Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash Design is not a cure for cancer. They were the final words Ken Cato’s wife said as she slammed the door behind her and left the building.* Harsh but true. Design is not a cure for cancer. An early boss had a very similar message during my very first role [...]

Photo by Radovan on Unsplash Bored, disengaged designers. Sometimes managing a studio is a little like being the entertainment director of the P+O Cruise ship 'Designer'. It often falls on the studio manager to keep designers engaged, motivated and focussed. And that's no mean feat, especially (as a business owner) having a stable of loyal, [...]

The university that builds your business Very few universities or private providers teach studio owners business management. Business courses are too generic and don’t consider the unique needs of creative business owners. Design courses (undergraduate and postgraduate) don’t include the business knowledge a studio owner needs. Added to this every owner is seeking the holy [...]

Why does your design business exist? Is it to make money? To work with good clients who appreciate design? To deliver your desired lifestyle? To be seen as a leader in the industry? In working with many design business owners I hear all sorts of answers. The business owners who can answer this question quickly [...]

Photography by Image Workshop You can't charge for a plan, but you can charge for a strategy. Here I am, just twelve weeks into my ‘new career’ of design researcher (rather than design practitioner), and one topic of confusion seems to be following me: the difference between a strategy and a plan. It was a [...]

The design business leadership gap The Australian design scene has matured rapidly in the last five years. We are seeing design agencies become a central part of start ups, buy-outs by large corporates and amalgamations but we have a design business leadership gap. In our work we've come to realise professional development has not kept [...]

Staying relevant: designers need business skills Clients expect that you’ll deliver all the elements of the designer’s craft; brand consistency, slick on-brief design, coding, style guides, prototyping, testing  etc. If that’s all you offer you have about 12,000 competitors in Australia. Gaining business skills could reduce this to about 500 competitors. These skills can move [...]

I know what clients really want... Many clients brief designers having already decided what the problem is and the type of work that needs to be done to solve it. They come to the designer because they think they need a website or an app or a small campaign. Here-in lies the problem. Most clients [...]

Interns, grads, why it’s harder now than then, and a freebie. In the next month or so, in Australia, there will be approximately 2000 graphic designers graduating into around 100 jobs. You don’t need to be good at math to know that’s not going to work. But before you despair, realise that some graduates will [...]

Working from London Just returned from our annual pilgrimage where we pack up our studio and work somewhere else in the world. This year it was London to continue my research into how designers view professional development. I’ve been talking professional development with Australian designers for the past couple of months as part of the [...]

Designing studio culture I have recently been doing a lot of work with studios who are wanting to improve workflow. This has led to looking at the studio positioning, roles and responsibilities (job descriptions) and the studio culture. It's all about people. In  my work for all sized studios one aspect remains the same in [...]

Taking design inhouse My business has changed/evolved/pivoted in the last two years. I am actively moving from the day-to-day client work to more of a producing, project based design management role. This has meant working with existing clients to solve how best they replace me. I’ve grasped the opportunity to revise my services with some [...]