Design in the Details

Design is all around us. Everything we come in contact with has at some point had someone designing it and giving thought as to how it should function. Cars, buildings, phones, computers, even the packaging for your gum, are all the products of a design process. In Marty Neumeier’s The Designful Company, the author continues his mission (set into motion by Zag and The Brand Gap) to “incite business revolution by unleashing the power of design thinking.” It’s an interesting read and deviates slightly from the marketing-based thought in his two previous “whiteboard” books into how to build companies from a design standpoint. Not how to market one, but how to build one. As we grow, we’re constantly looking for ways to elegantly solve the most mundane problems that arise in the most boring aspects of the business: what’s a better way to approach billing, scheduling, administration, etc., etc? Getting some creativity and improved function at this base level allows it to flow out into everything, giving you a better product, less headaches, and a better place to work at the end of the day. Give small things a lot of thought. It’ll make the bigger even better.

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