AN INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN THINKING

During his hiatus as a stay-at-home dad and living in Malaysia throughout the pandemic, Bryn Davies ABIPP used his limited time productively to complete academic studies in photography and design respectively. Having relocated again to Portugal, he is back to work, and discussing his thoughts on how photography meets design.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE IN THE MOST SIMPLE WAY, WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING?

Sure, I’ll try. Design thinking is regarded as the creative approach to problem solving. Popularised as being human-centered — design thinking evolved from a workflow for designers into creative tools used in anything from business, education and management. Like design in general, it positions itself at the meeting point of art, science (technology) and finance. Unlike artistic thinking, which is internal motivations of the individual — design thinking is essentially the service of creativity. It draws on professionals to use their toolkit of knowledge and experience to find new or improved ways of seeing and doing. I think as professional photographers we can relate to that.

WHAT RELATIONSHIP DOES DESIGN THINKING HAVE WITH PHOTOGRAPHY, AND HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS IDEA?

Photography is a tool for research and documentation of the creative process. It also informs design thinkings core activities: inspiration, ideation, and implementation. In photography terms, developing new ideas, or better understanding clients/projects needs and wishes can involve a lot of these tasks. This first came to mind back in 2015. I had a project in the Liverpool International Photography Festival (LOOK). I was a black sheep in talks and discussion panels as I talked about processes and creative tools. My approach considered how I operate within the framework of a brief, and the challenge is meeting that. In contrast, most speakers would talk about their personal voice, while critics discussed points about ethics and truth. Anyone who spends time in academia may tell you theory and philosophical debate dominate the discourse in a lot of photography education. I’m more practice-based, finding meaning through the work. I consider photography, particularly the industry, to be more design than solely art or technology. So I set out to reframe its position when I did my masters and found there was no precedent, which was a bit daunting.

YOU MENTION THAT YOUR THESIS IS THE FIRST TO CONNECT DESIGN THINKING TO PHOTOGRAPHY, WHY IS THAT?

In my view, photography suffered from an identity crisis in that it was trying too hard to be respected as art in its formative years. People who influence me, like László Moholy-Nagy, were also painters, graphic designers, architects — multi-skilled creatives that learnt-by-doing, and then wrote about it to share and educate. Photography is more fragmented than other creative disciplines such as graphic design or architecture. Several theorists in photography don’t have any background as a photographer. Maybe that contributes to the disconnect. Some arty types are almost embarrassed to say they work commercially alongside their promotion as an artist. We all need an income right!

I see photography more interconnected within creative industry in general. Thankfully I’m not alone, celebrated contemporaries like Platon believe what they do is design. I’d like to see it more widely thought.

BRYN DAVIES ABIPP DESIGN THINKING

thinking to better understand different peoples needs to create multi-channel income streams. Much of my design work is not public facing, as it involves privacy agreements. So I felt I didn’t have a lot to promote myself. Now my Fine Art projects double as marketing tools. It’s a creative solution to a common problem. They involve extensive research, making connections, and setting qualitative and quantitative goals for them to be regarded ‘professional’. For me they reinvigorate the creative process, and hopefully the result. You never know what doors that may open. I got design commissions based on those photos alone. And I licensed images after a client saw my exhibition in Seoul (that didn’t sell). Things don’t always follow a linear approach. But one thing remains; the passion in the work you do gets you the next job.

I joined the 40s club last year and have a young family. Nothing stands still, you have to adapt in business and life. Having a period of study and reflecting on my career helped me to articulate that.

IS DESIGN THINKING ESSENTIALLY THE APPLICATION OF CREATIVITY BEYOND THE TASK?

You could say that. Research can be creative. Storyboarding is a good tool to collaborate with your client. It’s also a way to optimise time and resources. Mindmapping, mood boards, and role-play are effective ways too. If you work with different cultures, or under restrictive conditions, that can be part of the creative boundary.

MANY OF OUR MEMBERS WORK IN INDUSTRY, WHAT CAN DESIGN THINKING OFFER TO PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS?

Commercial photographers interact with other creatives that use design thinking, consciously or not in their work, such as art directors like Andy Walmsley who you interviewed in the previous issue.

FOR SOME MEMBERS DESIGN THINKING MAY SOUND LIKE THINGS THEY ALREADY DO, DO YOU HAVE SOME EXAMPLES THAT WE MAY RELATE TO?

YOU HAVE A BACKGROUND IN DESIGN, DID THAT INFLUENCE YOUR RESEARCH?

Yes and no. Of course as a designer I can recognise what makes a good image for the context it is used in, such as publications. But I also worked for 9 years in photography industry when I lived in Liverpool. Initially in general practice to complement my design work. After a few years I focused on Fine Art as a way to showcase my crossplatform skills of composition and spatial design. This is what the BIPP developed in me, a clear direction for that.

