Almost everything we use has been designed with a massive impact on us and our environment. The principles of design now have wider applications beyond graphic, web, interior design etc. They are applied to systems and relationships and to a large degree the way we work and interact… these principles and how we engage with them are what we call Design Thinking.
Combine these design principles with a built-in sensitivity to the needs of people and the result is a collection of skills, over and above what you would expect of a Graphic & Web Designer. These include visual thinking, strategy, service design, and storytelling within a constant search for ways to create real impact. The Design Thinking process uses tools, senses and methods that we have developed through our experiences to create choices, alternatives and new ideas.
The one2love.agency team has become more aware that our Design Thinking is not nice to have, it is integral to who we are and what we offer. We have had clients ask us to recreate their ideas exactly and without any input from us… this tends to feel odd and a little disappointing… our natural response, when presented with a project, is to figure it out, feel it through and implement it.
A Design Thinker can also be described as an individual with? T-Shaped skills (diagram below). You can see how the ability to collaborate across disciplines combined with a depth of skills and expertise in individual fields can make for a rich and considered outcome.
T-Shaped Skills
Strategy / Web Design / Advertising / Marketing / Graphic Design / Public Relations / Creative Direction / User Exeperience
Client Needs / Objective
Illustration
Colour
Visual Composition
Trends
one2love.agency has established a team of cross-functional Creative Thinkers with overlapping T-shaped skills allowing for combination and variation that will ultimately lead to better results for all involved.