Design theory: The professional problem of designers

Recently to some companies as a design consultant to find a problem, seems to me as a teacher looked, in fact, design consultants not only assume the responsibility of an enterprise staff training, but conversely, design companies or enterprises in the design department is indeed facing severe staff training needs and solve difficulties. Mature, professional design training in China's current market environment and the company system is still not easy, it's not like you're doing 6 sigma or HR brainwashing training, there are ready-made experience, and the company's interior in addition to the design of the design of more than the understanding of the relatively few-and now the overall level is uneven, do training "bully "There's a lot – things start to get complicated.

The design department of the enterprise in the speed and investment has always been very strong, but because of the law, so that the Department of the promotion of things basically is China; the designer cavity blood dry revolution, the result found that logistical disadvantage, to cannon without guns, to grain without food, Own one mu of three points of a kind of finish also do not know where the next big development went. Such a vicious circle of logic constantly in the country's design companies in the common practice, it is still the designer's training links need to comb it again:

The professional problem of the designer

First understand where there are defects, just know how to make up, design training in the process of the most terrible thing is a headache medical foot. The current phenomenon of design training is that without serious analysis of the real problems of the team and the designers, just ask some teachers to talk about the skills and reason-these basic is very difficult to be effective.

Design team (design team is composed of designers, I put personal into the organization to say) there are a number of professional problems (not fully covered, because the problem after the details of the extension too much):

1. Just set up the design team, the company's requirements for the team is very good to complete the customer's project, the team generally lack of reasonable design process, understanding of the company's products, customer analysis;

2. The formation of a 1-2-year team, the number of not more than 6 people, the situation is often prone to fragmentation, the next step to continue to improve, standardized management and ladder-type of progressive measures;

3. Formed a 3-5-year team, the number of 10 people, facing the design team's unified values, mature crisis management awareness, coordinated project operation mechanism, as well as complex internal emotions or struggles;

4. The formation of more than 5 years of the team, the number of 15 people or more, the mental weakness of the staff and the integration of new employees gradually exposed, the design style of curing and breakthrough on the face, to meet the more high-end customer design challenges, and even the company more transparent monitoring mechanism.

You will find that as you progress with your team, work experience and time increase, the treatment of the problem will become more and more difficult, slowly from the design skills to the higher requirements of design quality, which requires us to start to prepare their own training program, so that at any time to charge, not after people.

Content of training

No matter what team, skills training is never the most important, that is the part of the designer's requirements, independent thinking independent of the completion, for designers (especially in mainland China, many practitioners), the most needed training now:

1. reasonable, correct design process : I have seen many teams confuse the enterprise management process with the design process, which leads to the psychological acceptance of these "unreasonable" rules, a correct design process can not only unify the values of the design team, improve cohesion, Also let the designer clearer what to do next, to solve the contradiction between design quality and project time. A design process is not clear, immature team, the creation of the works is only huaquanxiutui, can not withstand scrutiny, to solve the real product problems. Training for the process can be done by inviting professional design consultants or industry consulting firms, or by inviting mature teams to communicate with each other.

2. English Exercise : Some companies say: "We are not foreign companies, customers do not have foreigners, training what English ah", "Chinese first speak well, English less!" "--Oh, what a sad thought, in this trans-regional, cross-cultural market demand, designers as the front of the first batch of bullet-blocking people, their pressure can be imagined, and a design team's English strength is a great help to design ability-you can more participate in the external communication and not timid, You can read more advanced design materials without waiting for the translation, you can survey and interview more people to collect the real information, you can also set up an international image for your company and team to win the trust of customers ... Even if half a month, such training is also necessary, most business English training institutions to provide services to the enterprise, I do not have to advertise.

3. ability to express and write orally : Many designers are very diamond, there is a fire in the chest, but the surface is still calm, in addition to the personality factors, there is a problem is the oral expression and writing skills, the root cause in education, but since we have been the root of the delay, Then think about how to solve it now? More say and more writing, verbal expression emphasizes fast thinking, logical arrangement, wording, and vivid expression of purpose, writing is slow thinking, organizing information, inductive Association of Purpose, say and write to a certain extent determines the designer's thinking dimension and depth. The fundamental design is communicated, so good information analysis skills need to start from the day-to-day activities-the training of oral and writing can invite some language experts to carry out, but also in the form of Reward (team internal) to stimulate the designer to write blog forms.

