Design is deliberate
The best definition of design I’ve ever heard—and still use today.
In one of my conversations with the late Dr. Edward de Bono he provided me with the best definition of design I have ever heard—one that I subscribe to and abide by to this day: “Design is deliberate.”
It seems pretty simple, almost too simple. But whether you’re involved in developing an identity, or an App, or a business model, or a city, or a system, or an experience, or a disruption in the market, you’re taking deliberate steps and making deliberate decisions, towards a specific outcome.
For businesses that have successfully become brands, they’ve done so deliberately by focusing on aligning their Purpose and value proposition with the needs and desires of their customers. And they’ve responded deliberately—and with intent—to feedback from the market.
This means, any design process is underpinned by a motivation to achieve a specific goal. In many cases, that motivation is to improve upon—or to replace—what is currently in existence.
The premise is the same for most endeavours: What do I seek to achieve and what must I do to achieve it? Even asking these questions is a deliberate action, designed to pursue a particular or specific outcome. In our conversation, Dr. de Bono expands on the value, importance and deliberate nature of design:
“I place a lot of importance on design, because design is putting together what you have to deliver, in terms of the values you want to provide. Most of our thinking at all levels—school, university, everything—is concerned with ‘analysis’. Analysis is concerned with finding the ‘truth’. Design, on the other hand, is producing something which isn’t there, or wasn’t there before...
So, how do we need to think to produce something that doesn’t yet exist? Design is one particular aspect of that because it concerns itself with creating something that doesn’t yet exist, as opposed to ‘finding the truth’, which is always there until we find it.”
Essentially, design is a partnership between creativity (which is being fearlessly inventive), strategy (which focuses on long-term objectives that can adapt as things develop) and tactics (which are the specific steps involved in implementing a strategy to achieve a particular goal). All are deliberate, conscious and considered.
But the design process isn’t linear. In entrepreneurial terms, pivoting and being agile are also deliberate decisions designed to move you closer to an outcome in real time. Similarly, bad design is also deliberate, and it can be enormously costly. Taking unnecessary short-cuts, disregarding expert advice or deciding not to seek the required information—these are deliberate decisions. Worse still, not caring or simply being lazy about your actions is also deliberate. These are choices which have been made. They didn’t happen by accident.
The design process isn’t linear. In entrepreneurial terms, pivoting and being agile are also deliberate decisions designed to move you closer to an outcome in real time.
DELIBERATE BY DESIGN
Perhaps that all sounds a bit academic or theoretical. If so, how might this approach—this deliberate attitude and mindset—be applied to something specific; a more tangible or practical situation, as it were? Well, there’s a wonderful example, which never ceases to inspire me. And it comes from the most unlikeliest of places.
Founded in 1379, New College in England is—ironically—one of the oldest University of Oxford colleges, steeped in tradition and grandeur. Education institutions like New College trade off their academic achievements, but they also leverage their heritage and the status they can provide each generation of students stretching through their substantial alumni.
Just think how the mere mention of MIT or Harvard in the United States, Cambridge in England, or Ireland’s Trinity College in Dublin—to name a few— elicits immediate respect and admiration from many. Without even questioning an individual’s qualifications, a university brand can provide insight into a person’s achievements and their perceived expertise merely by mentioning the university’s name. But let’s get back to New College.
According to Gregory Bateson’s version of the story (an English anthropologist, social scientist, linguist and cyberneticist, among other things), a century ago an entomologist realised the massive, beautiful oak beams that adorn the ceiling in the college’s dining hall were being eaten away by beetles. This became an urgent issue for the college. Where would they quickly find mature oak trees to repair and replace the wood in this glorious ceiling? And what might it cost?
After some investigation, it was discovered that, when the college was founded, a grove of oak trees was planted on the grounds—for the specific purpose of replacing the dining room beams. It was a ready-made solution, and one which the college owned; it was a long-term investment in the business—and ultimately in the brand—that was about to pay immediate dividends.
Fortuitous as this might sound, it was only possible because the original architects and/or designers projected into the future, identified an inevitable scenario, and then deliberately designed a solution into their work to solve this very problem—centuries in advance.
This is a great example of a mindset that can analyse the context, synthesise all the details, forecast potential needs, operate within specific constraints and then design for efficiencies in (and for) the future. It’s simplicity and deliberate design in action.
Of course, to some readers this might sound like a quaint story. And you could be forgiven for thinking it has little to do with business—or brand for that matter. But when New College discovered the damaged oak beams, no doubt they would have been acutely aware of how repairing it with an inferior substitute would impact their name and reputation—their brand. Anything less than oak would decrease the perceived status they offer to students and it would disrespect the heritage the university leverages as a distinguished educational destination.
How can we draw these conclusions? Because of the importance New College obviously places on how students experience their overall brand outside of academic achievement. Just consider how many students and visitors must use the dining hall.
It’s therefore not an assumption to conclude they obviously understand that every aspect of their college contributes to their brand experience. Many established universities trade off this kind of heritage, promoting their history and status, and protecting what differentiates them from their competitors.
All of this adds to the value of their brand perception. In New College’s case, the oak grove was also a deliberate business decision and a resources solution, ensuring future efficiencies, which may have perhaps felt unnecessary to the business at the time. But this is about having a conscious attention to detail. This is clear consideration of the What if?
This is being deliberate by design.
