Page 101 - Design meets Business:An Ethnographic Study of the Changing Work and Occupations of Creatives

2. “Pixel Perfect”: Designers as Craftsmen 89
either showing intermediate design deliverables or visualizing their work processes. While in our findings we present selected findings, in Table 2.2, we display more empirical data supporting our interpretations.
2.5. Discussion
This is a story of designers who experienced profound changes at work. In the past years, the work of designers has been changing from primarily developing digital products (“screens”) to primarily devel- oping services (“stories”). As a consequence of this shift, the material practices of designers changed. In particular, design processes became more abstract and intangible, oriented at developing visual designs that are easier to communicate to clients than technically complex designs that are functional for users. Despite this shift, in our case, designers continued their former work practices. They made and used arti- facts that were previously key to their work, like using the design tool “Customer Journey”. Also, they extended their former material practices by making physical artifacts they never made before, like board games, that they could use in their design work. Moreover, making and using artifacts helped the designers continue their work from which they felt drifting apart.
Our findings showed that designers made and used artifacts for various reasons. To begin with, as projects became increasingly targeted at devel- oping abstract outcomes, there was little opportunity for designers to practice their design skills. Especially through making physical objects like Pensiopoly, the designers could perfect their craft and in doing so, emotionally connect with their work again. Further, making tangible objects allowed the designers to establish control over design processes that were not only becoming increasingly abstract but also involved more actors. Through purposefully shielding off their intermediate deliverables, the designers could develop an authoritative position in design processes both vis a vis their audiences, like clients and Accenture consultants, and ‘insiders’, and among designers themselves. Finally, as in the new situation, the work of designers overlapped with that of other service workers, the designers differentiated themselves by enacting material practices. Through developing technically complex prototypes they could showcase their knowledge and skills, emphasizing how these differed from for example management consultants without such knowl- edge. Our findings have theoretical implications for organization studies on design and craftsmanship.