Why Communication is More Important than Your Design
By Charlie Foss
Often times when we design something, we think that the final product is the end of what we do. We will typically hand it off to engineering or someone else and begin to play our role as a consultant to ensure that our intent is maintained. This role as a consultant can sometimes be more arduous than we would like. This is often because we don’t take the time to properly communicate our designs to others around the business and outside the business. Communication is at the heart of what we do as designers but yet we don’t always think of it as an important aspect of design.
Our job as designers is to communicate thoughts and ideas. We use a variety of tools to do so, whether it be sketches, prototypes, or presentations. These tools have become so ingrained in our processes that we tend to take them for granted. We assume that because we can understand them that everyone else will too. This is not always the case.
I have reviewed hundreds of student portfolios over the years and the ones that always stand out are the ones that show process. This is what most design managers will gripe about the most when talking about student work as well. Students sometimes fall in the trap of just showing us the pretty picture at the end of the process but not necessarily their thought process. This translates to the professional level as well. The deliverables on any given project are going to be a 3D model, final renderings of that model, and a bunch of details to get engineering going on their tasks. But what about the rest? What about all of that hard work we did to create this beautiful product? For design to be understood we must communicate why our work is valuable.
When we deliver a design we need to think about who is going to be receiving the information. This is often the first misstep. We think that because we understand it everyone else will as well. What we forget to realize is that we have been immersed in this project for months while everyone else has been working on something else. We have such intrinsic knowledge of every aspect of the project that it clouds our vision to deliver something that is compelling and meaningful to everyone else in the business.
In order to better communicate we need to understand what every aspect of the business needs to understand in order to tell the story that we were trying to create. Each stakeholder is going to need different information and in varying amounts of detail. But in order to effectively communicate our designs we must step back and take a view from the outside. The information that marketing is going to need to effectively create their story is different from the information that engineering will need. But what I have seen too often is that we deliver the same story to the entire business expecting them to be able to decipher our code and implement it in a way that is meaningful.
One area in particular that I find gets lost by the time the product hits the market is all of the research that was done. As designers, we live and breathe the research. We empathize with the consumer in order to create solutions that will delight them. What happens to all of the hard work when we get to the end of the project? We think that because we have incorporated all of that work into our designs that people will just naturally understand it. But they don’t. There is no way that they can make that connection because they weren’t privy to the research and haven’t been living it. We must allow others to rediscover that research in order for them to realize the story that is being told through design.
One way that I think works particularly well, is to go talk to each of the stakeholders. Find out what kind of information they need in order to better do their job. How can you provide them the information they need so that they don’t have to come searching for it later? This also begins to build bridges between departments because it shows that design cares about each functional area of the business and how design can make their job easier. You will likely get things that you had expected, but if you dig a little deeper you will uncover things that you may have not considered. You may realize that people are more interested in a certain aspect of the design process than you originally thought. This information will allow you to better tailor your communication to each group so that they can continue to build upon the story and deliver a successful product.
Another thing that tends to work well, is to allow them to be part of the process. There is much written on collaboration, but here I want to focus more on how integrating different aspects of the business into the design process can empower them to communicate a story. When we open our doors and allow others to see the design process in action it can be a very eye opening experience. You will get responses like, “I didn’t even know you guys did that.” These types of responses should be clues to you that you have not done a great job at communicating design. Just as we live the process, when others do as well, they become ingrained in the holistic story. They begin to empathize with the consumer, they begin to understand how you move from research to idea, and they begin to understand why the vision you have created is so meaningful. This can a very powerful tool as long as it continues to be curated.
Once you have determined what each of your stakeholders are expecting and need from design, it is now up to design to tell a compelling story. This can take on a variety of forms. Sometimes it might be a presentation, other times it could be some interactive content. The way you deliver your story can almost be as important as the story itself. Essentially, in a short amount of time you have to allow others to digest the months of work that you have put in to a project. When you are done they have to be just as bought into the idea as you are. They have to believe the story that you are telling and have a clear understanding of how it affects them and how they are going to continue that story into their area of the business. This will take time and effort. Design needs to see their projects through to the end. This is where design’s maturity can play a significant role as I wrote in this previous piece. When design is connected or integrated into each area of the business this can be a much easier task. When it is not, you will have to work diligently to ensure that you maintain the narrative.
Design has grown to be so much more than it once was. It continues to evolve in the business world every day. If we don’t properly communicate our design story to those inside the business and outside we will continue to have to try to explain what our value is. Once we can tell a compelling story and others begin to believe and become ingrained in that story, design will have much more value. As you design your next project, don’t forget to think about how you are going to communicate each phase of the project to everyone else around the business. Get out there and understand what others need from you and how design can become more beneficial to them and their work. Communication is a valuable asset to any design process and needs to be a skill that every designer continues to work on.
