The Design Process and Why It Matters.
A White Paper by Catalyst Exhibits
It is, perhaps, natural to begin any discussion of design with a question such as, "What is design?" Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, such questions yield a staggering variety of answers, most of which are not useful... or only limitedly so. And this paper is intended to be useful... and somewhat brief. Furthermore this paper is not a treatise on the ousia of design. The focus here is practical: What is our Design Process and Why Does Our Design Process Matter... to exhibitors, to exhibit attendees, to exhibit providers, and to those various (yet important) purveyors of specialized labor and skill who make tradeshow exhibiting possible: Installation & Dismantle (I&D) teams, the building trades, freight handlers and so forth.
You should also know, up front, that a designer has not written this paper. There are designers everywhere one looks here -- and this paper will briefly address that particular issue -- but this writer is not one of them. It is hoped that this paper will be something for the rest of us.
Thirdly, this paper makes no pretense at neutrality. Here at Catalyst Exhibits, we believe in the things good trade show exhibit design can accomplish. Another way to state this would be that we know what bad design can prevent you from accomplishing. Good rental booth design saves money. Good design generates leads and sales. Good design is IMPACT, and IMPACT is what a tradeshow exhibit is all about. Good Design = Value. In other words, exhibit efficacy is design efficacy. This paper is, therefore, an argument in favor of understanding design.
At times, the subject matter here will brush up against issues like efficiency, flexibility and tradeshow IMPACT. Do not expect detailed explorations of those subjects here. We will assert argumentative results that have been made (and proven) elsewhere... in other papers.
As promised above, we will not deeply dive into the mire of "what design is" (mostly because the question is impossible to answer to everyone' satisfaction). The truth is that "what design is" actually changes, just as society changes. The notion of design, society at large and our roles within it are interlinked.1 In some ways, the history of design is the story of civilization.
With exception of that which is not naturally occurring - some one designed everything that exists. Some design is good. Some is bad. Everything around us in civilization is the product of design.
But, for our purposes, we need not go too deeply in that esoteric neighborhood.
Design implies a purpose. Design implies problem solving. One of our founding partners here at Catalyst Exhibits is a designer. (He will, no doubt, hate this paper, as it will necessarily be incomplete. But again, this paper is for the rest of us.) If there is anything that one can reliably expect him to say in any situation, it is something to this effect:
"Design is artful but we are not artists. We are designers. We are here to solve our clients' problems. Those problems might be sales related or traffic related or both or neither. Budget is important too. All of these things and more are the responsibility of the designer."
Perhaps Bruce Archer said it best: "Design is that area of human experience, skill and knowledge which is concerned with man’s ability to mould his environment to suit his material and spiritual needs."[i] This writer happens to agree. After all, design touches everything. Your quality of life is very much a function of the quality of design around you. "Design underpins every form of creation from objects such as chairs to the way we plan and execute our lives."[ii]
Just imagine, then, how important "design" is to the exhibit business. It is integral. It is everything.
Design: a verb and a noun. Exhibit houses "sell" it in their products. ALL Costs are directly related to it. Installation and Dismantle (I&D) teams are constantly influenced (positively or adversely) by the functionality of it. The tradeshow attendee experience is determined by it. And most often it is exhibitors themselves (consumers of exhibit goods) that arbitrate it.
Perhaps this paper will be useful.
1 In 1984, the great British sociologist, Anthony Giddens, expanded upon an idea he'd mentioned earlier (in Central Problems of Social Theory in 1979) by publishing The Constitution of Society. His idea (one of them) was something he described as "Structuration Theory." This theoretical approach is (an attempt at) a reconciliation of several heretofore "irreconcilable" theoretical dichotomies of social systems. Why is this relevant here... in a paper about design? Simple. Giddens' life's work forms a 'grand synthesis' of sociological theory... and design is part of it.
He states that some social practices are ordered across space and time (The Constitution of Society p. 2) and "design" generates both mediums and outcomes, with every ending marking a new beginning. Design changes society. Society changes design. Kind of heavy, maybe. But the effects of design (both good design and bad design) are far reaching. When you look at your next exhibit, consider that design is much more than "do I like the shape."
[i] Source: Archer, Leonard Bruce (1973) “The Need for Design Education” Royal College of Art
[ii] Source: Designer Dino Dini in a talk given at the 2005 Game Design and Technology Workshop held at Liverpool John Moores University, in the UK.
Table of Contents
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Introduction
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page 1
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Nomenclature and Confusion
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page 4
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What is a Design Process?
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page 6
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The Role of Design in Your Exhibit Program
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page 7
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The Catalyst Design Process
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page 10
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Design and the Ongoing Nature of Exhibit Programs
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page 13
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Design and "The Right Thing To Do"
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page 15
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Conclusion
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page 17
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