Design-led companies have effective processes in place to continuously listen to customers. They are committed to testing ideas and iterating those ideas better over time.

Design-led companies have effective processes in place to continuously listen to customers. They are committed to testing ideas and iterating those ideas better over time.

So you have a client contact list as long as your arm. All ready for that day when you get around to sending them something to try and get more work. STOP.
You don’t need contacts. You need clients …

The Business of Design week gives you the opportunity to spend time working ON your business with Australia’s leading design business mentors.

Will the current design studio model survive in the gig economy where design execution has become commoditised?

How designers are disrupting - themselves After three years of working with more than 100 design studios I've developed an understanding of how designers grow their business through disruption. If you want to learn more about disrupting your business you can use the Design Business Model section of The Business of Design. The Designing Demand [...]

What to look for in a partner. Running any business solo is tough. Running a design business solo has to be one of the toughest. It requires two distinct parts of the brain: a business brain and a creative brain shoved into the one head. While that’s far from impossible, it’s difficult to have both [...]

Design Business Council - the year in review 2016 is the 11th year of operation for the DBC. Founded in 2005 it aimed to; 1. Raise the professional practice of designers by assisting studios by developing business skills. 2. Generate more use of design by all Australian companies through direct promotion of design value case [...]

What is your onlyness? The term onlyness was invented by Nilofer Merchant, an author, and leading authority on creating business strategy to achieve success. Nilofer has honed her unique, collaborative approach to solving tough problems while working with and for companies including Adobe, Apple, Nokia, and HP. This is how she described coming up with [...]

Love my work but don’t want to do the same in five years This is a phrase I constantly hear in my work with design studio owners. Most are studios that have been in business anywhere between five and fifteen years. They have five to twenty staff and are showing good profits. They are constantly working [...]

Mackay Branson design vs Magistrates' Court Victoria   The designer: Carol Mackay of Mackay Branson design: a veteran graphic designer with vast experience in the alternative dispute and courts sectors. As well as Ombudsman schemes, clients include the County, Magistrates’ and Supreme Court of Victoria and VCAT. I have long relationships with most clients – [...]

What I have learnt about working holidays The cases are unpacked, the power connectors stored and the receipts organised ready for the taxman’s scrutiny. All that’s left is to plan next year’s adventure. Each year we get better at the planning and more adventurous in the execution. Here’s a checklist of what we’ve learnt about [...]