B-School meets D-School

What a beautiful convergence of talent I get to witness every day at work! We have a team of business people working alongside designers. I started my career doing corporate finance stuff. After all, I had a degree in business. Why? I didn't really have a passion for "business," whatever that means. It was better than "Undecided." Over the past few years I've jumped into more design work, doing videos, websites, graphics and nearly any piece of communication I can. Last week, I received validation that this mix of business and design interest is beginning to be pretty vital for those in the creative field.

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The validation came from a pleasant talk I heard from creative strategist Douglas Davis. He is a Brooklyn-based designer on a mission to teach creative professionals the business skills they need to grow their practice. I picked up his book, Creative Strategy and the Business of Design. After perusing through a couple of chapters it felt like I was reading a transcript of my daily conversations.

Think how they think to do what we do. - Douglas Davis

The basic premise of the book is in order to have a successful career as a designer, you need to know how to think like a business professional. I believe the inverse is true as well. In today's business world, you need to think like a designer, too. You can't just expect Fiverr to solve all of your design problems. Adobe Stock will only take you so far. At the heart of every designer is an empathetic worldview. Without empathy, a designer would not have a job. After all, all of their work's value is subject to what others think of it. If you don't think like your client, you won't have a client.

How is business any different?