When people think of any design team, they perceive a group of people, the world so fondly termed “graphic designers”. They picture these guys mulling over a set of color combinations — a rangoli to fill up a blank design space. Unfortunately, it is how the mass perceives a design unit to be. Fortunately for us, they are wrong. We wouldn’t have been branded as a design and digital agency otherwise.
It’s Not Design, It’s An Ecosystem
The work that we do cannot be defined within the boundary of just designing. It’s an ecosystem that we have built and are perfecting in our journey. Websites, interactive interfaces, marketing collateral, digital and branding and finally consulting for startups, we have excelled in all supported by our interconnected community. It is this community that enables us to differentiate ourselves, carving out an identity of our own.
Our Design ecosystem is a network of mavericks driving different aspects of the design phase. From market research to understanding the client’s needs to the final quality analysis before delivering the finished product — it’s people collaborating and contributing their best.
Talkd Design Ecosystem- The Setup
For any project irrespective of client size, nature, and industry they belong to, research, consulting, creative and visual storytelling all are equally important. This process isn’t just a designer’s job. It necessitates the involvement of project managers, brand consultants, and marketers too. If half of the design ecosystem is represented by my creative experts, the other half is populated by the rest of the team — PMs to Storytellers.
If that means that I am at the top of the food chain, it wouldn’t be correct. I believe in less design delivering more value to clients in-turn bringing 100% return from deliveries. At Talkd, I am more of a participating Darwin incorporating this belief, observing and guiding in the design thinking evolution.
The Four Steps — Elevating The Ecosystem
So the team is in place, and the ecosystem like a spider web is spun and outlined. But this too is 50% of the job done. We know ‘What the ecosystem is’. But how does it work in sync to be better day by day? Sure, everyone from the project manager to the designer knows their roles and responsibilities. But what is it that drives the engine of this ecosystem? It’s a four-step process of two U’s and two I’s — Unlearn, Understand, Innovate and Incorporate.
Unlearn
It’s not forgetting anything we already know. It’s parking aside our perceptions and making room for information. A clean slate for incorporating new ideas and knowledge.
Understand
If unlearning opens up the mind to enlightenment, understanding the same becomes a necessity. We take time to understand the needs of our client, their business, target audiences, and more. We keep asking the right questions, talking meaningfully to know all that needs to be known.
Innovate
Innovation isn’t always something complex. Often, something new yet simple enough to comprehend also is an innovation in its own right. We keep ourselves at the forefront of innovation thanks to our design-thinking approach to problem-solving.
Incorporate
Incorporating our consulting expertise, planned strategy, and design, it’s the final stage of action. Connecting the brand’s dots with content and visual storytelling, scientific design principles, the outcome is an experience that delights.
In the end, it’s not about a group of photoshop-savvy people working on multiple artworks. It’s about everyone coming together, parts of an embedded system, contributing their best, and bringing out a result that speaks for itself. An ecosystem called Design.
