spends an inordinate amount of time in his darkroom. You can follow his work on instagram @gregurbanfilm

Always happy to chat, he can be contacted here.