Mental health and three stages of learning Mental health and the three stages of learning are interwoven. As we move from being a fresh graduate beaming with confident incompetence to a seasoned designer feeling competent confidence, our mental health waxes and wanes. Years ago we attended How Magazine's Mind Your Own Business design management seminar [...]

Designing the stress free studio Some say a 'stress free studio' is an oxymoron. From our first weeks in a design course we are told we have to be creative; and meet deadline. This continues into our working life as one of the elements that causes mental health issues. There has been much written, spoken [...]

Studio culture and job descriptions Much of my work in the Chairman program is with businesses who want to change. I work with forward-thinking studio owners who recognise they can’t keep doing the same thing for the next 10 years. The plans for this change are generally well thought through; they have a positioning to [...]

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 [...]

Do you have ‘design-led’ or ‘design-fed’ clients What is the difference and why should we care; as long as we get design into the company? This was answered by Ryan Hart, principal analyst at Forrester, one of the most influential research and advisory firms in the world. Ryan was talking recently at the Forrester CX [...]

ONE MINUTE ON THE BUSINESS OF DESIGN What motivates clients What motivates clients. Understanding what motivates clients by using an empathy map. Want more? Walk a day in your clients shoes, an article about empathy mapping and how it can be used in a design studio. Read it here I jnow what clients really want. [...]

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 [...]

ONE MINUTE ON THE BUSINESS OF DESIGN Fiscal fitness in a design business Fiscal fitness in a design business. Understanding the benchmarks that will show how fiscally fit your design business is. Want more? The Business of Design, produced by The Design Business Council. This book is written just for Australian designers with sections on [...]

Are you really innovative? Who doesn’t want to be innovative? It may not be your positioning statement or used prominently on your web site but for a design business, it’s a mandatory requisite. To be called a creative agency you have to be innovative. Client’s expect it. Truly innovative design businesses get more work. They [...]

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 [...]

  ONE MINUTE ON THE BUSINESS OF DESIGN Competitive advantage Want more? The Business of Design, (page 104 - 123) published by The Design Business Council. Available here Designing demand workshop. Inhouse workshop that shows how to develop a competitive advantage and strategies to get more work. See more here. Designing demand Program. An 8 [...]