Product Description

From Laundry List to Strategic Business Tool

Peter L. Phillips Reveals the Secrets Behind Successful Design Briefs

The design brief has finally been de-mystified! Once considered a simple set of directions that was handed down to the designer by a disengaged manager, it has evolved into a multi-lateral, strategic business tool. The creation of these super briefs is the subject of a new book by author Peter L. Phillips entitled "Creating the Perfect Design Brief: How to Manage Design for Strategic Advantage." The first title to analyze the secrets of successful design briefs and their management, this book successfully and comprehensively outlines a document, a process, and a discipline that places strategic thinking and objectivity at the core of a relevant design project or program—using words, concepts, and criteria every business manager will understand and appreciate. Published by Allworth Press with the Design Management Institute, Phillips’ book is a critical tool not only for designers and design managers, but for marketing, marketing communications, and engineering managers involved in a design project.

Many organizations still view design merely as a decorative service function and overlook its vast potential as a core, strategic business resource. The design brief can help designers and managers change that perception by making each stakeholder part of the creation process. Creating the Perfect Design Brief covers all the essential elements of the brief: assembling the team; developing the design brief; project overview; category review; target audience review; company portfolio, business objectives; phases; scope, time line, and budget; and research data. Designers and design managers will learn how to:

• Rethink design, and design management as a strategic process
• Establish mutually valuable relationships with the design brief team
• Receive substantial and timely input from upper management
• Create a design brief that can deal with changes
• Use the design brief in project tracking and as a tool to measure return on investment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #91964 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-01
• Released on: 2004-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781581153248
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From the Publisher
According to a recent survey by the Design Management Institute, development of truly useful design briefs is one of the top ten issues that design professionals struggle with on an on-going basis. This book reveals what every design manager must know to build and develop a strategic, business relevant design organization and process.

From the Inside Flap
Praise for Creating the Perfect Design Brief

"This book offers plenty of solid advice on the means of effective design brief development. But its larger value lies in Phillips’ distilled wisdom in how to employ the design brief as a strategic design management tool. His is a virtually sure-fire formula for increasing design’s centrality to, and influence upon, corporate culture today."— Michael Eckersley, Principal, Human Centered

"The subject matter of this book is so important it should be required reading in every design school."—William J. Hannon, IDSA, FRSA, Professor Emeritus of Industrial Design, Massachusetts College of Art

"The Perfect Design Brief is the holy grail of the design profession. This book demonstrates how to formulate, refine and define a perfect design brief and remove any ambiguities from the communication process. Essential reading for all those who are engaged in managing design and creativity"— Stephen Conlon, Managing Director, Design and Marketing Management Ltd.

"Phillips has successfully dropped design into the center of a successful business and business thinking into the center of a successful design organization." —Mark Oldach, Partner and Strategist, VSA Partners, Inc.

About the Author
Peter L. Phillips is a 30-year design industry veteran and internationally recognized expert in the management of design organizations as well as developing corporate and brand identity design strategies and programs. He served as Director of Creative Services for the Gillette Company and as Director of Corporate Identity and Design for Digital Equipment Corporation. As a consultant, he has developed numerous global brand identity programs for many Fortune 500 companies and conducts frequent seminars for design management professionals worldwide. He is a contributor to AIGA Professional Practices in Graphic Design (Allworth Press) and has published numerous articles in the Design Management Journal. He lectures, conducts seminars and workshops worldwide on strategic design management as well as creating design briefs for the Design Management Institute. The author lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Excellent and valuable read
I found this book after looking for a book that would help me in leading an in-house design firm at a non-profit. I think I instinctively knew some of the key principles in this book - however this book really spelled those out and gave me the tools to begin to implement them.

Fundamentally the author's point is that designers must learn to deliver real value for the organization and in a language non-designers understand and appreciate. A well constructed design brief is the vehicle through which much of this can happen. As a result, "do you like it" is less likely to be the question we ask, rather it should be "does this solve a business problem".

A simple but invaluable read, this book is designed for those of us who wrestle with the tension of leading designers who want space to be creative at the same time as we wrestle with "clients" who seemingly don't know what they want until they see the finished product - which of course they don't like.

Well worth the read and highly recommended

Very good
This book goes into great detail about the aspects of a design brief and explains why briefs are good. I recommend it for those who are curious about writing briefs or who want to improve their skills in briefs.

Good book.
This book was very helpful and precise. I work for digital media designers, so this book not only helped me improve my skills, but helped me look more professional. :)