IDD 480 - Design is a Business

The opening lines of chapter 3 in Careers by Design are, “The core message of this survey is the fact that graphic design is a business, and the various sectors of design are utilized as strategic marketing tools. The design business is unusual due to several factors: It is a service business, its product is creative, and it has no inventory (17).” The business of design is just that, a business. There are many different people who work in many different environments of that business who all work together to create a design for a company.

Each element of design must work together and flow with the other aspects in order to create a design harmony. “One should note that the visual image is the final result of the strategic positioning, not the first step, as most designers would imagine (19).” In which case, teams are needed to plan, assess, and take inventory of the company, which may need a new identity.

Some brands change their identity and packaging designs slightly over the years. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are the given examples. One example I thought of on my own are the Disney characters. The characters look a lot different in pictures now compared to when the parks first opened. Their changes were subtle, but evolved greatly and changed over the past 50 plus years of their existence.

Behind the designs there is a business side. “Consultants’, strategic planners’, and brand strategists responsibilities fall into the problem solving areas, working on concepts before the creative work and usually very closely with the creative staff (39).” The two fields of business and design must work together in order to integrate ideas which in turn create designs and help the business.