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 [...]

You can't measure design That's what some people tell me but I think that design leaders should be championing design effectiveness. In my work with design studio owners I often get push back when I talk about measuring design effectiveness. I think in part this push back is due to a misunderstanding of ‘design effectiveness’.  [...]

At least someone is looking after freelancers In the land that has given us Donald Trump there is some hope yet. The following has been released by the New York City Consumer affairs. Freelance Isn't Free Act On May 15, 2017, Local Law 140 of 2016 will take effect. The law establishes and enhances protections [...]

I thank you. Working with great clients on interesting projects is the best feeling in the world. I love building a relationship, working together to achieve a common goal and then celebrating the rollout. But after that last deliverable is, well, delivered, the last communication between a designer and a client is usually the account: [...]

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 [...]

Designing in San Francisco. Visiting local design studios is one of the highlights of travelling. Sure it takes a bit of organising, but we get to kill two birds with one stone (as they say). The first is that we can chat openly to a non-competing fellow designer. The second is that we have the chance [...]