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University of the Arts London Brandspeak
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- 2. Let's discuss my researchinterests for my master's thesis.
- 3. The main interestof my research is the business value of design, specifically the problems it can solve for companies and why these solutions are not fully exploited.
- 4. Why am Iinterested in this?
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- 8. My boss wantedto create an online platform where she and her husband would upload videos to help other hospitality companies. In order to watch them, you had to buy the course. It was a simple idea—we could just take it, build a brand around it, and launch. But since my salary depended on this working out, I considered whether making money with this was actually possible, and I came to the conclusion: No, it’s not… at least not where we are now, because there was no audience and no story around it. So we sat down, and I questioned them about why they thought this was a good idea. It turns out they had received requests from other hospitality companies they met at events who were asking them for advice. Great. So they assumed they could take this opportunity and create an online course to help them. But, as I have learned from this example, we considered that before creating this online course, the first step should be to offer consulting to those who were asking and record all the steps to later upload these as an online course.
- 9. From that momenton, the one thing I consider in all of my projects is to always understand the underlying motivation of my client, business, or project, and to think about the easiest first step to start the project with the resources available.
- 10. My own understandingof my job as a designer evolved: - I began to see opportunities to help businesses through design much clearer. - I was no longer just creating visually pleasing communication. - I now viewed myself as a problem solver, a business asset, a driver for innovation.
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- 13. Businesses don’t takedesign seriously: Because they don’t get told to do so! German business studies exclude design. Branding books: Not aimed at business owners and shelved in arts, not business, sections. Start-up hubs still integrate brand design into marketing.
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- 17. Collaboration Issues Asked aboutworking together and any problems they face. Daily Business Operations Explored what their typical day looks like. Brand Design Challenges Identified potential issues that may occur during brand design projects. Client Expectations Learned about their wishes and what they desire from partnerships. Agency Limitations Discussed what holds agencies back in delivering value. Understanding Client Needs and Agency Challenges
- 18. 1. Established systems:Both companies and agencies have developed systems that generally work for them. 2. Importance of personal fit: Clients value personal compatibility and feeling understood by the agency. 3. Role of design knowledge: A company’s design knowledge and creative thinking abilities are crucial, significantly impacting their decision-making processes. 4. Challenges with limited design knowledge: Companies lacking in design expertise tend to have longer decision-making paths, greater uncertainty, and prefer linear over agile processes. 5. Daily discussions: Agencies consider discussions as part of their everyday tasks. 6. Impact of dependency relationships: The dependency between agencies and companies can complicate tasks, potentially leading to poorer professional decisions due to the company’s dominance. What I found out so far:
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