The Sausage Factory
To what extent does the Client need to know what goes on behind the scenes?
In today’s age of design transparency, where designers are increasingly embedded within organizations, clients often end up knowing everything. This, I think, is a good thing, since a big part of my work philosophy is that “the best ideas come from collaboration”. As mum always said, four eyes are better than two, and it follows that two brains are better than a solo designer working à-distance.
But what about when the Client asks for something seemingly innocuous that is actually pretty complex? Do you make assumptions for them and run the risk of delivering something they weren’t expecting, or do you involve them in the problem’s complexity and get a better result at the risk of being annoying?
A friend of mine at a big foundation once put it this way: “They don’t need to see how you make your sausage.”
Many have weighed in on the topic, and the jury is still out. Any thoughts?
Design from a Distance
I spent part of the morning last Friday with the team at Architecture For Humanity (and a South African Design Fellow on the ground), brainstorming potential design solutions for FIFA’s Football For Hope program. As it turns out, FIFA has decided that the World Cup 2010 will be like no other: rather than just a sporting event, FIFA aims to use the Hope program to “bring together, support, advise and strengthen sustainable social and human development programmes” in areas affected by the tournament. FIFA’s plan? To build 20 community centers and football pitches throughout Africa, part of its “2o Centres in 2010″ program, and a concerted attempt to leave a legacy beyond the World Cup 2010.
To me this sounds like a great plan but, were it not for the involvement of Architecture For Humanity, whose team brings an amazing breadth and depth of community design knowledge, I would mostly write it off as a CSR/greenwashing play. I mean, let’s be honest, do 20 towns in Africa actually need community centers? Read more…