Page 99 - Design meets Business:An Ethnographic Study of the Changing Work and Occupations of Creatives

Establishing an emotional connection to work and greater community of craft
While making the CJ, some designers put a lot of efforts in making detailed illustrations as this allowed her to train her de- sign skills, get into a creative flow and thereby connect to the wider community of the craft.
Fieldworker: can you tell me something about your role in making the CJ?
Carrie: I made the illustrations. First by hand, then on my laptop. Even though I am an interaction designer, I like to do more of ‘pixel perfect’ stuff. ... Fieldworker: Do you enjoy making the illustrations?
Carrie: I do. I asked the HR before this project, “next time, please, give me something to design, screens or so”... Because when you have to do screens, you are
in your world. No one bothers you. ...So it is like I can be on my own without [distraction], just producing. It’s more like, getting into a flow.” (Interview, Carrie, interaction designer, Fjord)
Through making the SB a design- er that recently joined Fjord had the opportunity to put what she learned at school into practice, reinforcing a feeling of belonging to the wider community of the craft.
“I am happy and excited, it was good to have the client here and work on the SB. They were here at the right moment. Now we can work by ourselves on finishing
the SB. Carrie will work on the illustrations, I will work with Nadia on the content. I am excited, it is the first time here that I make a SB for clients” (Interview, Jane, service designer, Fjord)
Gaining a sense of control in design processes
The clients wanted to see the intermediate deliverable of the
CJ but the designers preferred to keep it a ‘secret’ and only showed the CJ when they considered it ready to show to clients.
[Skype conversation between cli- ent Roy and Fjord’s project lead Nadia) Roy [client] said after pres- entation of the draft of the CJ: “ I also would like to share this [the draft CJ] with the team. So maybe we can talk about how to make this more user friendly and easier to read. Nadia responded: “yeah we would love this document as
a standalone, but then we need narration. So if you share this with a larger group we need to work on the narration, and that costs time. So, we prefer to keep it [the draft CJ] here [design studio in Madrid], and share it when we are ready”. (Fieldnotes, 03.03.2017)
The SB can have all sorts of shapes and formats. The design- ers made illustrations to narrow down the options and facilitate collective decision making.
Carrie tells the other designers in a team meeting, in which
they discuss what the SB could look like: “I think like us they are confused about stuff and they need something more concrete”. After saying this, she takes a Sharpie and makes illustrations of various options for the format of the SB. She then says “It is easier to visualize these kinds of things when you have something tangible to start with. That might spark something else.” (Fieldnotes, 21.03.2017)
Differentiating from other occupations
The designers used the CJ to dis- play their knowledge of advanced technologies but also to develop a deliverable that was completely different from what other consult- ants usually deliver to clients.
Nadia said: “knowing that he wants something technical for the CJ, ... can we go beyond their ex- pectations? Jane answered: “we can also move beyond their ex- pectations with cool illustrations”. Carrie the said “this requires time”... Nadia: “what if we take the format of the blueprint journey and we present it in a more surprising one? I think that will more create ‘the wow moment’, like ‘what is happening next’” Carrie: “but I think big things impress more, that people enter and see it”. Nadia then said: “they pay us 500.00 euros so we need something that surprises, shocks. Not something that they can do themselves, or learn how to do it themselves.” (Fieldnotes, 22.02.2017)
The designers invited the clients to help making the SB in their own design studio. This created ‘energy’ among the clients, and helped the designers with differ- entiating themselves from other occupations while at the same time gaining legitimacy.
One of the designers reflected
on the development of the SB and said: “having them doing it was great. Now they believe it is their blueprint. For example, they changed the name of ‘roadshow’ in ‘pop-up store’, they now be- lieve it was their idea even though it was ours. But it is ok, they
now take us more serious and defend our ideas.”(Fieldnotes, 11.04.2017)
2. “Pixel Perfect”: Designers as Craftsmen 87
DESIGNERS’ ATTEMPTS TO RESTORE CONNECTION WITH WORK