In addition, I provided technical services, such as photographing artwork, and a specialist printing service as I embedded in the local artist network. This in turn helped me to get involved with exhibitions and arts organisations. A lot of what I did then was unconsciously using design

Creative adults either rely on, or hate rules. To me it’s more nuanced, they’re frameworks to learn do’s and don’ts in different contexts. Like a kid challenging the boundaries you set for them.

It can also be how you calibrate etiquette. Sean Conboy FBIPP joked in his An audience with… recently how he engaged young generation CEO’s in flip-flops — blowing them away by what he can do in-camera rather than relying on postproduction. Alex Jeffries ABIPP said previously that working with senior clients they want to feel hard copy prints and not look on screens. Both guys work in the same sector, but required different approaches for the people and context they interact. This is as key as the work. The human-centred approach.

Given the topicality of artificial intelligence (AI) and perceived concerns to working photographers, design thinking offers a strong counter argument. Technology in photography is always evolving, creating new threats and opportunities. Look to the past; rangefinders are now celebrated classics, but they were a threat to the skilled technician of large format cameras. More recently, what digital brought over analogue was greater accessibility and flexibility. And smartphones have again democratised photography.

In design thinking terms, it just changes the parameter of what is feasible. The dial is always moving with developments and tradeoffs. The desirability, the human need/want to photograph and/or be photographed still exists. And the means to make it financially viable haven’t changed. We live in an extremely image-conscious world so there is still a market for quality work.

Your creative brain is the most valuable asset of your business. But you can’t live off that alone, you have to demonstrate a divergent approach as the world continues to evolve. Develop it, nourish it, let it play, make mistakes, innovate and iterate new ways of seeing.

Sure, actually this is a motivation for sharing it with you! When I saw An Audience with Gary Hill FBIPP, I could relate how he engages with people, using his life experience to enable the best portraiture results. Empathy is fundamental to a human-centred approach. Someone like Emily Hancock FBIPP needs to experiment in order to develop the expressive techniques she uses in equestrian. This requires challenging the status quo of the genre. Colin Brister ABIPP researches racing tracks inside out, and innovates with his lighting setups and pop-up sales van.

I met Kinga Kocimska LBIPP back at the 2016 national awards. Her series Dementia is powerful in its ability to visually communicate something that is hard to rationalise. Visualising data, research and intangibles is a very important role for photography.

These are a few examples from the top of my head. But to be clear, I’m not indoctrinating anyone here. I’m joining the dots between an established methodology of creativity and how photographers work. It’s ok to be doing any of what I explained without being labelled a design thinker.

BRYN DAVIES ABIPP DESIGN THINKING

NOW YOU’VE COMPLETED YOUR STUDIES, WHAT IS YOUR PLAN GOING FORWARD?

I live day-to-day in Portugal, with a professional base in the UK. So I come back from time-to-time. Since leaving Liverpool I sadly let go of a lot of my old photography work. Again part of the trade-off in changing circumstances. We are in-between residences for a while longer yet so I am unable to set up shop.

But remote working allows for greater flexibility than before. I work through design primarily, and contribute to stock libraries, along with a few other photography jobs.

The masters gave me a new purpose to promote design thinking in photography, so I want to publish more tools for photographers, and continue this area of research. In which case don’t be surprised if I reach out to you, the members at some point.

Top tip number 1 for Wedding photographers

Jeremy Price, Managing Director at GraphiStudio UK, is a dynamic professional who has made a lasting impact in the realms of sales, marketing, and photography. With an impressive background at the director level in major blue-chip companies, Jeremy has consistently demonstrated an exceptional ability to drive success. His career highlights include successfully launching multiple brands in the UK and spearheading the growth of Graphistudio, a leading company in the wedding, portrait, and commercial photography sectors. But Jeremy’s contributions extend far beyond business ventures alone.

With a passion for education and an unwavering dedication to helping others succeed, he has trained with numerous globally recognised photography businesses and delved into the psychology of sales. Through his expertise, Jeremy has become a pivotal figure in the UK photography industry, assisting thousands of photographers in achieving their business goals. In this piece, Jeremy provides insight to help wedding photographers.

Unlike previous generations, generation X, Y & Z have not been exposed to printing on a regular basis and have no concept of how an image should be seen (they don’t have access to calibrated monitors) and how it will become such a treasured family heirloom. With their focus on having the best wedding ever and thinking about all the elements to make it so, they find it hard to look into the future on how important their wedding photos will be to them, their children & grandchildren. They also think a wedding album is a photobook they can get themselves, so its always a “Can I have the digitals?” question.

So one simple tip is before your first meeting, ask them to sit down with their parents (parent) and look through their wedding album to perhaps recreate something from their wedding day. All you want them to do is to hold something physical in their hands, see how gorgeous their parents were on their wedding day, see how they look like their aunts/uncles when they were younger and be a little sad over the lost family members.

That storytelling from their parents will impact on them psychologically and make them truly see the value in having their own album so much more than you trying to tell them.