Effective Design Management

Effective design management should be one of the core values of your architecture and design practice. However, when Management for Design delves into this subject and asks business leaders to explain and articulate their processes, they tend to struggle with their response.

Consistent and effective design management across the studio is not common in our profession. Why is that? Is it because, as architects and designers, we are inherently creatives—and creatives consider management as somewhat counter-intuitive to design innovation? Creativity and management don’t fit neatly together! Creatives don’t necessarily embrace management, even design management.

But the key thing is, you need to find a balance between creative freedom, innovation, and business management. Innovation needs to flow throughout the business and be actively encouraged and resourced. But strong and consistent business performance also requires business management and systems.

Typically, the larger your business is or becomes, the more you will rely on a way of working that is consistent, methodical, and aligned with your studio culture— that’s business. Effective design management finds a balance between creative freedom and management systems.

Why is Design Management Important?

Clients don’t choose you for your design talent, they choose you for your ability to deliver high-quality design through an exceptional experience. Your design approach, outputs, and the ability to “capture” your intellectual property provides you with the opportunity to innovate and to truly differentiate your business from competitors.

Effective design management should be one of the core values of a successful architectural and design practice—the controlling mechanisms that allow the creative process to be transformed into fee-generating activities.

Management includes the management of people, technologies, information, and resources. The essence of design management is to maximise these resources and outputs, alongside promoting creativity and innovation within your business.

Effective design management—a consistent approach that is understood and applied throughout the studio—allows your business to:

• Ensure consistent processes (and to improve them)

• Capture and deliver the design intent

• Maximise value to the stakeholders

• Improve your relationship with your clients

• Build your brand and marketing efforts

• Improve your financial performance

• Leadership & Culture

Current Status

Design is central to the tertiary education of architects, engineers, and designers, but graduates receive little or no training in design management and designers are having to learn this on the job.

The challenge for architecture and design businesses is to provide a stimulating and creative studio environment that allows the space for creativity within an organised environment. Like any other business system, design requires monitoring and control mechanisms. Consistent processes ensure that design outputs are consistent, design-intent is maintained, and quality work is produced and delivered.

Having said that, ineffective design management is one of the major causes of rework and loss of productivity in the studio. And quite often it’s the leaders that are creating this. Unresolved design work and design changes at the wrong time can be one of the biggest challenges for most studios. Quite often, design reviews occur too late in the process and documentation and production has moved ahead of the design decision-making process.

Design management requires focus and commitment from the leaders. The unique value architects add to people’s lives and communities is grounded in an ability to deliver something their competitors cannot: design vision. But being a creative auteur doesn’t always translate to business success—design needs to be a professionally managed service—effective and responsive.

With the move towards integrated project delivery and the uptake of the “design manager” role by contractors, no longer is design or the management of design the exclusive domain of architects in a collaborative, digital marketplace.

To be successful, what’s required is to ensure projects are managed professionally and are conceived and delivered within a professionally managed studio.

Read more by visiting the M4D Business Journal 122, to find out what’s required to start implementing effective design management in your business.