VDIS10015 Design Management Skills - Lecture 4

VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE

Written by Rachel Hawkins

DESIGN maNaGEmENT SkIllS

VIsUal CommUnICaTIon skIlls VDIs10015 - lEcTUrE 4

VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: VISUal CommUNICaTIoN SkIllS, VDIS10015 - Lecture 4 2

WHaT IS DESIGN maNaGEmENT? at it’s most basic, design management is the business side of design.

Design management requires discipline. It creates organisational structure by using project management tools to control and lead the creative design process, strategy and product supply.

Design can help to give businesses a point of difference in a competitive market. Design management’s key objective is to establish a business environment that supports creativity and is efficient while strategically achieving its goals through design.

Traditionally, design management was limited to the management of design projects. It has now evolved and includes a much larger comprehensive list of tasks that make up the organisational process of a design project. It includes; processes, business decisions, strategy, innovation, communication, environment, technology, teams and collaborators, budgets and more.

This lecture will give you the skills to manage your own projects through this semester and into junior design roles in the industry.

Management:1. The act or manner of managing;

handling, direction, or control.

“Design management strives to create understanding and awareness among

personnel at all levels that conscious actions in even the smallest decisions are the core of

design management.” Torsten Dahlin, President of the Swedish Industrial Design Foundation


4 FUNcTIoNS oF maNaGEmENT

Dr richard Daft (in the book management, 2002) proposed that there are four functions to management:

PlannInG > oRGanIsInG > lEaDInG > ConTRollInG

These four functions apply whether the management be applied to an individual, collaborative group or an organisation. managing the individual could be classified as “self-management” while the management of a group or organisation might be “process management”.

ProcESS maNaGEmENTProcess management extends beyond a single project and simple ’project management’. It involves the improvement of processes and procedures associated with tasks that are completed within and organisation by groups. Fine tuning these processes and procedures means that the individual working within a team has clear guidelines for their work and has a structure to measure when reporting back. This helps to hold individuals accountable for their work and maintain a level of efficiency and quality in that work.

SElF maNaGEmENTGraphic Designers often work autonomously on projects and it is really important to be able to self manage. This should include some of the following tasks; planning, scheduling, goal setting, self development, self evaluation, problem solving and motivation.


as a student and in the early years of your design career you will often work as part of a team however you will mostly have the need for self-management skills. The following pages will discuss skills that will be useful in planning, scheduling, goal setting, self development, self evaluation, problem solving and motivation. These same skills are transferable to group collaborative work as well.

I recommend applying these management tools to your process while working on your assessment tasks this semester.

lET’s look aT:

Project objectives & Success criteria Set key project deliverableresources & BudgetsTime managementStrategy & TacticsProblem Solvingcollaboration & motivationlegal & Ethical Factors

SElF-maNaGEmENT SkIllS & ToolS


at the start of a project it is really important to sit down with your brief and start extracting the main aims of the project. Establish what objectives need to be achieved for the design outcome to be viewed as a success. Your project objectives can reflect the needs of the brief and design problem but also your own personal goals for the project. This may include a software or drawing challenge.

at the same time, write down your success criteria. This criteria is how you will measure and evaluate your design outcomes and evaluate if you have been successful in achieving your objectives. Success criteria are an affective reflection tool for self-evaluation and self-development.

Writing down your objectives and success criteria helps to give you clarity for the direction of your project. It also holds you accountable for your outcomes.

a resource is any source or supply from which our project will benefit. This may be an information based resource, materials like paper, pen, computer and printer, or even collaborative members of your team. Typically resources are of great value and therefore come at a cost. We need to manage the use of our resources but also the access to resources via a budget.

a budget is a quantitative financial plan for a defined period of time, or in this case project. It may be as simple or complex as required by the project. most reflect sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities, costs and expenses, assets, liabilities and cash flows.

The purpose of the budget is to help in the planning of actual operations. It forces the project manager to consider any possible challenges and what steps should be taken avoid or deal with them. an effective budget helps co-ordinate the resources required for the project and a the efficient use of those resources.

To create a budget you need to first establish your income or money available to be spent. You then note down the expenditure as a subtraction from the money available.

ProjEcT oBjEcTIvES & SUccESS crITErIa

rESoUrcES & BUDGETS


“Time management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_management

as a designer you will always be working to deadlines. The stress and pressure of a deadline can often have a negative affect on our creative process so it is important to work enough time into your time line to allow for an organic creative process.

To exercise time management successfully you need to be able to prioritise tasks in order of most important to least important and work systematically through those tasks. The below model explains how to prioritise tasks for better productivity.

