It is part of a designer’s role to give clients a framework in which to give their feedback. A framework helps moves the feedback from the subjective ‘I don’t like orange’ to a more appropriate, and useful objective responses.

Gaining client approval can be the most frustrating part of any project for both the designer and client. We’ve found introducing a RASCI – identifying roles and responsibilities at planning stage – solves many of the issues.

Clients are under increasing pressure to get quick results. This has caused them to rush the design process and turn it into a production process.

Clients are from Mars... I am seeing many more design agency owners being asked to supply rate cards or to do a package deal to reduce costs. This has always been an aspect of running a design business but it seems to be more prevalent particularly on large jobs needing a lot of implementation work. Clients [...]

Why policies and procedures save money. It’s a common misconception that policies and procedures are only necessary when a studio reaches ‘maturity’, be that in structure or in longevity. That’s not true. Well written policies and procedures save money. They are the backbone of a truly sustainable design firm because they allow everyone to work [...]

Monthly meetings where designers talk business. Get up. Get out of your studio and talk business with others. Analyse things that are broken. Explore solutions. Talk to other designers. Collaborate. Share. We’ve run a breakfast session for designers for the past two years. A session where problems are tabled and solved, all over toast and [...]

Rules for working for free Here's a story about a designer and her brother. He (let's call him Hugo) is CEO of a not-for-profit food-rescue organisation. She, (let's call her Ella), is the founder and creative director of a design firm working in the healthcare sector. It's June. Most not-for-profits are competing for end-of-financial-year tax-deductible [...]

When you have that 'stuck' feeling So it’s been nine months now since I started my new job. I only hesitate for a moment now when I’m asked where I’m from. Design Business Council nearly slips off my tongue but not quite. It’s tough after 33 years – Mackay Branson design was so much part [...]

A strategy that turned a loss into a profit I had the best week in Perth. One of my meetings was with a designer I have been mentoring for the past 12 months. Over a coffee, Frankie explained how this year’s financial figures proved she has successfully transformed a loss-making part of her business into [...]

A scholarship for female startups Design is a great career for both sexes. Working in design makes it possible to combine any mixture of doing, producing and managing. Strange thing is, research continually shows that women are more likely to be doing and men seem to be managing. We want to help change that… Our [...]

Working in design plays with your head ... Two things happened last week worth sharing. The first was part of our regularly 'design yak' - a breakfast meeting of like-minded designers. During the discussion (we have a topic each month) a designer shared her frustration at losing a project on price. Yep, happens all the [...]

Read your website and socials through the lens of a client who is researching, looking for a new design partner. It’s astounding how similar everyone sounds.