4. Advanced Design Skills : There must be some design skills to determine the final design quality, which is refined in the long-term project implementation process, the requirements of the skills are the most urgent requirements, because it can see the fastest training results. And the powerful technical skills behind it is to help designers more dare to think, dare to create. So in addition to the theory, design skills training is equally important, a designer can not learn all the software, all the production process, this part of the team through the members of each other to each other-the premise is that the team must develop a frank, sharing spirit.

5. Face Customer Experience : There are some immature team, simply think that the face of the customer is the market, business group--in fact, the most should face the customer, understand the customer, analysis of the customer is the design team, I stressed that designers should stand on the front line to face customer's fault and blame, Otherwise, designers will only be the flowers in the greenhouse, can not withstand the storm, not willing to take responsibility. Some companies ' bosses ask me, "Did I not expose my business secrets when I put a designer in front of a client?" In case the client digs him out again ... ", NO, you are wrong, your designers so easy to be dug away, so easy to disclose trade secrets, because your corporate culture is not infiltrated, the company's professional training and requirements, your administrative and personnel departments in the actual work? What are the flaws in your security secrecy? Is your platform a platform worth staying on? -first from their own problems to find reasons, "coupled" is not used to explain these common phenomena, but your designers do not face customers, you can not really serve the customer, this is inevitable.

Cost and cycle of training

This has to do with the number of design teams, levels, the purpose of training, as well as the results achieved through training, the first training is not a single, different ways of the cost is different, this cost includes time and money costs:

1. Design Consultant Teaching : 1000 yuan – 10000 yuan/time (2-3 hours), depending on the consultant's experience, industry word-of-mouth and practical training capacity;

2. Project Practical Guidance : The overall project budget 10%–15%, including the designer's project stage guidance, creative proposal, customer communication, etc., participate in the whole project cycle;

3. exhibiting, viewing, Department activities : Depending on the location, type of activity and number of people, control at 200 yuan/person around the standard is acceptable to most companies;

4. cross-regional trade exchanges : For example, UPA annual meetings such industry exchanges, companies can be based on the actual organization and funding decisions whether to participate;

5. out of the investigation: this is more complex, divided into domestic and foreign, including personnel out of the various details of work together, the need for each detailed implementation plan, 5000 yuan-250000 yuan (yes, you are not wrong, is 250000!) Higher I do not understand at the moment).

By the way, any kind of training, generally 3-6 months as a review cycle is more appropriate, since it is targeted to promote, you must see the effect, and the process is bound to have different reactions between people, good adaptation and rapid progress of excellent designers should be rewarded, unable to keep pace with the designer should be eliminated.

The myth about training

1. The company gave these designers training, training, how do they change jobs?

You don't give training to your designers, they will change jobs, and they will jump faster. The company as a talent transfer base may not be a bad thing, your company if you do not have the mind of the world, naturally there will be no world hero for my use of tolerance. You can rest assured that as a strict discipline of the designer, you do not train him, he will not become a SB, in this case, you might as well.

2. Why do companies give them training? Is society not advocating self-education?

Yes, society emphasizes self-education, but self-education is also for self service. Your training for the design team will definitely return to the company, in return to your customers, you are training for your own company, not for charity, I believe that as a Laoganjuhua boss you will not take the designers as their own son to see, then the designers also think so, you create value for the design team, They will also give you positive feedback-it's not hard to understand that you read microeconomics.

3. Give them training, colleagues in other departments will be emotional, how to deal with?

The whole company should have trained all the staff, good companies and good executives will spend 70% of their careers training employees and employees, and when you call your little secretary behind closed doors, you should be in the crowd and tell the designer what you want to do, You can provide support for this achievement, including formal rewards and punishments, as well as problems as a food and clothing parent, seeking synergy and help from the company. There will naturally be comparison and jealousy between people, designer training seems to be always so easy and freehand brushwork, but the brutal industry tells us – flowers behind the total poisonous thorn, but do not forget that the walls are always red apricot.

Last words to the designers

Designers can not "wait" the company to give you training, the company will not want the designer will consciously "self" training, this thing is a mutually beneficial relationship, both sides of the mentality is conducive to building a harmonious situation. But the company as party A, designers must first show a positive side, if you have done a good job training, but also trained other backward elements, then your value will naturally be reflected.

It's harsh, but it's true-both sides have the sweetness to make it possible for a snake rat to nest, right?