Not everyone needs one. Most designers don’t use one.

LIke many of the valuable tools we have today, the design framework was created out of a painful need. Whenever we spend more money than we planned and more time than we could tolerate we ask….”Is there a better way”? Design is no different. Sometimes due to its subjective nature, design can be worse. Everyone can view things a bit different and without some guiding principles you find yourself living in a world of endless tangents, distractions and unproductiveness.

During the last 18 years, I continued to find myself going through the same painful process of trying to give my clients what they wanted [needed]. It didn’t matter whether it was designing a software application, website, brochure or service offering, we plotted along hitting one roadblock after another. The process was frustrating. People lost interest and there were always delays. When the project was finished, it was good, but always missed the mark in some small (or sometimes large) way. Now, you may have noticed that I bracketed the word “needed” earlier in this paragraph. This is a key word because it identified a big part of the problem, which is: “I designed exactly what people wanted, but NOT what they needed”.

Because of this I decided to focus on a process that would help companies determine what they needed. I knew I couldn’t take the standard consultant approach and “tell them” what they needed, the conviction must be their own. They must also be able to trace that conviction back to a tangible history otherwise they will find themselves swaying when pressures or conflict mount.

Questionnaires and Interviews Don’t Work

Many consultants and designers use questionnaires or an interview to get the information they need to begin the design process. Although this may seem like a logical solution, it is flawed. Often times, only a single person is contributing the information with little validation from others. Trying to improve this flawed approach by simply requesting questionnaires from more people or conducting interviews only gives you more of the same.

So what is the answer?

A Collaborative Framework

Six years ago I found myself at one of these unpleasant impasses while helping a company design their website. There were a number of conflicting viewpoints about what should be communicated and who the company was actually talking to. There was also confusion around what the company thought their customers wanted and what the customers were actually asking for. Since we were unable to move forward, I decided to go backwards. We brought everyone involved in the project into the same room (including a few key decision-makers) and quickly re-established the mission, philosophy and approach of the company. We also reviewed their key projects, customers and sales process. The result was nothing short of miraculous. In one (3-hour) session we were able to move forward, twice as fast, and without hesitation. There were times when people questioned certain concepts or a specific direction. We fielded these questions and concerns by returning to the notes of our session for validation. Even when someone’s opinion was different, everyone understood the reason we took the path we did.

Framework?

I call this approach a framework because it is not a rigid process. It is purposely designed to be flexible so an outcome is NOT dictated. The framework does NOT tell a company what they should do, but leads them where they need to go and allows them to answer the critical questions that hinder progress and confuse direction.

More Value than you could Pay For

There are some amazing benefits from this framework that are not apparent from the beginning. In addition to a well-defined design and scope of work, this process can reinvigorate a company or team. During our sessions, everyone is gently realigned with the vision and direction that first attracted and inspired them. A strong sense of unity is developed that can often infect an entire company. New ideas and opportunities emerge which infuse energy. In the end, the originally design project that set everything in motion is done with excitement, passion, in less time, for often less money, and most important, everyone is confident it is exactly what is needed.

How confident are you in the way your website or sales and marketing materials are designed?

How confident are you that your services are defined and packaged properly?