The Package Design Process, Part 1
Posted on May 13, 2008 | Permalink
By Lane Casteix
Designing is a process that is by its nature difficult to manage because it is an art, but since it is also a business it must be managed. Two conflicting objectives must be met at the same time: The design process must generate good and effective design solutions and do so at the least cost possible. There are processes for accomplishing those objectives that are quite effective, but they must be followed religiously. And therein is the problem.
All too often clients do not understand the design process but think they do. The client so inserts himself in the process that he designs vicariously through the designer. This is the worst mistake a client can make, because in their attempts to manage the design, they often "manage" it in the direction of expensive bad design. Too often I have seen the cost of a project double or even triple because the client doesn't listen to the designer and then "stabs in the dark" with "try this" attempts to manage the design with "suggestions" the designers have already tried and rejected as unworkable. Some of these we have saved by presenting a whole new design at the last minute that gives the client a good solution and a way out of his self-created design dilemma.
You would never think of telling your cardiologist how to do a bypass, would you; then why dictate design to the designer? The client needs to give the designers the information they need to design, usually stated in a comprehensive creative brief that clearly defines objectives with any requirements or limitations, and then trust them to use their skills and experience to execute the design professionally. You will get a lot more for less money that way.
To be continued....