The Strategic Designer: Tools & Techniques for Managing the Design Process

by David Holston

Overview

Providing insight on how to be a successful and strategic designer, David Holston answers many of the questions plaguing the profession today, including how to boost efficiency and enhance creativity.

The design profession has been asking itself some important questions lately:

How do designers deal with the increasing complexity of design problems? What skills do designers need to be competitive in the future? How do designers become co-creators with clients and audiences? How do designers prove their value to business?

Designers are looking for ways to stay competitive in the conceptual economy and address the increasing complexity of design problems. By adopting a process that considers collaboration, context and accountability, designers move from 'makers of things' to 'design strategists.'

The Strategic Designer shows designers how to build strong client relationships, elevate their standing with clients, increase project success rates, boost efficiency, and enhance their creativity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781600617997
Publisher:	Adams Media
Publication date:	04/28/2011
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	785,721
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

With over 20 years experience in design management, David Holston has worked in a variety of organizations including higher education, fortune 50 companies and small start-ups. He served as a lead designer for General Electric, Martin Marietta and Lockheed Martin Services companies before becoming Senior Art Director at the Philadelphia advertising firm Signature Communications. Currently, Holston is the Director of Design at the nation's second largest university, The University of Texas at Austin, where he is responsible for the development and management of the university's brand positioning, brand identity and marketing communications.

Table of Contents

foreword: A Shared Language Shawn M. McKinney x

introduction: The New Designer 1

New Skills for the Conceptual Economy

chapter 1 Magic Footsteps and Wicked Problems 17

An Overview of the Design Process

chapter 2 A Framework for Getting Things Done Well 39

The Value of Process

chapter 3 The Collaborative Designer 65

Creating a Strong Client-Designer Relationship

chapter 4 Designing in Context 97

Empathic Design Through Research

chapter 5 Understanding the Business 111

Linking Design and Business

chapter 6 Understanding the Audience 140

Designing for People

chapter 7 What's the Big Idea? 176

Managing the Complexity of Concept Development 176

chapter 8 Making Strategy Visible 206

Design Development

chapter 9 Design Accountability 230

Design in the Land of the Bottom Line

chapter 10 Planning in a Turbulent Environment 251

Managing the Design Process

chapter 11 Refining Your Process 273

Implementing Design Process

Acknowledgements 284

Index 286