In the broadest sense, “strategy” is a plan for how to achieve a goal. In business, strategy bridges the gap between policy (guidelines governing action) and tactics (a set of techniques). Strategy is what a company develops to differentiate itself from competitors’ actual or predicted moves. It’s complex and it drives every decision a business makes.
Our clients’ business strategies also form the framework for our design strategies. While these are interrelated, they are not the same thing. Design strategy, as a field of theory and practice, refers to the integrated, holistic planning process examining the interplay between design and business strategy. However, for most graphic designers, design strategy simply refers to the conceptual underpinning for their creative work.
WHAT IS DESIGN STRATEGY?
There really is no one definition of design strategy, but the goal is to merge business and creative objectives in a meaningful way that moves design beyond just an aesthetic exercise. “When we integrate design processes and design thinking into the larger business goals of our companies or clients, we elevate the concept of design to a strategic tool that businesses can leverage,” says Rob Bynder, creative director and owner of RBD | Robert Bynder Design Inc. in Newberry Park, CA. While inextricably linked, business and design strategies meet different needs. “Business strategy includes financial, product and market objectives, which are best expressed through brand touchpoints, says Greg Mann, partner and creative director at The Fibonacci Design Group LLC in Los Angeles. “Design strategy is the roadmap for the visual and media components that help to build and drive these objectives.”
Design strategy could be described as inventing the language to express your client’s business strategy most clearly. Jamie Koval, president of VSA Partners in Chicago, puts it this way: “Design strategy articulates the parameters and potential of a specific challenge that drive a series of solutions or result. It’s simple, compelling and actionable.” And as with any language, evolution and variation are inevitable and should be accommodated. “Design strategy is a dimensional, multifaceted plan that allows traveling down different paths,” says Volker Dürre, creative director of Dürre Design Inc. in Los Angeles. “We want to include flexibility and the option of organic growth into the agenda right from the start.”
DESIGN TOUCHPOINTS
WHAT GOES INTO A DESIGN STRATEGY?
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