Page 144 - Design meets Business:An Ethnographic Study of the Changing Work and Occupations of Creatives

132 Design Meets Business
discussion among business designers and craft designers about who are the key audiences:
Nadia: for me after that conversation it is not clear what we supposed to do. Are we helping GAP [the client organization] to become a more competi- tive player? Or are we helping Dutch citizens helping retirement?
Betty: or... are helping GAP to work closer with users? Or are we joining a team to face different future scenarios? Maybe we need to have this talk on Wednesday [when having a client meeting] because this shapes how we download information and approach the ramble. Based on what you see in in the interviews, what will be best, based on discovery path [designers had]? Nadia: It is not just about customers. How do you compete in the market- place? For them to be aware of how to do business?
Betty: but again... what will be our recommendation for this?
Nadia: Jane and Carrie what do you suggest based on interviews?
Jane: the end users do not trust [the products] of GAP. User insights say that people maybe want human advice.
[Carrie nods]
Nadia: But how does GAP stay sustainable?
Betty: Don’t you think it’s fairer for the end-user?
Nadia: Oh yes definitely. But the client has a different perspective. It is too costly.
Carrie: I think it is a conservative perspective [that of the client].
Nadia: I heard they want to cut the budget, minimize it with 20%.
Betty: so this is why they hired us, to digitalize the experience, to reduce costs. They are our clients, we cannot ignore that.
This is essentially an ethical discussion among the designers, questioning whether they should adapt to the needs of clients or end-users. Especially represented by Carrie here, especially the craft designers believe that end-users are the key audiences. Another designer added to this in an inter- view: “we see the clients as the bridge to get to the end-users.” Yet, as is here illustrated by the comments of Nadia and Betty, especially business designers emphasized the importance of pleasing the business clients. This is visible in their comments like “it is not just about customers. How do you compete in the marketplace?” This discussion between the designers continued without reaching consensus. Hence, the designers decided to compromise and devel- oped two ‘strategy scenarios’, one that is best for the clients and one that is better for end-users, leaving the strategy choice up to the clients themselves.
Interestingly, we noticed that in discussions around key audiences were challenging for the designers as it was not always clear who belonged to the