Michigan Crush is in rolling out in full force this year at www.michigancrush.com!

You can also stay up to date with #micrush on Twitter.

Unfortunately for many, lack of understanding for what design is and what it can do for products, goods and services traps them in a monotonous rut of lack luster performance.

Nailing down a universally agreed upon definition of design is challenging, but I think this is a good place to start:

“design: (noun) a specification of an object, manifested by an agent, intended to accomplish goals, in a particular environment, using a set of primitive components, satisfying a set of requirements, subject to constraints.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design

Yes, that’s a mouth full. Illustrated, it looks like this:

GOOD Design asks:

What is the problem we’re trying to solve?
Who are we solving this problem for?
What are the constraints?

Pretty broad definition. Hence the confusion and misunderstanding around the D word.

It’s helpful to break it down a little further.

Design functions at 3 levels: Strategy, Process, and Tangibles.

Design @ Strategy

Design serves to connect the strategic, policy and mission agendas.

Design @ Process

Design serves to connect teams, process and systems of specific business units.

Design @ Tangible

Design manifests itself in the physical, tangible, services and experiences that a customer (user) would interact with and touch.

Source: Sean Blair

By now, the lights are coming on for some of you. Design is critically important.

Job titles don’t often include the word “Designer” at the strategic and process levels. At the tangible level there is a wide range of titles, from Creative Director to Graphic Designer.

At AO, some of the best Strategic and Process Designers aren’t Tangible Designers at all! To be clear, this shouldn’t be viewed as a progression of value in the design food chain. Each level of design expertise is critically dependent on the other. It should also be noted that designers at the tangible level are quite often not interested or qualified to execute at the strategic and process level.

As Shawn recently posted, design isn’t art or even a mystery. It’s a lot of hard work, but there is a process that good designers use that helps clarify, manage and measure their efforts.

Design ABCs

Breathe In

Set aside your assumptions and take in something new, and not a new spreadsheet or marketing report. Good design starts by understanding who we’re solving the problem for – which means getting out of the office (in most cases) and getting close to our customers, with one objective – to learn. Not to impose our assumptions or our intuition, but to learn from them – first hand.

Synthesis

Identify patterns and anomalies. Smash your qualitative and quantitative data together and identify gaps, opportunities and bloat. Be prepared to see things that hurt and make you uncomfortable. Don’t flinch if you realize you haven’t even been asking the right questions and you need to get back in front of your customers again.

Brainstorm

Based on your new insights, begin asking how you might solve the problem. Push boundaries, wonder aloud, be specific, don’t be too specific, don’t over analyze, question constraints, have fun, and for heaven’s sake, don’t form a committee.

Prototype

Give your ideas a glimmer of hope. Risk more. Risk longer. Give new ideas a chance to prove themselves. Iterate on what works, and don’t be afraid to fail.

Be prepared, at any stage, to loop back and begin again.

Next Steps

Now that you have a fuller understanding of what design is, I’m sure you can see bits of “design” in the work you do, day-in and day-out. Your title may not have “Designer” in it, but, if you’re solving real people’s problems, under specific constraints, you design.

In my own vocabulary I often use “Big D Design” to distinguish Strategy and Process from the Tangible, where I often use “Visual Design” to describe the craft. I’ve found this helpful in communicating the value of design to stakeholders and clients, as well as gaining a shared understanding of the D word.

Design is the heartbeat of innovation.

Kedron is a recent graduate of Ferris State University, receiving an MBA Certificate in Design and Innovation Management.

I worry, therefore, I'm better than you!

Maybe that seems obvious, but here is why I’m voicing my option on the matter: A few short days ago I was conversing with a fellow designer who relayed a conversation he was apart of in which a developer suggested that designers can’t/wont be good project leads because they aren’t the worrying type.

Confused, I asked him to clarify what the developer meant by that statement. He proceeded to explain to me that this developer holds the opinion that designers are too carefree to be trusted with worrying about the level of detail a project lead is responsible to care for.

As a responsible, professional designer, I’m completely offended by that statement (on many levels).

First of all, that kind of blanket statement is generally made by the arrogant and naive – a disgusting combination.

Second, since when is worry a quality to be sought after? Worry is absolutely unproductive! Worry is a negative trait that should be avoided by mature, responsible people. (Which is not to say that mature, responsible people should not have concern for things, on the contrary.)

It’s up to the individual developer and designer to nurture the necessary skills to be a project lead - both of which have predisposed strengths and weaknesses – both of which have proven to be excellent project leads.

Following the directions in my mind.

