Fall in love with the process, not just the outcome.

Perhaps it’s just us. But after so many years have passed in the design world, we often find ourselves wondering where the love of process has gone. When did we start focusing on results rather than reasons?

As a modern studio, we’ve always loved the process. It’s the first dance, the first kiss, and all those other romantic analogies we have when we’re processing a brief with a client. The process is where we get to understand each other and uncover all those elements that will make the design process special — the thinking, the rationale, the idea and how we’ll keep the team and the client engaged and excited.

The process is where we search for the why of the project, as much as the why of the client’s business. At this stage, reasons are just as important as results.

When clients want more, for more’s sake, we find ourselves asking — where’s the love for the process gone? Are we working with the wrong clients who are pressured to deliver by stealth stakeholder opinion? Something’s wrong when copywriters wrangle with designers, designers are frothing with irritation at techies, creative directors go grey at the thought of compromised design and execution is all lost due to the demand for results.

Results are paramount, for sure, but if we all just took a deep breath, took some time to understand the process and realised that there’s no ‘magic button’, our execution would be far better. That, in turn, leads to delivering far better results and a united front between client and creatives.