Risky Business
When it comes to design, few companies have the wherewithal to step forward with vision and creativity.
We’ve seen it many times before: lining up behind big conglomerates or close competitors to do what “company X” did. Following suit isn’t what business is all about…
Success takes risk. Initiative. Vision. Creativity.
We’re not advocating blind risk taking. Don’t rush out to the nearest casino and put your house on Black. That’s not what we’re getting at. What we are advocating is a little bit of flair and an openness to allow for ideas (visual or otherwise) that might not fall within the archetype of your business category. Fresh thought is always good for business.
We’ve stressed the fact that design is at its very essence about communication. Stagnant design from stagnant designers offer nothing to their clients, and more importantly: to the viewing public — meaning the likelihood of a person’s reception to your messages drops significantly. Not good.
Any company whose enlisted the services of a design team has done so because they’re looking for attention. At the end of the day, the goal of all design exercises is to inform and entertain… and to be different while doing it.
I heard the perfect line the other day that sparked something in me… Serendipity was on television and one of the characters quoted:
“If you want to improve, be prepared to be thought foolish and stupid.” – Epictetus
No one ever said breaking moulds would be easy, but even the biggest companies continuously update their image. Why? Because culture catches up to them, and they realize they need to adapt to stay relevant — or because the people they used to talk to don’t listen to their brand of “speaking” anymore. How many times have you seen the same old ads rehashed over and over and over and over and by different companies? Eventually, people just stop listening.
Tried and true works, we’re not disputing that. Traditional concepts may, in fact, be the right angle with which to approach a design problem. However, sometimes breaking away from that kind of mentality is exactly what’s needed to see gains. Take the Dyson Ball Vacuum for example. They’ve taken a market segment generally reserved for “boring” women and turned it into something cutting edge and exciting for not just women… for a burgeoning market segment in men as well. I was impressed when I saw its first ad. What’s the over-under on how long it will take their competitors to catch up? Call it a hunch, but I’m willing to bet Dirt Devil or Hoover come out with a high profile line of “designer” vacuums before they lose too much market share to a forward-thinking, risk-taking company.
History has shown us time and time again: those who take calculated risks are rewarded. Those who don’t stay stagnant, or boast only marginal gains. Take risks. You’ll be proud of yourself in the end.
March 18th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
hi all. nice blog. its very ineresting article.
April 22nd, 2007 at 11:25 pm
[…] Without further ado… Step Out of the Bubble Don’t look at things the same way for too long… sometimes you’ll find you were off in the first place. (Read our earlier post risky business and you’ll quickly learn how we feel about taking calculated risks…) Changing your perspective and stepping into your clients’ shoes is a valuable thing to do. Some find this difficult because they’re so entrenched in seeing things from an owner or manager’s “bottom line” point-of-view, but it’s a refreshing practice that can lead your company in exciting directions. The easiest way to get around any difficultly with this is to let your 3rd-party creative professionals get a real grasp of what it is you do, how you do it, and let them do the necessary research to figure out what kind of state of mind your clients are in when they’re using your products or services. […]