Creative & Commercial? The great mutually exclusive myth…

Probably the most common question asked by new and aspiring product designers is, ‘What is good design?’ Personally, I think this has little merit without first asking a slightly different and more pertinent question, ‘What is a good designer?’
Firstly, I would suggest this describes one who is able to gain an ‘edge’ over the competition and consistently come up with ideas that sell. However, there’s a challenge, in order to do so, talent and creativity are no longer enough.
Today, to qualify as a ‘good’ product designer intent on conquering the consumer space, it’s essential to complement the things learned at design school with a reasonable understanding and insight into commercial awareness. Sadly, this is not something that is frequently on the curriculum.
This type of knowledge can undoubtedly positively impact the creative process and with it, influence the designer’s design choices resulting in the ability to produce better concepts with greater relevance and viability — and therefore a far greater probability of being commercialized. In today’s crowded market place, where talent is in abundance, creativity and commerce can no longer be considered to be mutually exclusive.
Having been fortunate enough to have worked on the commercial side of some relatively high-profile design businesses, I’ve noticed that while it’s easy to find a plethora of ‘how to’ business articles online, it’s conversely extremely difficult to find proven commercial strategies assembled in one place specifically packaged to support product designers in maximizing their creative potential.
This inability to direct my creative colleagues to such a resource caused me great frustration, so much so, I decided to take matters into my own hands and start work on a solution. Over the past year I have assembled the methods and strategies that I have successfully deployed and assembled them in one place. It’s in the form of a short and highly practical book called Creatively Commercial. It’s crammed full of tangible and actionable information that can help boost any new product designer’s creative opportunities and is now available on Amazon.
Alternatively, if you’re interested in reading a few free sample chapters they can be downloaded here
