The Strategic Designer


Book Description

The design profession has been asking itself some important questions lately. How do designers deal with the increasing complexity of design problems? What skills do designers need to be competitive in the future? How do designers become co-creators with clients and audiences? How do designers prove their value to business? Designers are looking for ways to stay competitive in the conceptual economy and address the increasing complexity of design problems. By adopting a process that considers collaboration, context and accountability, designers move from 'makers of things' to 'design strategists.' The Strategic Designer shows designers how to build strong client relationships, elevate their standing with clients, increase project success rates, boost efficiency and enhance their creativity.




The Strategic Designer


Book Description

Providing insight on how to be a successful and strategic designer, David Holston answers many of the questions plaguing the profession today, including how to boost efficiency and enhance creativity. The design profession has been asking itself some important questions lately: How do designers deal with the increasing complexity of design problems? What skills do designers need to be competitive in the future? How do designers become co-creators with clients and audiences? How do designers prove their value to business? Designers are looking for ways to stay competitive in the conceptual economy and address the increasing complexity of design problems. By adopting a process that considers collaboration, context and accountability, designers move from 'makers of things' to 'design strategists.' The Strategic Designer shows designers how to build strong client relationships, elevate their standing with clients, increase project success rates, boost efficiency, and enhance their creativity.




Creative Strategy and the Business of Design


Book Description

"The Business Skills Every Creative Needs! Remaining relevant as a creative professional takes more than creativity--you need to understand the language of business. The problem is that design school doesn't teach the strategic language that is now essential to getting your job done. Creative Strategy and the Business of Design fills that void and teaches left-brain business skills to right-brain creative thinkers. Inside, you'll learn about the business objectives and marketing decisions that drive your creative work. You already have the creativity; now it's time to gain the business insight. Once you understand what the people across the table are thinking, you'll be able to think how they think to do what we do." -- Provided by publisher.




Dark Matter and Trojan Horses


Book Description

Strategic design is about applying the principles of traditional design to "big picture" systemic challenges such as healthcare, education and the environment. It redefines how problems are approached and aims to deliver more resilient solutions. In this short book, Dan Hill outlines a new vocabulary of design, one that needs to be smuggled into the upper echelons of power. He asserts that, increasingly, effective design means engaging with the messy politics - the "dark matter" - taking place above the designer's head. And that may mean redesigning the organisation that hires you.




Strategic Writing for UX


Book Description

When you depend on users to perform specific actions—like buying tickets, playing a game, or riding public transit—well-placed words are most effective. But how do you choose the right words? And how do you know if they work? With this practical book, you’ll learn how to write strategically for UX, using tools to build foundational pieces for UI text and UX voice strategy. UX content strategist Torrey Podmajersky provides strategies for converting, engaging, supporting, and re-attracting users. You’ll use frameworks and patterns for content, methods to measure the content’s effectiveness, and processes to create the collaboration necessary for success. You’ll also structure your voice throughout so that the brand is easily recognizable to its audience. Learn how UX content works with the software development lifecycle Use a framework to align the UX content with product principles Explore content-first design to root UX text in conversation Learn how UX text patterns work with different voices Produce text that’s purposeful, concise, conversational, and clear




Design a Better Business


Book Description

This book stitches together a complete design journey from beginning to end in a way that you’ve likely never seen before, guiding readers (you) step-by-step in a practical way from the initial spark of an idea all the way to scaling it into a better business. Design a Better Business includes a comprehensive set of tools (over 20 total!) and skills that will help you harness opportunity from uncertainty by building the right team(s) and balancing your point of view against new findings from the outside world. This book also features over 50 case studies and real life examples from large corporations such as ING Bank, Audi, Autodesk, and Toyota Financial Services, to small startups, incubators, and social impact organizations, providing a behind the scenes look at the best practices and pitfalls to avoid. Also included are personal insights from thought leaders such as Steve Blank on innovation, Alex Osterwalder on business models, Nancy Duarte on storytelling, and Rob Fitzpatrick on questioning, among others.




Design Leadership


Book Description

The fundamental tenet of this Design Leadership book is that design is a commercial and social imperative and its management and leadership are integral parts of what can make business successful, government effective and society safer and more enjoyable for everyone. The text draws on Raymond Turner’s extensive experience and insights into the effective use of design as a business resource for competitive advantage and social benefit. Raymond brings his experience of working for iconic businesses, projects and consultancies to provide essential, value creating, insights on the interface between design and business. Design Leadership adopts a straightforward approach that will be of great value to those who influence how organisations work - the managers and chief executives of a country’s wealth creating engines. It is also of particular relevance to those with design management and leadership responsibilities as well as students who aim to work in these roles. The ideas at the heart of the book concern all who shape society and have the brief to improve our lives. Raymond Turner’s advice will help all of these readers make design work and so become more effective more quickly.




The Designer's Guide to Product Vision


Book Description

As organizations increasingly recognize the centrality of design to strategy, designers have an opportunity to shape decisions at the highest level, moving beyond low-level UI/UX decisions to product vision and strategy. In The Designer's Guide to Product Vision, pioneering product design visionary Laura Fish helps you level up your skills and become a modern design leader. Fish shows how to make the hard-won transformation to strategic designer, and harness your new power by championing product visions that make a powerful difference. You’ll learn how to: Lead digital product journeys in an agile world, using product vision as a strategic compass that keeps everyone aligned in the face of change Bind your product to purposeful direction: delivering the best experience that solves for user problems through the lens of business objectives Master the exceptional business communication skills you need to command business endeavors based on product or service vision Secure dedicated resources, assemble your team, and captain your visioneering expedition to success Fish provides practical tools that help you apply her strategies, including product vision proposal document deliverables, storytelling arc templates, vision solution story templates, and more. With her guidance and resources, you can leave pixel-pushing behind -- and change your world.




The Design of Business


Book Description

Most companies today have innovation envy. Many make genuine efforts to be innovative: they spend on R & D, bring in creative designers, hire innovation consultants; but they still get disappointing results. Roger Martin argues that to innovate and win, companies need 'design thinking'.




Design Management


Book Description

Design management (the management of design strategies, processes and projects) is an intricate subject. As the role of design in the world continues to broaden, organisations are increasingly viewing design as being integral to their decision-making processes. Opening with a contextual overview of the subject, Design Management then explores the stages involved in the application of design to business. Each topic is accompanied by key questions that get the reader to think about the issues raised, and professional case studies and interviews demonstrate the knowledge and practices described. Areas of key practical skills are outlined in order to bridge the gap between creativity management and academic theory, and professional practice.