How to Run a Successful Design Business

www.ebook3000.com
 For Don.
Without him, none of this would be possible.
How to Run a
Successful Design
Business
The New Professional Practice

Shan Preddy
with contributions from other design experts
© Shan Preddy and Contributors 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published by
Gower Publishing Limited
Wey Court East
Union Road
Farnham
Surrey
GU9 7PT
England

Gower Publishing Company

Suite 420
101 Cherry Street
Burlington
VT 05401-4405
USA

www.gowerpublishing.com

Shan Preddy has asserted her moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act,
1988, to be identified as the editor of this work.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

How to run a successful design business : the new
professional practice.
1. Design services--Management.
I. Preddy, Shan.
745.4'068-dc22

ISBN: 978-0-566-09189-6 (pbk)

978-1-4094-1763-7 (ebk)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Preddy, Shan.
How to run a successful design business : the new professional practice / Shan Preddy.
p. cm.
Includes index.
II -- ISBN 978-1-4094-1763-7 (ebook)
ISBN 978-0-566-09189-6 (hardback)
1. Industrial management. 2. Success in business. 3. Industrial design. I. Title.
HD31.P668 2011
745.2068--dc22
2010032973
 Important Notice
The material contained in How to Run a Successful Design Business has been provided
by a number of authors. The Editor and Publishers have taken care to check its
content but they cannot be held responsible for the views and opinions of the
authors or for the accuracy of their information. Several of the chapters address
legal and financial issues and while the guidance and examples given will help you
prepare for consultations they should not be treated as substitutes for specialist
advice in specific situations. Make sure that the plans you make and the decisions
you take are appropriate for your own business and within the current law of the
country (or countries) in which you operate.
This page has been left blank intentionally
Contents

Reviews for How to Run a Successful Design Business xv

Foreword by David Kester xvii
Preface by Shan Preddy xix

Section One The Industry

1.1 The Arrival by Jeremy Myerson 3

The design industry in context, with a look at its roots and its early pioneers.

1.2 The Present by Shan Preddy 9

The shape, size and make-up of the current UK design industry.

1.3 The Global Context by Michael Thomson 15

The global design industry and support policies and practices.

1.4 The Client Perspective by Shan Preddy 23

The role and value of design from the clients’ viewpoint.

1.5 The Future by James Woudhuysen 27

The economic, regional and technological trends affecting design.

Section Two The Business

2.1 The Vision and Values by Shan Preddy 35

Knowing where you want your business to be, and what’s important to you.

2.2 The Culture by Shan Preddy 39

What does your business feel like to work in and to visit?

2.3 The Product by Shan Preddy 43

Assessing and developing your core offer and what you do.

2.4 The Business Journey by Adrian Rasdall 47

Strategies for developing and growing your business.
viii How to Run a Successful Design Business

2.5 The Business Structure by Peers de Trensé 53

Organising your teams: who does what?

2.6 The Money (Part One) by Mandy Merron 59

Financial planning and investment.

2.7 The Money (Part Two) by Gary Baxter 67

Managing the finances.

2.8 The Law by Jo Evans 75

Forms of company, partnership agreements and employment contracts.

2.9 The Intellectual Property by Darrell Stuart-Smith 81

Your intellectual property and your clients.

2.10 The Management Issues by James Woudhuysen 87

Researching, understanding and communicating what’s happening in the market.

2.11 The Validation by Shan Preddy 93

The various accreditations and qualifications, and their benefits.

2.12 The Memberships by Shan Preddy 97

Joining design and client sector associations and organisations.

2.13 The Network by Phil Jones 101

Building a network of people and talents.

2.14 The Working Environment by Shan Preddy 105

Creating your own space.

2.15 The Neverending Story by Shan Preddy 109

Identifying and sustaining improvements to your business.

Section Three The People

3.1 The Management Team by Shan Preddy 115

Owners, directors, managers: how leadership works in practice.

3.2 The Creatives by Rod Petrie 119

Managing and motivating your creative talent.

3.3 The Client Facers by Jan Casey 123

Working within existing client relationships.
 contents ix

3.4 The Hunter-Gatherers by Blair Enns 127

Different models for business development.

3.5 The Farmer-Growers by Shan Preddy 131

Proactively cultivating relationships with your clients.

3.6 The Strategists by Ann Binnie 135

The role and involvement of planners in the design process.

3.7 The Orgs and Ops by Shan Preddy 139

Office administration, management and organisation.

3.8 The Incoming Resource by Madelaine Cooper 143

Who to employ and how to recruit them.

3.9 The Ongoing Resource by Kim Briggs 147

Staff induction and retention, including job descriptions, appraisals and training.

3.10 The Outgoing Resource by Kim Briggs 151

Handling departures, redundancy and dismissal.

3.11 The Training by Liz Lydiate 155

Approaches to formal, informal and professional training.

3.12 The Development by Rod Petrie 161

Coaching, mentoring and motivating individuals and teams.

3.13 The Rewards by Mandy Merron 165

Selecting and using rewards and incentives to improve staff performance.

3.14 The Cavalry by Madelaine Cooper 171

Calling on non-execs, consultants and other outside help.

3.15 The Self-Incentive by Kevin Duncan 175

Ideas for self-motivation and management.

Section Four The Income

4.1 The Marketing Strategy by Shan Preddy 181

How to develop your positioning, target markets and propositions.

