Page 45 - Design meets Business:An Ethnographic Study of the Changing Work and Occupations of Creatives

1. Introduction 33
in the offices of their clients. This brings along various challenges - like creating a creative workspace in corporate office environments - which are further described in Chapter 2 and 3.
Before starting my fieldwork at Fjord, I needed to gain access. Access refers to the possibility of entering a research site, the degree to which you are allowed to involve in the lives of those studied (Bryman (2016 [1995])). As Fjord is an organization, my field research took place in a closed setting (Bell, 1969). I gained access to the organization via personal networks. One of the members of my supervising team at that time, had connections within Accenture in the Netherlands, and connected me to a manage- ment consultant that collaborated with Fjord before. He brought me into contact with the strategic director of Fjord named Luca. First, we had a Skype conversation to meet each other. Then, I made a research proposal in which I clearly outlined my research aims and the potential benefits for the organization, which I also presented to the managing director and the HR manager of the studio. When Fjord’s management agreed, Luca sent my application to Accenture. After a few months of radio silence, I got a positive response. While I received the official approval, I still needed to negotiate access to routines and lifeworld of Fjord designers. Again, Luca proved to be my ‘gatekeeper’. He opened doors within Fjord, by connecting me with diverse employees. Also, he introduced me to various consultants at Accenture and clients. Next to this gatekeeper strategy, I maintained access by generally making myself part of the design studio. I adopted an ‘overt role’ (Bryman, 1995, 294) by making my role of ethnographic resear- cher explicit to others. Also, my participation in a design project helped me to maintain access to the life worlds of designers.
1.7.2. Daily Work at Fjord
At Fjord, the designers organize their work in projects. Projects often target complex and open-ended questions, varying from reinventing the billing process of retail firms, creating a better shopping experience for retail customers, and even to redesigning a workspace. The projects vary in duration. Mostly, projects last between three to six months. On average Fjord conducts between 30 and 40 projects a year both nationally and internationally. Especially in recent years, most of the projects enter via Accenture instead of directly via Fjord. Previously, their business clients especially came from the sector of banking and telecommunications. Now, projects target all sorts of industries, varying from aircraft, education, retail to financial services. A major change in the projects of Fjord is the rise of “concept strategy” projects. Such projects are oriented to design