The Business of Design
Have you been told that if you wanted to be successful as a designer, you had to learn how to code? Throughout my career, I've heard that from several people, managers, and co-workers alike. My gut reaction was to ask why.
Will they use my code? The answer was inevitably "No". So that begged the question, why, if my code was not going to be used, should I learn to code. To this question, I was given several answers:
"So you can understand what can and can't be done."
"So you can show the engineers rather than telling them."
"So you deliver a final vision that is as close to what you're thinking as possible."
All of these things are indeed true. And I'm not saying you shouldn't learn to code. But when I thought about these answers, the one commonality (to me) was they were all about communication. They were all about achieving effective communication between designers and engineers, a significant accomplishment in itself.
OK, now for my next question. Have you been told you should take business classes? No? I hadn't either...
So why is it that designers traditionally haven't been encouraged to learn business fundamentals for the very same reasons they have been told to learn to code...to better communicate?
Will you be putting together a business plan? Not likely...Will you be analyzing someone's books? No, but you will gain a better understanding of these things and the ability to communicate better with your business partner. Of course, and it is for this reason alone that designers should learn more about business.
By gaining a better understanding of the language and principles of business, you will be able to truly understand the goals and constraints from a company perspective. Combine that with your existing skills in meeting customers' needs, and you'll become even more effective.
By truly understanding our constraints, we, as designers, can do our best work.
The above was an excerpt from a recent talk I gave at the Autodesk first annual Experience Summit.