The best way to manage your project time line is to visualize it. create a time line. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it can be hand-drawn or in an excel spreadsheet. The important thing is that you break down and list all tasks that need to be completed and then allocated when they will be down against the projects time-frame.

Have a look at these more elaborate time line visualisations.

TImE maNaGEmENT


TImE maNaGEmENT coNT.


TImE maNaGEmENT coNT.I have created a simple time line template for you to use.

DownloaD the time line template from either the lecture or resources tabs.

wEEk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DonE(Tick)

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task


The notion of strategy originates from situations such as War and Games. It is therefore defined as: a high level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty.

although we work far from war/game like environments, our design outcomes will need to battle it out so their messages reach and are understood by their intended audience.

Strategy can play an important role in achieving your goals using limited resources that are available to you.

Henry mintzberg, born in montreal, an internationally renowned academic and author on business and management defines strategy as “a pattern in a stream of decisions”.

His 1994 book, The rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, points out the main four ways that people think “strategically”;

1. Strategy is a plan, a “how,” a means of getting from here to there.

2. Strategy is a pattern in actions over time; for example, a company that regularly markets very expensive products is using a “high end” strategy.

3. Strategy is position; that is, it reflects decisions to offer particular products or services in particular markets.

4. Strategy is perspective, that is, vision and direction.

Strategy is concerned with the actions and resources needed to achieve specific long-term objectives.

Tactics on the other hand are concerned with short to medium term co-ordination of activities that work towards the larger strategy. It manages the use of resources needed to reach that particular strategic goal.

lastly, we have operations. operational activities are concerned with the immediate details of how a specific result will be achieved.

STraTEGY & TacTIcS

WHY?strategyvision & culture

Supporting Systems

Underpinning Processes

Tactics

operations

WHaT?

HoW?


Four easy steps that you can do to develop your project strategy:

1. EvalUaTE• Do your research. • Connect the dots. Piece together the information.• Analyzing your context and environment • Take time to reflect. Reflect upon what you’ve learned from

your research.

2. IDENTIFYING STraTEGIc oPTIoNS • Identify problems for solving.• Stay flexible and open minded. • Brainstorm all possible options.

3. Evaluating and Selecting Strategic options • Use your insights, not just raw information to make decisions• Act quickly. When you see opportunity, be proactive.

4. PUT STraTEGY INTo acTIoN• Get organised. Set your time management plan into action.• Develop tactics to achieve your strategy• Develop tactical operations.• Communicate your strategy to team members.• Prioritize and delegate tasks.

STraTEGY & TacTIcS coNT.


Problem-solving consists of critical thinking methods, in an orderly manner, for finding solutions to problems. The use of different perspectives and creative thinking techniques can assist in finding solutions to problems. Problem solving may also sometimes involve risk identification and then solutions for those risks.

There are several models that can assist in problem solving.

The fishbone diagram is one commonly used for both problem solving and risk assessment to breakdown the different aspects of a problem.

a very useful model to follow is the continuous Problem Solving model. This eight part process helps to identify the problem and why the problem has occurred before proceeding to brainstorm solutions and evaluate their effectiveness.

ProBlEm SolvING

Fishbone Diagram

http://www.mkccc.com/TQm/Problem_solving_process.htm


motivation is a key factor to be managed while working on a project. It is relevant whether you are working autonomously or collaborating as part of a team.

To manage a team of people we need to employ our four functions of management discussed at the beginning of this lecture. However, instead of ‘leading’ our team members in their tasks, we want to ‘motivate’ them.

Therefore when we create management plans involving teams of people we use the following four functions;

PlannInG > oRGanIsInG (CooRDInaTInG), moTIVaTInG > ConTRollInG

To work as a team successfully, each team member needs to take on tasks of a project that make up the whole solution. The delegation of tasks to team members is a crucial factor in the success of the final outcome. clear delegation of tasks will hold team members accountable and responsible for each activity. Each tasks need to be clearly communicated with parameters set so tasks can be achieved and evaluated. In setting parameters, time lines, costs and deliverables should be addressed. a clear criteria for each task should be set in order tosuccessfully evaluate completion of the task.

The SmarT or SmarTEr acronym can be used as a model in delegating tasks properly.

SmarTEr = Specific, measurable, agreed/achievable, realistic,Time-bound, Ethical, recorded.