Having young kids has forced me to put my creative process into a framework in which I can explain it to them. It’s pretty simple:

Follow the directions in your mind.

I tell this to my kiddos every time they ask, “Wow dad, that is so cool! How did you do that?”

I follow the directions in my mind.

I’ve come to realize that visualizing something before it’s created is a skill not everyone has, and one that takes consistent effort to maintain. If you’re in a creative profession, you know just what I’m talking about.

Here are a few simple tips that I use to help visualize the unseen:

Focus. First and foremost, you have to be able to shut the noise down in your mind in order to construct anything with detail. Building the unseen is nothing more than a house of cards, and with one little distraction or wondering thought, the whole thing can come crashing down.

Get detailed. Construct as many details as your mind can maintain before you begin manifesting your creation.

Use milestones. As you strengthen your ability to convert your creative thoughts into reality, you may need to get really rough prototypes out early and often in order to keep building. Getting a rough prototype out is also a great way to save a seed of an idea that you can build on later.

Practice daily. Seriously.

Fill in the gaps. If you find yourself struggling with visualizing your idea, do some research to help flesh it out. Knowledge gaps can often be filled pretty quickly and shouldn’t hold up the process too much. Feasibility gaps are a whole different story.

What do you do to help visualize, before you create?

If you missed out on what Michigan Crush was all about, check out the kick-off page!

Michigan has been part of the union since 1837, which I didn’t know off the top of my head. Thank you Wikipedia. I thought a simple reminder of the heritage we Michiganders all have would be a nice way to end this little project. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. It’s been a challenging and rewarding experience.

Although this little challenge is over, my Michigan crush continues. You’ll see more posts in the future, but for now; enjoy.

Photoshop + Smart Objects

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The Michigan state tree is the White Pine. This, however is not a white pine. This is the pine cone. This is a beautiful tree, and one of the only green signs of life during the cold winter months.

Photoshop + Smart Objects

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The brook trout is the Michigan state fish, and here is my vector version of it. Enjoy!

Photoshop + Smart Object

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I realized the other day that I hadn’t created a cut-away of the state yet. So here it is.

Photoshop + Smart Object

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Confession; I bit off more than I could chew on this one – only because I wanted to put so much more detail into it.

So, here it is – a lighthouse. Michigan’s coasts are lined with these magnificent structures. Although I’ve never been on a lighthouse tour, I hear it’s grand!

File: Photoshop + Smart Objects

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I attended 5×5 last night and one of the presenters noted that he had gotten quotes from China for a product he’s looking to manufacture, and as it turns out, he can get the product manufactured for a fraction of the cost if he does it locally. Why? Because Michigan KNOWS how to make stuff.

File: Photoshop + Smart Objects

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Michigan has a perception of being ALL manufacturing, and therefore, not a green friendly state. Although it’s true that we have some cleanup to do in spots, we’re far far far from anti-green. In fact, in 2010, Grand Rapids was rated the most sustainable mid-sized city in the entire US. No joke!

File: Photoshop + Smart Objects

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If you’ve spent any time in Grand Rapids, you’ll know exactly what this is. If you haven’t, and you’re not sure what this is, I’m pleased to introduce you to the “La Grande Vitesse” by Alexander Calder.

File: Photoshop + Smart Object = scale + recolor + enjoyment

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Rumor has it that we’re in for another snow storm. So, in honor of that, a Michigan snowflake.

File: Photoshop, Smart Objects

Enjoy!!

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I moved back to Michigan 2 years ago after living in Florida for 6 years, and one thing (of many) you can’t get in Florida is a good apple. Here is a hand drawn tribute to Michigan’s scrumptious apples!

The file you can download is a Photoshop file with a Smart Object. Scale, color, etc.

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Michigan has some of the BEST maple syrup in the country. Each year, the neighboring town of Vermontville, hosted the Vermontville Maple Syrup Festival. If you’ve never been, I think it’s worth a visit. It has all the makings of a SMALL town festival, plus the added bonus of serving fresh & fantastic maple syrup!

The file below is Photoshop, again with Smart Objects. Enjoy!

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Here is another take at turning the shape of the state into a logoish type of element. Once again, this is a Photoshop document, with Smart Objects so you can scale and recolor as needed. Enjoy!

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Showing Ann Arbor some love.

Again, this is a Photoshop file and the visual elements are Smart Objects so you can scale and recolor as needed. Enjoy!

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More Detroit love.

This is a Photoshop document, and mostly vector based (Smart Object). This one tested my ability in Illustrator, which is why it ended up in Photoshop (and partly raster).

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