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February 13, 2010

Strategy and Design

This week in our Business, Entreprenurship and Ethics class, we were tasked with reading and writing about another article from the Harvard Business Review; this time on business strategy. It's interesting to me that many of the strategic principles outlined here for business can be equally applied to design as a practice. For that matter, soccer, dating & relationships, even grad school.
First off, what is strategy anyway? In my mind, it's a plan you have for what you're going to do–how you're going to play the game. More important, being cognizant that others are involved in that same game, how to differentiate yourself from the way everyone else is approaching it. In the broadest sense, it's what you bring to the table that no-one else has. It's a uniqueness that can't be copied or easily codified.
If you grew up in the 70s, you remember how the Super Friends each had some amazing thing each of them did–Wonder Woman had her invisible jet; Aquaman could do anything involving water, The Flash was super fast. Strategy. Whatever your jam, there was sure to be one of them who could save the day. For the record, Wonder Twins are the best value-add, being that they can literally change into anything, but I digress.

Being learning disabled (ADD) as well as artistic, I have seen first-hand that sometimes a perceived weakness can end up being a strength. For instance, I dropped out of high school at a relatively young age. I have often wondered how much of my creative problem solving abilities have to do with the fact that I wasn't socialized in the same way as others, and that often by my very nature, I learned to do the opposite thing from everybody else. I can't say it's been an easy or enviable road, (I don't recommend it) however, sometimes I think it pays off. Often I have been the only person in the room to see something in a completely different way, which can lead to a solution no-one else had thought of. While 2 opposing sides are battling it out, each trying to achieve their vision, often I am able to provide a third idea which 'is so crazy, it just might work'.
As designers, it can be very tough to carve out an innovative approach; one which comes from a holistic and purpose-driven place, not cobbled together by multiple stakeholders, based on 'this cool thing so-and-so.com is doing', along with some other freakishly bizarre marketing concept, attached to someone else's brilliant hackjob of a wireframe ideation. As designers, sometimes it feels that we're being pulled in a hundred different contradictory directions. Many times we're asked (or told) to continue piling on more features and distractions in order to meet the requirements of those who, sadly, lack a clear strategy. The result is a hodge-podge mish-mash of a product or experience which the customer instinctually cogitates as 'noise' and subsequently moves on from.
The best products and consumer experiences are designs which feel whole to us; seamless, timeless. They work extremely hard at pretending they are naturally beautiful / desirable / useful without breaking a sweat. But the truth is, they have been refined many times over, and are rarified through the process of iteration. This in itself is strategy, on a molecular level. When it's done thoroughly, from the ground up, you get breakthrough products like the iPhone, and countless others that change the game for everyone. When designers imitate, and when designs are compromised by competing interests, you get "me too" products which quickly drown in a sea of competition.
The essence of good design strategy is no compromise. This requires strong designers who are empowered within their organizations–something rare, if it exists at all. Only famous designers like Yves Behar and Johnathan Ives get that kind of carte blanche authority over their vision. The rest of us are often beholden to competing interests within our companies, and decisions which should be left to designers are often made by those with no design training or background.
Great design is a differentiator, a strategic edge, and something we should empower more designers to deliver without being undermined.

Posted by dsr at February 13, 2010 10:31 PM