This model is proven to be effective in setting personal objectives or agreeing on objectives and tasks with team members.

collaBoraTIoN & moTIvaTIoN

SmarT Goal Setting/Delegation modelhttp://www.network-marketing-mlm-success-system.com/images/SmarT-Goals-1.gif


motivating a team toward a common goal can be challenging. You need to communicate clearly what is required of each team member. It is also necessary to take into consideration the individuals needs and how they correlate with the project and task needs. Encouragement and feedback is essential in keeping a team motivated. You can be guided by “The Functional approach to leadership” diagram that defines the types of behaviors and general social areas that guide a team through a project and how those behaviors occur. The model evaluates the ‘how’ of leadership rather than ‘who’. Under this model, all team member can be driven to some form of leadership.

Working as an individual it is important to self-evaluate your work. You need validation for your efforts as well as motivation to improve on any aspects of your work that you are not satisfied with.

collaBoraTIoN & moTIvaTIoN coNT.

The Functional approach to leadershiphttp://www.sterling-selection.com/images/Figure_2.jpg


CoPYRIGHT lawcopyright law defines the legally enforceable rights of a creators creative and artistic works under australian law. The scope of copyright in australia is defined in the australian copyright act. Designs may be covered by the copyright act (as sculptures or drawings) as well as by the Design act.

copyright is free and automatic upon creation of the work and belongs to the first creator of an original work.

Under australian law, when an employee is the creator of original work and is paid for their time, the first owner of copyright is the employer. If the creative work is completed by a freelancer or contractor the first copyright will belong to the creater.

Have a read of the copyright information sheets available in the resources tab.

DEsIGn wITH ETHICsEthics are a moral philosophy that define “how we should work”. They ensure we contribute responsibly to the greater community through our design work. It is important that our design solutions are environmentally socially responsible. Designers should conduct themselves honourably and honestly in their dealings with their clients, the community and their colleagues.

lEGal & ETHIcal FacTorS

The Design Institute of australia have a code of ethics that they expect from their members. Some of the key points are posted here. To review the complete code of Ethics go to: http://www.dia.org.au/index.cfm?id=35

kEY PoINTS: DIa coDE oF ETHIcS

3 The designer’s responsibility to the community3.1 a designer accepts a professional obligation to further the social and aesthetic standards of the community3.2 a designer shall act in keeping with the honour and dignity of the profession3.3 a designer shall not consciously assume or accept a position in which personal interests conflict with professional duty

4 The designer’s responsibility to the client4.1 a designer shall act in the client’s interests within the limits of the designer’s professional duties4.2 a designer shall not work simultaneously on assignments which are in direct competition without informing the clients or employers concerned, except in specific cases where it is customary for the designer to work at the same time for various competitors4.3 a designer shall treat all knowledge of a client’s intentions, production methods and business organization as confidential and shall not, at any time divulge such information without the consent of the client. It is the designer’s responsibility to ensure that all members of staff are similarly bound to confidentiality

5 The designer’s responsibility to other designers5.1 a designer must not attempt, directly or indirectly, to supplant another designer who has a firm commitment with a client in relation to a particular project5.2 a designer shall not knowingly accept any professional assignment upon which another designer has been acting without notifying the other designer5.3 a designer must be fair in criticism and shall not denigrate the work or reputation of a fellow designer5.4 a designer shall not accept instructions from a client which knowingly involve plagiarism nor consciously act in a manner involving plagiarism5.5 a designer should avoid the speculative or competitive provision of design services for a commercial client (referred to as free pitching).


Work HEalTH & SaFETY

Working as a photographer and graphic designer is relatively low risk occupation however there are some aspects of health and safety that can be considered for best practice.

ErgonomicsTaking care of your body ensures you will be able to retain long term efficiency in your work environment. You should consider ergonomics as a fundamental element in your workflow. The goal should be to establish a working environment that promotes safety and increases productivity. We can do this by focusing on how we use our bodies. Posture, movement, and taking the time to set up a functional, ergonomically correct work environment will ensure repetitive strain injuries are avoided.

Patricia russotti & richard anderson, authors of the book ‘Digital Photography Best Practices and workflow Handbook: a Guide to staying ahead of the workflow Curve’ ergonomic “must dos” are:

• Use common sense.• Ensure that the top of your monitor is at eye level and

directly centered in front of you.• Position the monitor at arm’s length in front of you.• Check that the level of your desk is approximately at your

belly button.• Have your elbows fall at a 90-degree angle, slightly below

the desk surface, when you type. Ideally, your arm should be supported from fingertip to elbow.

