Saturday, December 02, 2006

Design v. Business (Or Desiginess)

Day 38

Business is blending into Design, and Design is blending into Business. This trend has been continuing over the past couple years and is really beginning to take shape. Listening to the Businessweek Podcast entitled Design Means Business, I heard a phrase that I believe sums up the relationship between the Design industry and the Business sector.

"One can't do it without the other."

The podcast was covering the AIGA Gain conference in New York. The speaker was someone who has always been a blend of Business and Design, Tom Kelley of IDEO, who was discussing the JetBlue terminal design at JFK. I think this phrase stuck out because it shows that neither Design or Business is more powerful than the other. Their true power is found when combined in equal parts. This is a great notion and something that both designers and business people should learn from.

I am reminded of the OCAD Rotman's partnership program happening at my school. It combines 2 OCAD designers and 5 Rotman's students together in collaborative projects. I think this partnership is missing one thing: equality. It is my hope that in the future we will see less of this one sided view, and more of an balanced partnership that weighs both sides equally. This will release the true potential of Business and Design.