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The right profile; square pegs in round holes and T-shaped people.

Met a couple of very interesting folk the last few days. Both very different, hugely different backgrounds but crucial things in common:

One is an old friend, the other I worked with briefly (I'll keep them anonymous)...

One trained in ergonomics and product design at Loughborough, the other studied English at University. The product designer spent nearly 10 years in transportation and ergonomics, then started up a design consultancy in Singapore. The English grad went in to the music business, organising band nights and managing acts.

The product designer then spent a while in branding with Wolff Olins. He was in his time, also a very serious racing cyclist.

The English grad then went back to study at Central St. Martins and became a very accomplished animator (which is how I met her). She also discovered that she loves standing up in front of large groups of people, teaching and leading workshops.

So what ties these brief stories together? Both have expressed to me that they no longer feel challenged, that there must be something else to give in their creative lives. Both have user-centred leanings (one as trained ergonomist, the other discovering user research). Both are intrigued about my recent career path from IDEO, through Sense Worldwide to Engine.

Both have also articulated (like myself) that we feel like the proverbial 'square peg in a round hole' and that the established design community is struggling to provide adequately for them. Recruitment consultants on the whole don't know how to deal with these non-conformists.

So why is this interesting?

Because we need more people like this. People like this are the future. Tim Brown calls them 'T-shaped people' Whatever shape they are - for me, they're the right profile.

They're not 'Jack of all trades, master of none' but neither are they the sort of precious creatives who only design for themselves.

Props to Jeff Howard for this piece by Richard Seymour (ex Seymour Powell) from InterSections 07 'Richard Seymour: Leviathan. The rise of the Polymath'.

"Reflecting on his discipline-busting career, Richard believes that designers need to adopt a wide-spectrum approach to the future, encouraging them to broaden their bandwidths. In a lightning tour covering Leviathan, lasagne and Dan Dare he argues that we now have a unique opportunity to reinvent our future and that designers need to start focusing on the real problems that matter..."

It's a super challenging but also super rewarding world out there... I wish us all the very best of luck.

Say hello to the NEW creative team...

From where I'm standing, I’ve been seeing a gradual yet seismic power shift in what is understood to be and known as ‘The Creative Team’. But first, a bit of history, what are these so-called creative teams?

1960s-80s : Art Director + Copywriter
I guess the most ‘established’ creative powerhouse has always been the Advertising Agency Creative Team; consisting of art director and copywriter. (They that are holy yet creating that which is given away free.) Working together sometimes harmoniously, sometimes not, to deliver brief cracking, consumer targeting, and award-winning work.

They strive to create a simple message based on what the client would like the target audience to believe. Admittedly I’ve only had a few years experience of this model and it’s an over simplification so bear with me… but it’s been around for ages.

1990s : Designer + Developer
Come the mid 90’s another creative team was born in the emerging Multimedia shops – comprising the designer (or art director) and The Developer (or Programmer). Just as collaborative (but often from quite different backgrounds or industries) and importantly focussed on ideas and building tecky stuff. Here the designer is still a traditional right-brained creative whereas her partner was possibly more left-brained.

Over a few years, the mix improved – as both began to understand each other more, thinking empathically (both a blend of left and right brained) and working very much hand in glove. For a while, especially at the ‘bleeding edge’ of multimedia and digital design, the art director / copywriter was nowhere to be seen – however as the industry rapidly matured, those agencies that ‘got it’ embraced the old and new teams and appreciated their place and value.

Now let me introduce you to… The New Creative Team...

2000s : Designer + Ethnographer
Here in the early 21st century we’re seeing the rise of a new creative force. The designer is still here, but she’s likely to have a broad background including comms, interaction, possibly product or service design - and her partner is… The Ethnographer.

This super special person (they could be an Anthropologist or a Behavioural Psychologist) is totally focussed on empathically understanding us (the users) and our relationship with the world. Together the team works to learn as much as they can observing users and creating rich, inspirational insights for the generative design stages of the project. This approach has been pioneered by design and innovation consultancies such as IDEO and has brought much success to an extremely diverse range of challenges.

But this team also has a place in today’s (or maybe tomorrow’s) ad agencies, branding agencies and design consultancies where the user, and their modes and motivations need to be taken far more into account in the creation of products, services and experiences that continue to add value to the brand and start creating real value for the user in our changing world.

If I could describe this broad approach in one phrase – ‘It’s about the core, not the décor’.

Of course these three teams are not mutually exclusive and I’ve really turned up the contrast on the differences but believe me, soon the new team on the block will be combining with our other two more established teams and soon we just have One Big Happy Multi-Disciplinary Team. Hurrah!

Black and shiny...

Many thanks to Graeme for this one... a very interesting approach to the clock by product designers Art.Lebedev studio in Moscow.

The Verbarious electronic clock tells the time in words, in different formats; forty-five minutes past four, or fifteen minutes to five, or four forty-five, or a quarter to five. and all in five different languages. Aesthetically it's very much on the Apple tip - unfussed clean lines, radius corners and a mix of matt and gloss surfaces. With a design language reminiscent of the recent Olivetti MY_WAY printer by IDEO. The clock is a snip at around €135 but not available until the end of this year 'sigh' (but maybe in time for Christmas!).

As seems to be fashionable these days, they have an online store where you can buy loads of fab goodies.

They are also very accomplished graphic and interaction designers. And that's the point. These days it really pays to be multi-disciplinary, you can clearly see the benefit to the clock project of having not just quality product designers but also gifted interaction designers and graphics / tyographic designers on the team. Keep a look out for Art.Lebedev Studio. Is there no end to their talents?