In this section of the guide, we take a closer look at some of the areas in which training may prove valuable when working in or running a design business.
These include:
- The work: marketing, promotion, relationships and communications
- The business: strategy, structure, finance, culture and leadership
- The market: design industry and client markets
- The law: policy and legal
The work: marketing, promotion, relationships and communications
Much of the day-to-day activity of a design business is spent prospecting for new clients, servicing current clients and staying in touch with former clients, all of which require good communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, as well as knowledge of a client’s business, culture and needs.
With staff well versed in these areas, it’s likely that more pitches will be successful and client relationships will be more fruitful.
When it comes to communication, your consultancy or team’s abilities in everything from writing, language and grammar through to coping with a heavyweight, global pitch presentation may come into play. A great graphic designer is not necessarily a great presenter or writer. And although it may be possible to compensate for this with other members of staff, training allows everyone to develop skills that are complementary to their primary role, as well as to the business.
The Design Business Association, for example, runs a one-day Presentation Skills course, in which delegates learn to improve their own presenting technique and gain an understanding of the psychology behind spoken communication.
Another example of how training can help client liaison is D&AD’s half-day Crafting Relationships session, one of a number of ‘Workout’ courses run by the organisation. This looks at how to develop skills in interpersonal communication – perhaps ideal for a design account manager acting as an intermediary between clients and the agency’s creative department.
Most of our staff go on the Design Business Association’s Professional Practice Stage One course: it’s a really good grounding in “soft” skills for juniors and middleweights. As well as the course itself, which is extremely relevant, it’s also great to have ten or fifteen designers in the same room, all with the same problems and client issues. Just the fact that you’re there is beneficial. Nick Howe, Managing Director, Uniform
University of the Arts London’s professional training includes the Effective Teamwork course at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design – one of three daylong courses in its Communication Skills strand. The college also has courses in Branding and Marketing Skills, Creativity and Innovation, Website Management and Graphic Design for the Untrained.
Simon Penwarden, creative director of editorial design consultancy Penmedia, undertook Central Saint Martins’ Designing for the Internet week-long course, enabling his consultancy to expand its offer to web design, alongside its existing print design services.
My background is graphic design and art direction, but I was under pressure from clients to learn web software. The CSM course was exceptionally good – very well-tailored for any designer looking to expand from print to web – and it has been very beneficial to my business, allowing me to offer a whole new service. Simon Penwarden, Creative Director, Penmedia
Digital design is not the only area in which some training could become a valuable asset: sustainability issues are likely to touch more and more client projects in the near future. Here, training could improve a designer’s and consultancy’s ability to build sustainable processes into their client work, as well as their own business practices. The Centre for Sustainable Design runs training courses in areas including Innovation for Sustainability (for business leaders) and Sustainability – Opportunities for Creative Industries.
The business: strategy, structure, finance and culture
One observation often made of the design industry is that many of its consultancies are run by creatives, not business people. They grow through creative reputation and are judged by their ability to produce effective, stand-out work for a client, not on whether they are turning over a whopping profit each year.
Of course, there is no real reason why the directors of a consultancy cannot be completely capable in both camps – business and creativity. Nor are the two enterprises necessarily at odds. Nonetheless, strategic growth and business planning are probably not what a lot of design graduates have on their mind at the outset of their careers.
An ability to understand and deal with the nitty-gritty of running a design business, as well as the ability to manage creative talent, leads to a better performing business, which in turn leads to better clients and greater profit.
Key factors in running a business include:
- Finance and financial planning
- Strategic development
- Management succession
- Employment and human resources
- R&D
- and Procurement processes
For senior staff and directors, it’s worth thinking about training in some of these business skills. Determining the structure, positioning and management culture of a design consultancy may be far from common sense, so expert help in how to grow, manage and steer a business could prove invaluable.
The DBA’s courses, for example, focus on the business aspects of running a consultancy. Its Professional Practice Stage Two training comprises ten half-day modules, which can be undertaken individually or as a complete course. Modules include negotiation skills, project management and how to maintain client and supplier relationships.
Senior staff and management here have all been on at least some of the Professional Practice Stage Two modules, which are more about the running of a business, looking at things like finance, customer retention and relationships, strategic development and so on. It’s always good for people to have an understanding of these things, as it gives them a deeper awareness of some of the issues and processes of the business. We then contrast the DBA’s business and soft skills training with D&AD’s craft and creativity courses. Nick Howe, Managing Director, Uniform
Through its Design Association, the Chartered Society of Designers also runs a number of module courses in the more practical aspects of running a design business, including Business Planning and Financial Projections, Leadership and People Management, Doing Business Globally and Design Development, Creativity & Business Development.
There’s also the Cultural Leadership Programme, a Government funded investment in leadership skills in the creative and cultural industries. This includes seed funding for businesses looking for leadership development.
CLP runs a number of different workshops and courses and also lists courses funded and run by the Clore Leadership Programme, including fellowships and board development.
The Open University also offers some CPD courses in various management, business development and teamwork skills.
The market: design industry and client markets
A good understanding of the bigger commercial picture could prove decisive in winning or losing certain types of projects. Knowing what other design groups are offering – both in the UK and abroad – and being aware of client markets and requirements are essential in offering a sound strategic design service.
Although UK design has enjoyed something of a pre-eminent rank for many years, competition for work and status comes increasingly from overseas – notably, from China and India.
As Jonathan Sands, chairman of Elmwood and the UK Design Skills Alliance explains, an understanding of the bigger picture is vital for UK design to remain competitive in the global market.
[We need] to take action to make sure we preserve the gap between us and the developing design world around us… Taking action means building up our skills. The kind of skills to help us go beyond simply (and very competently) executing our client’s brief, so we take the client outside what they already know and into new, more profitable territory. In other words, operating more strategically. Jonathan Sands, Chairman, Elmwood and the UK Design Skills Alliance
This might mean brushing up on cultural nuances in various territories; learning a language; understanding currency fluctuations; anticipating and reading trends and so on.
The Design Association/CSD’s Diploma in Design Business Management includes a one-day module called Doing Business Globally. The DBA’s Professional Practice Stage Two course includes a module on design consultancies in the international market place.
As an alternative to formal courses on international business, you could seek bespoke advice and consultancy. Expertise on markets in China and India specifically can be gained through Creative Connexions, an organisation housed in University of the Arts London.
Courses run by business schools may also be worth considering, such as those at the London Business School-affiliated Centre for Creative Business.
The law: legal and policy
This is arguably the drier end of the training spectrum, but it could still be beneficial to gain more understanding of areas like intellectual property, human resources, employment contracts, training programmes, procurement procedures, professional ethics and so on, especially if you’re running a growing design business.
Intellectual property in particular may have direct relevance to client projects. Clients are often encouraged to keep intellectual property rights to themselves, but is this the best thing for the industry? Would design consultancies with a portfolio of off-the-shelf customisable designs be of more benefit to some clients in the long run? What should be protected, and by whom, and what should be relinquished?
Pertinent legislative considerations might include requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, for example. Knowledge of each of these laws may help the business internally, as well as inform the direction of client projects.
Courses at the CSD and DBA cover the law on intellectual property rights, copyright, design rights, patents and so on. The CSD also runs modules on Law and Governance, Professional Practice and Ethics and Statutory Requirements and Legislation.