{"id":4861,"date":"2020-05-18T11:08:19","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T08:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/?p=4861"},"modified":"2020-05-18T13:24:26","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T10:24:26","slug":"what-you-can-learn-from-designers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/what-you-can-learn-from-designers\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM DESIGNERS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The dictionary defines design as: to prepare the preliminary sketch or plans for (a work to be executed) — definition by dictionary.com<\/a>. The word \u2018design\u2019 has many applications but here are the most important ones \u2013 solution driven design or artistic type design. Both renditions propelled the human species into the modern world we know. Our ability to use design as an expressive system as well as process to develop solutions is evident all the way to our evolution stages. It surrounds us and can bet found in the tiniest of places and items. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design is also a vital component in creating a successful business, product and service. While successful entrepreneurs <\/em><\/strong><\/a>play multiple roles in their company, I\u2019d argue that the most important one is chief designer. We hear a lot about \u2018design thinking\u2019 from successful founders and business leaders because, as a culture the know that taking a design-driven mindset shapes the vision for successful products and businesses. Here a few lessons entrepreneurs can learn from designers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designers talk to customers early and often.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Interaction with\ncustomers is a vital ingredient in creating a successful product. Often times\nthe root cause of introducing a flawed product or service into the market is\nnot talking to customers. Waiting until the product is in beta and over relying\non data analytics which is important in decision making but cannot replace\nactual human input from customers. Designers serve as conduit for ensuring that\nthe voice of the customer is represented in each stage of development. They\nkeep in constant communication with customers to ensure they don\u2019t create\nproducts based solely on their personal assumptions of what customers want. But\nuse information gathered from consumers and try to adopt their point of view to\nprovide a product or service best adapted to those needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting input from\ncustomers in the early stages of your company won\u2019t just inform the product, it\nwill be a compass for you market strategy. After all, if you don\u2019t have\ncustomers you don\u2019t have a business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designers focus on solving customers actual pain points.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A product isn\u2019t necessarily\nsuccessful because it marginally meets expectations \u2013 a basic product excites\nno one and you cannot expect elements of delight to distract from unmet\nexpectations. You\u2019re not impressed when you walk into a hotel and find hot\nrunning water conversely, if there were no hot water, no number of free cookies\nin the reception would make up for it. Using the \u2018early and often conversations\u2019,\ndesigners synergise basic and delight \u2013 creating a masterpiece that can compete\nand succeed in the market while meeting customer expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design is diverse, your team should be too <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas<\/p>Donatella Versace<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

To successfully create a product to suit the majority, you must be able to brainstorm and sort through the options effectively with a diverse team representing multiple functions and interests. Where companies largely go wrong by pushing a product into the market that supposedly caters to a large majority but only functions for a small minority or \u2013 is insensitive to another. A prime example are make-up brands that preach inclusivity but rarely cater to a diverse group of races or facial recognition software\u2019s which are less effective for darker skin tones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flawed designs are the result of  a \u2018uniform\u2019 production team that draws solely from their own experiences thus create a product that disproportionately serves customers. This highlights the importance of a diverse team <\/a><\/em><\/strong>with varied ideas and experiences \u2013 allowing for a variety of voices and representation to create a prosperous product or service. An excellent example of would would be Fenty by Rihanna whereby, her company has garnered fame and success by selling access to beauty for \u2018every\u2019 kind of woman. Diversity is king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stress kills productivity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Undoubtedly, running a business is stressful \u2013 harsh deadlines, difficult customers, ever-changing technologies and more obstacles find a way to destress a critical part of its performance. The first and foremost step in leading a less-stressful business lifestyle is to identify what is stressing you out. After identifying the problem, you can begin to take action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important that you personally identify your triggers and make changes. Be it improving your time management skills, facing challenges with a more positive outlook, outsourcing projects, changing environments, taking time off etc. But remember, if you don\u2019t get enough sleep all your changes mean nothing. When you\u2019re rested you optimise your performance and make less mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be creative, Designers are<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not about thinking\noutside of the box but what you can do with the box. Being creative is an\nobvious trait but probably the most important thing you can learn from a\ndesigner. If a product like the one you are producing or thinking about producing\nexists, make sure your version is better performing and stands out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusively, designers have managed to become essential in any and every industry that serves customers. Their diverse knowledge base is founded on the same basic principles outlined above. Whether you\u2019re an employer, employee or budding entrepreneur \u2013 there\u2019s lessons to be learned. Paul Rand simply says, \u201cThe public is more familiar with bad design than good design\u201d – so work to change that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amanda Nyabila – Fashion Designer <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The dictionary defines design as: to prepare the preliminary sketch or plans for (a work to be executed) — definition by dictionary.com. The word \u2018design\u2019 has many applications but here are the most important ones \u2013 solution driven design or artistic type design. Both renditions propelled the human species into the modern world we know. Our ability to use design as an expressive system as well as process to develop solutions is evident all the way to our evolution stages. It surrounds us and can bet found in the tiniest of places and items. Design is also a vital component\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4862,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[103],"tags":[],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":5}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4861"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4866,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4861\/revisions\/4866"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmc.ke\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}