a lot of times one is confronted with a situation where the design team is asked to create and show ’something’ even before a project has been awarded. lot of companies conduct this exercise with multiple service providers who ‘work for free’, expecting a good project at the end of it.

i have always wondered about the logic behind this practice. monoliths do this because they have inherited this as a legacy. it serves as yet-another-process put in place to justify a decision (’justify’ is the key word here ) and others are simply following the age old tradition of being part of the herd by going where the first sheep goes:)

please do not see this as ranting of a person involved with design. i may be using some not-so-soft words, metaphors and analogies but that is because i also need to clearly state my point of view on a topic which often becomes a bone of contention between a customer and a service provider. why i oppose this is not just because it harms me but also because it harms the customers the most!

now one may ask – how the hell does this adversely impact a customer?

before answering that question, let me clarify that i am specifically talking about the internet here though this logic can be extended to other mediums as well.

a customer is looking forward to a ‘solution’ – a communication solution, a business solution… the role and goals on the intervention are defined by the business proposition of the intervention. there is a certain need which has to addressed and certain targets that have to be met. but in no way this is just about form and colours!

a solution has to aesthetically pleasing, no doubt. if it is a trendsetter, its just great! but to set trends one needs a lot of courage and some serious decision making pertaining to design. and to do that one has to dig deeper into what forms and colours and tones mean – in the context of how viewers/readers perceive them, the socio-cultural connotation and so on. by simply stating that the ‘wow factor’ is missing does not help anyone.

just like business processes, products, service offerings, supply chains, strategy… design also evolves. one thought leads to another and slowly a ‘solution’ emerges. more than ‘wow’, it is about being wonderful.

and how does it become wonderful – by working hard!

and how does it work hard – not merely by looking good but by being logical and by serving the end users well!

now what that means is that your designer needs to understand your business damn well. he/she needs to know what you are upto and where you are heading. and most of all, he/she needs to be capable of understanding and digesting all this. this can be only deciphered by talking and discussing approaches with him/her and not by ogling at some design which follows some contemporary and popular design trend. your team, zapped by some latest booze ad, may fall in love with the proposed floral patterns in the page background. or on those nifty icons rendered in 3-d. not once will they question whether it goes well with the geometric pattern of your logo. impact of persuasive graphics will far exceed the non-persuasive elements of your communication. and as an insider, let me tell you, the designer of the speculative work will gun for this sentiment alone. moreover, a lot of the ‘worthwhile’ folks in design would refuse to participate. not because they are elitist but because they know that we are in the business of creating solutions and not pop art.

so what does this mean?

high chances of making a wrong decision. influenced by the design you may even overlook the tech capabilities of the service provider. i personally know of many such errors made by customers.

another, though slightly academic, explanation against this practice is as follows -
as i understand the philosophy of design, ‘form’ intrinsically follows ‘function’. what this essentially means is that the visual design is not merely an exercise of creating the look and feel of a site/application but about evolving an aesthetic perspective which aligns with the ’soul’ of the offering and the sensibilities of the end users. so in order to design, one needs to understand in detail – what are we making, why are we making, for whom are we making, and so on. doesn’t the idea of speculative work contradict this in totality? it also needs a lot of time plus commitment, not just from the designer but also from your team.

don’t we call this a project?

so what is the solution?
work harder!

talk to the design team about their philosophy and solution approach. ask questions. look at their past work, if you are keen to understand the aesthetic sensibility of the design team. but also do remember that the past projects do not merely reflect the aesthetic sensibility of the design team but also of the client for whom those designs were made. haven’t we all heard that a design is only as good as the customer?

what is important is that your designer should understand design, should be able to understand your business, should be able to ideate and should be able to handle tools which would help him/her realize the idea into a working solution. he/she should be your partner who would work with you, to evolve a sensible and working design solution.

let the ‘wow’ belong to the roi!