Solving Problems with a Designer's Eye

Design principles can help small businesses tackle issues in new ways. To start, think of design as a process, not a look...

Diane Jermyn

Special to The Globe and Mail

Published on Thursday, Mar. 11, 2010

 

Warren Berger thinks business can learn a lot from designers. The award-winning American journalist and author sees questions such as, ‘What are we going to make? How can we make it better? And how can we satisfy our customers?' as design challenges because you can apply design principles to all of these things.

“Don't think about design just as your logo or the visual aspect of your business; think of it as a process you can use to tackle problems in your business,” says Mr. Berger, who features revolutionary Canadian designer Bruce Mau's ideas in his book, Glimmer: How Design Can Transform Your Life, and Maybe Even the World.

Mr. Mau defines design as “the human capacity to plan and produce ideas.” Known as a cutting-edge visionary, Mr. Mau tries to push the limits of what design can do and what it can encompass. Or in Mr. Mau's words, “What if we looked at the world as a design project – how might we begin to make it better?”
Mr. Berger says, “This is a revelation to people because they don't think of design that way. Design is really creative problem solving.”

The reason businesses, even small ones, should care about design is because it can help them figure out what to do next and what could be done differently, Mr. Berger says. A key element is finding out what people need, based on research into their lives. What a business can learn from designers is how to step back, look at what they're doing and ask basic questions.

“Designers are very good at asking what I call stupid questions,” Mr. Berger says. “Why do we do things the way we do? Is this the best way to do it or could we do it differently? Small companies especially need to do that because they can get into a pattern of doing things a certain way for a long time.”

Designers also use lateral thinking to trigger ideas – something we can all do, Mr. Berger says.

“Most of us tend to approach problems in a straightforward manner and think about things in terms of our own area of expertise. So if you're a bakery or an accounting firm, you look at what other bakeries or accounting firms are doing, or you read industry magazines to try to get ideas. The problem is that you end up doing what everybody else is doing,” Mr. Berger says. “Designers are really good at thinking sideways and jumping fences.”

A designer can borrow from another field or discipline and look at things that may seem unrelated. For instance, a bank might look at what a great hotel is doing. “This kind of lateral thinking is huge for designers,” Mr. Berger says. “They call it smart re-combinations. Bruce Mau believes that to get to originality and innovation, designers must be given free range to be able to venture far and wide in their thinking. They take ideas from all over, bring them together and create new ones. That's one thing small business can really learn.”

Listening is another huge tool for designers, Mr. Berger says, because everything they do is based on human need. Instead of using conventional methods such as customer surveys, sterile focus groups or even social media, designers are good at going out there in person and putting themselves in the places where people live and work so they can observe.

“The Internet is a great tool, but there's no substitute for human contact,” Mr. Berger says. “If you have the opportunity to watch your customers, to really see how they live and interact with your product and company, do so. It may seem weird, but if you can accompany people on a shopping trip or watch how they cook, the insights are amazing. Many products and innovations have come about, not by research in a lab, but by watching people.”

One example he uses is the OXO Good Grips measuring cup, which allows you to see how full the cup is from above. That invention came from watching people in the kitchen and realizing that they had to bend down and look at the side of the cup.

“If you had asked people about their measuring cup, they'd say it was fine, but when you watched them, you could see that there was something that could be improved,” Mr. Berger says.

“Companies need to use empathy more than ever before. That comes about by getting out there in the world, talking to people and seeing what's missing in their lives. If you can identify that thing that's missing, that's a business opportunity.”