The Business of Design is human centred – a rethink.
We’ve moved away from the number-crunching business of design to the human-centred business of design.
There has been a lot of recent talk about the business of design. It focuses on the traditional view of things like business development, costing, pricing and positioning. That’s so last decade. The landscape has moved and we need to talk about the human side of the business of design.
In 2010 when we established the DBC we already had a great deal of industry intel. Since then we have developed Australia’s deepest design industry intel.
We know the Business of Design is all about business owners and the team.
In 2011 we started work on what is still Australia’s only publication on the business of design. It brought together 20 years of practice running a design business and our extensive industry intel. Our process was based on the Business Model Canvas developed by Alexander Osterwalder et al and meant for start ups. We studied and used it, then adapted it to design businesses.
This resulted in the Design Business Model Canvas. It’s been used with hundreds of Australian design businesses. As we worked with each new design business we collected data. This gave us a unique understanding of Australian design businesses. The longer we stay in business the more data we collect and the better we understand our industry. We discovered the generic methods to get new business; recruit people; and cost and price work were no longer working. We decided to focus on the people in the design business.
In 2019 we had a major rethink. We looked at the hundred or so tools and benchmarks we had developed and found there were many shaped around the human side of managing a design business; not just clients but also the owner/s and the team. Our thinking had moved away from the number crunching business of design to the human centred business of design.
We worked out how human factors changed a business model; impacted marketing, costing, pricing, positioning etc.
This shift has further increased our industry knowledge. There are still some promoting the business of design focused on the number crunching aspects of costing, pricing and productivity or traditional ways of getting new business. What they’ve failed to understand is none of that matters if you haven’t started by understanding the human issues of the owner/s and team.
Business of Design program
When we launched the Business of Design program three years ago we structured it around the hopes, desires and skills of the owner/s and their team. In the program we use audit tools to understand the desires and needs in the agency and then show how to develop a business around them.
We recognised that one-off events or webinars have limited value. They rarely help make permanent change. It takes on-going guidance and support to manage the business of design
In 2023 we collaborated with Andy Wright of Streamtime and Never Not Creative fame. Carol had developed a business canvas model incorporating the human side of the business and we were looking at how to incorporate all the tools and benchmarks. Along with Andy we have now developed the Happier, Healthier Creative Business Model Canvas.
Want to know more?
Our FREE Ask Me Anything Business of Design session on February 14th will give you the chance to ask questions and get answers from Australia’s most knowledgeable business of design experts.
Or you can drop me an email and we can chat about how you can make your design business human centred.
Greg Branson
Greg’s passion is the research and development of methods that improve design management and the role of design in business.
Greg has developed a series of processes and tools to help designers manage their business better. You can take advantage of this through mentoring.
More from our archives
Here’s more information on getting clients to understand design value:
- Walk a day in your clients shoes – empathy mapping
- Understanding a client to develop new business
- How design mature are your clients?