Imagine walking the aisles of your local grocer and trying to make product purchase decisions based on a sea of blank, white boxes that are all the same shape and size regardless of content. Or interacting with a “smartphone” that was devoid of apps, color or motion. Or living in a place in which every building was exactly the same inside and out, lacking the form and function to meet the specific needs and wants of its occupants.
The world would be a pretty boring and inefficient place. And yet, we don’t often think about the thing –– design –– that adds this richness to our lives, underpins the success of so many businesses, and brings vitality to local communities and economies. After all, design, when done well, is invisible.
Start to peel back the layers, however, and you see just how foundational design is to everything. It shapes behavior; brings communities together; contributes to our well-being; turns the mundane into the extraordinary; gives identity to people, places and things; and the list goes on. Indeed, design has long been integral to culture and the human experience, from ancient architecture to today’s digital landscapes, but it’s also been an important business and economic development lever –– one that we need to continue cultivating.
Good Design Is a Business Necessity
Good design is fundamental to business. And this goes well beyond the visual aspects that connect us to a brand’s ethos and culture. Design is at the core of how a business operates and the internal and external experiences it provides its employees and customers. It’s miles deeper than aesthetics.
In fact, Steve Jobs once notably said of design, “It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
Consider this: Every piece of internal software used to operate the company, every customer-facing app or website, every physical product and the package it came in, every workplace used to house employees, and every piece of marketing collateral from the ads to the digital videos were all touched by design. Today, most companies understand the importance of investing in design, and for good reason.
According to a study by McKinsey & Company, companies that excel at design grow revenues and shareholder returns at nearly twice the rate of their industry peers. This was true across every industry they tracked from retail banking to healthcare technology to consumer packaged goods. And there was a direct correlation between the organization’s design success and the degree to which it invested in nurturing top design talent.
With design now core to organizational success and as Arizona continues to attract businesses to the region, we also must continue to cultivate a rich and diverse talent pool of creatives to meet the needs of these organizations. Part of attracting that talent pool involves successful placemaking and building a sense of community for these creatives to plug into.
Design and Placemaking Go Hand in Hand
Placemaking, at its core, is the process of creating quality places where people want to live, work, play and learn. Over the decades, the concept has become central to the economic growth of communities around the world because, when done right, it creates places that attract visitors, businesses and talent, and, perhaps most importantly, creates the civic pride that retains residents and businesses.
Interestingly, research by The Brookings Institution found community amenities such as recreation opportunities and cultural activities likely contributed more to economic growth than “business-friendly” measures. This seemed to match up with the aforementioned McKinsey & Company report, which found that “retaining great design talent requires more than promising a big bonus or a career path as a top-flight manager. Carrots such as these are not enough to retain top design talent …”
The report went on to say that these incentives also must be accompanied by things like autonomy and freedom to pursue passion projects, but also time to attend and speak at conferences with their peers, and opportunities to stay connected to the broader design community.
And this is where placemaking comes into play. Because beyond creating safe, accessible, comfortable and culturally diverse environments and experiences, we also must think about creating avenues for various communities to connect, collaborate and grow together –– especially if we want to retain top talent.
And the pool of creative talent in Arizona is growing. In my time as director of Digital Design Programs at Grand Canyon University, I’ve seen our student body population in the design department grow from 40 in 2012 to more than 800 today. We went from having one degree to now four to accommodate the demand of local businesses and students alike –– and I’m sure we are not the only local university to do so.
The demand is there and the learning opportunities are there. Now, we need to continue to build the infrastructure for connection and placemaking if we are to retain creative talent and the businesses that need them.
Community Is Critical to Design
Design and community cannot be decoupled. Thriving communities are built on good design, and designers thrive on community.
Local chapters of organizations like the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the International Interior Designer Association (IIDA) and the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), to name a few, serve a critical role in bringing our various creative communities together and advocating for Arizona’s talent.
In fact, a primary directive of AIGA Arizona is to be an advocate for designers and one way we do that is through our annual Phoenix Design Week (PHXDW), which is now in its 16th year. This event has become a beacon of inspiration for designers across the entire state. It’s the one time per year that most of the broader design community can come together to learn, collaborate, build new relationships and connect with peers. And the community stretches well beyond designers to all the associated businesses that design touches: printers, manufacturers, software brands, employment agencies, web developers, etc.
Our community coming together to champion PHXDW has not only put our chapter on the national map, it’s also shone a spotlight on our vibrant creative culture. But if we are going to continue to have a strong and resilient creative community, we all have a responsibility to invest our time, treasure and talent into continuing the connection –– and that includes getting involved in local events and chapters.
Sheila Schumacher is the director of Digital Design Programs in the College of Arts and Media at Grand Canyon University (GCU). She also serves as the director of Phoenix Design Week for AIGA Arizona.
Phoenix Design Week
Week of Events Statewide: Oct. 1–6
PHXDW Conference: Oct. 5–6