4.2 The Marketing Plan by Shan Preddy 189

Planning and implementing your marketing activities.
 How to Run a Successful Design Business

4.3 The Geography by Christine Losecaat 195

The practicalities of working internationally.

4.4 The Reputation by Julia James 199

Building and sustaining your profile and reputation.

4.5 The Media by Lynda Relph-Knight 205

How to engage with editors and journalists.

4.6 The Social Media by Gemma Went 209

Vehicles and techniques for developing a social media presence.

4.7 The Sales Process by Shan Preddy 213

Encounters, credentials meetings, pitching.

4.8 The Pitch by Jonathan Kirk 219

Planning and delivering successful pitches.

4.9 The No Pitch by Blair Enns 223

Alternatives to competitive pitching.

4.10 The Record by Shan Preddy 227

Managing marketing databases and measuring performance.

4.11 The Procurement by Tina Fegent 233

Dealing with clients’ procurement processes.

4.12 The Prequal by Simon May 241

Responding to screening and pre-qualification processes.

4.13 The Roster by Simon May 245

Framework agreements and preferred supplier arrangements.

4.14 The Client Journey by Shan Preddy 249

Balancing client lifecycles and developing existing clients’ business.

4.15 The Client Experience by Shan Preddy 255

Satisfying and retaining clients (and knowing when to fire them).

Section Five The Work

5.1 The Terms by Barry Morris 263

Approaches to terms of business for clients and suppliers.
 contents xi

5.2 The Knowledge by Liz Lydiate 269

Building a balance of commercial, technical and people skills.

5.3 The Brief by Kate Blandford 277

Designing, developing and assessing client briefs.

5.4 The Projects by Lorna Dallas-Conte 283

The basic structure and skills of managing design projects.

5.5 The Research by Don Preddy 291

Using quantitative, qualitative and desk research.

5.6 The Meetings by Sean Blair 295

How to improve your internal and client meetings.

5.7 The Feedback by Shan Preddy 301

How well are you doing? Surveys and reviews.

5.8 The Proof by Deborah Dawton 305

Understanding, improving and using design effectiveness.

5.9 The Recognition by Stef Brown 309

Winning and exploiting the (right) awards.

5.10 The Planet by Sophie Thomas 315

Practical techniques for sustainable design.

Section Six The Designers

300million 325
999 Design Group 326
Blue Marlin 328
Boxer 329
Checkland Kindleysides 330
Dalziel and Pow Design Consultants 331
Design Bridge 332
Dragon Rouge 333
Elmwood 334
JKR 335
Living Group 336
Media Square 338
Rufus Leonard 339
Seymourpowell 340
Small Back Room 341
xii How to Run a Successful Design Business

Start 342
Tayburn 343
The Alloy 344
The Team 345
Uniform 347

Section Seven The Clients

Musgrave Retail Partners GB, Jemima Bird 351

Land Securities Group PLC, Anna Chapman 352
HM Revenue & Customs, Julia Coulson 353
Virgin Atlantic Airways, Joe Ferry 354
Innocent, Dan Germain 355
Cisco Systems, Clive Grinyer 356
British Library, Penny Hamilton 356
Eurostar, Richard Hill 357
Waitrose, Maggie Hodgetts 358
Transport for London, Jon Hunter 359
Royal Mail, Marcus James 360
British Heart Foundation, Louise Kyme 361
Chivas Brothers Limited, Neil Macdonald 361
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, Lynne Maher 362
BT, David Mercer 363
Science Museum, Tim Molloy 364
UKTV, Matt Scarff 365
Habitat, Theo Williams 366
Ford Motor Company, David Woodhouse 366
Xerox Europe, Les Wynn 367

Section Eight The Design Bodies

British Design Innovation (BDI) 371

D&AD 372
Design Business Association (DBA) 373
Design Council 374
Design Management Institute (DMI) 375
Design Partners 376
Design Wales 377
New Designers 378
Royal College of Art (RCA) 379
Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 379
The Sorrell Foundation 380
UK Design Alliance 381
 contents xiii

Section Nine The Reference Library

1 UK Design Membership Bodies 385

2 International Design Membership Bodies 385
3 UK Design and Creative Sector Support 386
4 UK Business Organisations 387
5 Business Support and Information 387
6 Other Useful Organisations 388
7 UK Design Exhibitions, Events 389
8 Award Schemes 390
9 Like To Know More? 392
10 What Else Have We Written? 396

Section Ten The Contributors

Gary Baxter 401

Ann Binnie 402
Sean Blair 402
Kate Blandford 403
Kim Briggs 403
Stef Brown 404
Jan Casey 404
Madelaine Cooper 405
Lorna Dallas-Conte 405
Deborah Dawton 406
Peers De Trensé 406
Kevin Duncan 407
Blair Enns 407
Jo Evans 407
Tina Fegent 408
Louis Hellman 408
Julia James 409
Phil Jones 409
Jonathan Kirk 410
Christine Losecaat 410
Liz Lydiate 411
Simon May 411
Mandy Merron 412
Barry Morris 412
Jeremy Myerson 412
Rod Petrie 413
Don Preddy 413
Shan Preddy 414
Adrian Rasdall 414
xiv How to Run a Successful Design Business

Lynda Relph-Knight 415

Darrell Stuart-Smith 415
Sophie Thomas 415
Michael Thomson 416
Gemma Went 416
James Woudhuysen 417

Index 419