A Word From The Creative Head
A design team has now become a prerequisite for any company in our industry, but there is a big difference between being just a company with a design team and being a design-driven company. It is a culture, a way of being and a mindset that constantly looks to solve the various problems of human nature and emotions. It is what you are paying for when you buy any merchandise, be it an iPhone, a shirt or a book. You are fulfilling a human desire to feel a certain satisfaction. It is a constant choice and the accumulation of such similar choices is what comes to be your style. For most of us, it is a sub-conscious narrative, but the design team’s goal is to tap into that and sometimes even predict it.
To create this need AND sell it is probably one of the hardest things to achieve, but the opportunities are self-initiated and the possibilities – endless. Our industry is one of the most challenging and human-centric sectors and within this, creativity is the only element that cannot be replaced by machines.
Little things are being done to make this a more design driven company, and no, I am not talking about making samples. I am not even talking about anything tangible enough to cost. I am referring to the culture, the DNA, the way of thinking and problem-solving, the surroundings, the acts of workmanship, the originality of thoughts and ideas & daily inspirations. This is what ensures that we thrive even in stressful environments and continue to function and excel. To make an impact in the world we operate in, requires a collective thought.
So I urge each and every one of you to pay more attention to colours and how they come to be, to the advertisements and conversations, and the million different greens in our garden. Pay more attention to your children’s drawings, the shapes of the clouds, the texture of sand and the taste of water. Design driven thinking does not come from being told. It comes from a collection of your experiences – and something else. Something you cannot describe, like the dream we all try to remember, the more you try, the further it escapes the fist of your memory. It comes from wonder, curiosity, impossibilities, gut feels and dead ends. It comes from asking, “What’s next” and doing everything you can to get there.
So, what’s next?