Who are we?
Fraser Marshall and Justin Witman, two Master of Design students from the University of the Arts right here in Philadelphia. In our former careers we were an Immunologist PhD. and an Art Director, but now we have put our left-brain and right-brain together to help groups and organizations co-design solutions to some of their complex issues.
What is this?
We are like a laboratory that uses design, psychology and knowledge of group dynamics to find actual solutions to issues in the workplace. This isn’t consulting. It’s co-designing. We firmly believe that REAL solutions can’t be pulled from a classic consulting model, nor can they always be solved internally.
Why would you want to work with us? As we mentioned we are a lab; this means we believe that partnering with at least 3 groups is essential to test our theory. We are currently working with a science laboratory, a 60-million dollar non-profit, and are looking to work with a for-profit business.
Who are the other partners?
Currently our two partners are a scientific research laboratory at University of Pennsylvania, and the Financial Offices at The University of The Arts. Our work with each group will be handled with the utmost sensitivity.
What is the benefit? For one of our past clients, his goal was to get a better nights sleep instead of worrying about his business. For another it was the trouble of communicating financial language to a staff of educators and artists. Whatever the focus, we believe that you and your team are the experts, not us. But by using design psychology, we help the experts articulate solutions and create a stronger group dynamic.
What is my role?
Team work and collaboration are difficult. From our experience, groups often have issues with team direction, leadership, roles, responsibilities and communication. We need your help to identify a specific team within your company that would benefit from a little assistance in these areas. We then work closely with the team to co-design tools that help them manage their weaknesses and build on their strengths.
How is this different? Unlike traditional consulting, we actively engage in a design process with our clients. We believe this process not only encourages ownership and investment in the solutions and tools we create, but also gives our clients the knowledge to design their way out of similar problems in the future. Plus it’s fun, creative, and changes the dynamic of working together.
What experience do we have?
Yes, we are graduate students, but we are not fresh out of the classroom. We have run similar projects with a metal fabrication company, an integrated marketing agency and a non-profit education institution. The issues we have helped our previous clients solve are not unique, they are human nature.
What makes us qualified?
We don’t have all the knowledge, but we have built a team that does. Our team consists of Business Psychologists, Organizational Designers, Ethnographers and Economic consultants.
What will my time commitment be?
The quick answer is 4 months, that’s how long our thesis lasts. There will be periods when we are working closely with your company, and other times when we are working in our studio. We firmly believe there is no substitution for meeting face to face, so we would like to drop by at least once a week.