This document discusses how designers can become leaders rather than just tradespersons by taking ownership over client goals. It argues that by shouldering more responsibility and accountability for outcomes, designers can have greater influence and impact business and society through their work. The document outlines a content plan for exploring how designers can transition from limited roles to leadership positions where they drive decisions and measurable results through creative solutions.

1. Design is Leadership
Patrick Gibson

2. Problem
A designer has limited influence to advance bold
decisions in the typical role as tradesperson.

3. Hypothesis
By taking ownership over client goals, a designer
can become a leader who measurably impacts
business and society.
The more designers shoulder the consequences of
failure, the greater authority they possess in
employing their conviction and courage of
imagination to profound effect.

4. Creative References
Jonathan Ive
Senior Vice President of Industrial Design
at Apple, Inc.
“Today, Apple represents the most successful and
faithful marriage of business and design, as $32
billion in sales last year attest. And Ive has been
the company's lodestar in its journey to global
trendsetter.”
— Chuck Salter, Fast Company

5. Creative References
David Plouffe
Chief Campaign Manager for Barack Obama’s
2008 presidential campaign
“ The story of Mr. Obama’s journey to the pinnacle
of American politics is the story of a campaign that
was, even in the view of many rivals, almost
flawless. Mr. Plouffe [was] known for his
mathematic invocation of data in making decisions.
When Mr. Obama decided to run for the
presidency, Mr. Plouffe and a half-dozen staff
members began plotting out a strategy.”
— Adam Nagourney, Jim Rutenberg and Jeff
Zeleny, The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/us/politics/05recon.html

6. Creative References
Paul Rand
Designer of Enron Logo
“ You couldn't take a picture of Enron's crime:
it all happened in the world of numbers and
spreadsheets, of financial reports and affidavits.
But there was something you could take a picture
of, and that was Rand's logo. A company with a
made-up name, incomprehensible business
practices, and largely intangible assets suddenly
had a vivid manifestation, a logo that once might
have stood for nimbleness, balance and
connectivity, now given new life as 'the crooked
E.'”
— Michael Bierut, Design Observer

7. From the Valorized Designer
"What we need in the next century are
independently-minded, creative, constructive
designers who are not just 'capitalist lackeys,'
ideologues,' or 'technical whiz-kids.'"
— Nigel Whiteley

8. From the Valorized Designer
Indeed, tomorrow's designer must not create mere
graphic artifact and ephemera, but instead design
larger architectures employing these artifacts to
profound and noticeable consequence, with
accountability for the results.

9. Content Outline
I. Introduction and Hypothesis
A. Problem
• Anecdotal story lead-in introduction (SOURCE: clientsfromhell.net, similar websites)
• The most common gripe: Clients don't listen to designers
• Perception of the designer as machine operator
• The limited influence of designers in agencies or in-house
• Frequent timidity and ineffectiveness of real-world design
• Opportunities lost, growth unrealized for organizations, society
B. Hypothesis
• Clients have more responsibility than designers, which gives them final say
• Designers are perceived to think more about their portfolio than the client's success
• Taking ownership of a client's mission changes the equation
• Ownership could be financial, emotional, procedural
• Designers must think holistically and make decisions as leaders
• Measured, quantifiable results necessary to prove a designer's effectiveness

10. Content Outline
II.
he Problem
T
A. Introductory case study
• Paul Rand and Enron: Where design failed
• Rand has no concern of the company, only his craft
B. Timeline of the profession
• Design's origins in the typesetting/printing trade (SOURCES: A History of Graphic Design, Philip B.
Meggs; Graphic Design HIstory: A Critical Guide, Johanna Drucker and Emily McVarish)
• Modern design and the birth of advertising, branding
(SOURCES: "Mad Men," ABC; Paul Rand, Steven Heller)
• Macintosh and the personal computing revolution: A rattled print trade
• Digital design: A specialty trade, but less design than engineering
• Outsourcing design: China, India, logoworks.com
C. The profession today
• Adapting to desktop publishing: the designer/consultant/strategist mishmash

11. Content Outline
Part 3: "Claiming Ownership"
• The Importance of Measurable Results
• Becoming a Leader
• Designer as Entrepreneur
• Examples of the New Designer
• Barriers to this Model

12. Content Outline
Part 4: "The Courage of Imagination"
• What the New Responsibility Means for the Profession
• Design's Importance in a Complex Society/Economy
• What a Designer-led World Could Look Like

13. Sources
Interviews
Peter J. Pultorak, marketer, on relationship between designers and strategists
Martin Venezky, designer/business owner, on establishing reputations and trust with clients
Ray Mancini, designer/business owner, on joint ventures with clients
Tom Klinkowstein, designer/business owner, on differing views of design in academia
Books
Paul Rand, Steven Heller
How to be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul, Adrian Shaughnessy
A History of Graphic Design, Philip B. Meggs
Graphic Design HIstory: A Critical Guide, Johanna Drucker and Emily McVarish
Switch, Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Made to Stick, Chip Heath and Dan Heath
On Marketing, Philip Kotler
The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell

14. Sources
Magazines / Periodicals
Fast Company
Wired
Good
Eye Magazine
The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
"The Valorized Designer," Nigel Whiteley
Websites
clientsfromhell.net
goodfuckingdesignadvice.com
logoworks.com
Video / Television / Movies
TED lectures
Mad Men, ABC