• Make sure your chair armrests are level with your keyboard.• Keep your feet flat on the floor.

consider the seat length of your chair in relation to your height and size. If you sit cross legged or with one leg crossed over the other, be sure that your back is straight and that you have proper support for your spine. If you have two or more monitors you will need to consider how your head and neck move.

woRksPaCE CHECklIsTþ What is the pattern you use for moving your head?þ Does the current setup force you to angle your head and neck?þ What is the relationship between your back, spine, neck, and head

movements?þ Then add your keyboard, mouse, and pressure-sensitive tablet.þ Pay attention to your movements and how you feel after a long work

session.þ adjust elements until you can work without pain, twinges, and

annoyanceþ Some have keyboards that drop down from their desk. These allow for

height adjust ability, depending on the kind of work you are doing.Fig14.4 Example of utilizing a dropped keyboard and a pressure-sensitive tablet. Digital Photography Best Practices and Workflow Handbook: a Guide to Staying ahead of the Workflow curve. P. russotti & r. anderson.

Fig 14.8 an easy solution is to prop up the laptop with something as simple as a three-ring binder.Digital Photography Best Practices and Workflow Handbook: a Guide to Staying ahead of the Workflow curve. P. russotti & r. anderson.


Work HEalTH & SaFETY coNT.

office EnvironmentThere are health and safety risks for office spaces that house printing, copying, and computer equipment. Discomfort or health effects may arise if machines are poorly sited, inadequately ventilated, poorly maintained or used by operators continually for long periods. There have been a number of recent studies on laser printer emissions showing they emit paper fibers, organic vapors and inorganic gases. Excessive dry heat can also build up if too many machines are placed in a small area, or where their use is frequent and ventilation insufficient. This can cause discomfort to the eyes, and the workplace can become too dry and hot. Excessive noise may also be experienced in such circumstances, or where the machines are old or poorly maintained. clearing paper jams in printers and other duplicating machinery will expose users to hot or moving parts, sharp edges, pinch points, or exposed electrical parts. modern machines should have such risks designed out and should turn off automatically upon opening of the machine. However, a machine must always be disconnected from the power supply before opening. Handling paper or collating copies are manual handling risks. office workers may also experience headache and fatigue, and nasal, eye, throat and skin symptoms; chronic respiratory symptoms (cough, phlegm production, chronic bronchitis, wheezing); and respiratory infections (common colds, tonsil infections, sinus infections, pneumonia) as a result of exposure to carbon-less copy paper (ccP), paper dust, and fumes from photocopiers and printers (FPP)

ChemicalsEmployers must carry out assessments on all hazardous chemicals used in the workplace. If a hazard is identified, controls must be put in place according to the preferred order. That is to eliminate the

hazardous substance, or where this not practicable, substitute it with a less hazardous substance. If this is not practicable, control methods such as local exhaust ventilation, and as a last resort personal protective equipment must be used. Employers must meet the exposure limits set for any substance used in the workplace.

Ozone: Photocopiers produce small amounts of ozone (an unstable form of oxygen). This odorous gas is irritating to the eyes, the lungs, the throat and nasal passages. Severe exposure can result in lung damage.

Selenium and cadmium: The photo-conductive material in photocopiers is usually selenium. cadmium sulphide, zinc oxide and organic polymers are also used. Trace amounts of these materials can become airborne. However, under normal operation, the concentrations of these pollutants are well below those associated with health effects.

Toner materials: The main ingredient in the toner is carbon black. This is mildly toxic - though some impurities in toners may be carcinogenic. as currently manufactured, carbon blacks contain extremely low levels of impurities and do not warrant concern regarding health effects.

Liquid toners: Some modern toners are in a liquid form and so rarely irritate the skin, but exposure to solvents within them can dry and crack the skin, and mildly irritate the eyes. The same hazards apply to the various solvents used for cleaning duplicating machines. They also pose a fire risk if not stored adequately. Frequent contact with toner or other solvents may cause dermatitis or asthma.

UV Radiation: Ultra-violet radiation may also be released through the glass plate, but at very low levels. Modern equipment does not present a bright light hazard beyond short-term discomfort to the eyes, but it is recommended that the photocopier lid be kept down.

Other EMR: Electro-magnetic fields (EMFs) are produced by electronic equipment. It is recommended that workers should not stand by the photocopier when doing long runs (e.g. 15 minutes). If it is necessary to stand by, then at the distance should be at least 1 metre from the photocopier.

http://www.ohsrep.org.au/hazards/ohs-reps-@-work-plant-/office-hazards-photocopiers,-printers-etc#action

Date post:	16-Jul-2015
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VDIS10015 Design Management Skills - Lecture 4

Education