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Creating competitive advantage
Design is an intention driven, end-user focussed, integrative process for devising form to anticipate or meet practical, rational, emotional, cultural, social and/or environmental needs and wants. Ideally specific projects are established in the context of a well developed design strategy. The generic CREATIONZ design process (adapted to each unique project) is as follows: |
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| Pre-design phase |
Initial intention:
A wide-angle, open-minded approach to defining the purpose of a project, leads to a comprehensive, challenging, mind-expanding statement of requirements for achieving success – including emotive, intangible factors – to align the pre-search phase.
Pre-search:
Preparation for the project team’s journey into unknown territory involves expanding empathy with stakeholders, understanding the context in which purchaser/end-user choices will be made and ROI will become tangible, becoming familiar with current best practice, and being aware of the most appropriate and advanced means available to fulfil their quest.
Performance criteria:
Revisiting the initial intention in light of the pre-search leads to a simple checklist of performance criteria that makes complexity visible and accessible, aligns the creative process and facilitates evaluation.
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| Concept Design Phase |
Conception:
Design thinking and creative processes are employed to generate original concepts that meet a wide range of identified needs, wants, possibilities and opportunities. They will seek to lead, rather than follow, the market.
Presentation/evaluation/presentation ..:
Creative dissatisfaction drives the process of sketching, drawing, mocking-up and trialing ideas, assessing them against performance criteria, re-thinking, etc, etc.
Choosing direction:
Concepts capable of meeting or exceeding all intended criteria, and which have cross-disciplinary support within the organisation, are selected for further development.
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| Concept Development Phase |
Elaborate/refine:
Details of the selected concept(s) are fully resolved in terms of functionality, manufacturability, marketability, brand integrity and environmental effectiveness – ie: the agreed performance criteria.
Prototype:
Modelling, prototyping, testing and evaluating are used to anticipate performance in the field. This usually leads to reviewing detail design or even the concept.
Specify:
Working drawings, finished artwork and detailed specifications are prepared to ensure the developed concept is honoured and the original intention is realised in each manufactured product delivered to the market.
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| Implementation phase |
Produce product/service:
Success is measured by the performance of the implemented idea in the field rather than the quality of the concept. Designers should have at least a monitoring role in shepherding their creations through the process of realisation. The inevitable ‘ironing out of bugs’ must be accomplished through resolution rather than compromise.
Develop brand collateral:
Product branding, positioning, presentation and promotion ideas that would have been integrated elements of the chosen concept are developed. The expressed promise in each aspect of the brand collateral must be aligned with the actual experience of the product/service, and vice-versa.
Package/present/promote:
Those involved with ongoing packaging, presentation and promotion of the product/service must be aligned with the concept and the brand story.
Evaluate performance:
The final stage of development occurs in response to feedback from actual end-users using the actual production product in day-to-day life. This informs quality management, design modifications, fine-tuning and continuous improvement.
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| CREATIONZ approach |
We believe that the best results are achieved by synergetic teamwork. CREATIONZ either adds its skills to the client's team or assembles a hand-picked team tailored to the project.
CREATIONZ has developed tools that allow team members to participate in the design process from their own positions of strength.
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