The business of design

Design, by nature is a field vested in creativity. We work against the grain, break rules, and manipulate the "known" or familiar. This is perhaps best described by our department's logo, "ask forgiveness, not permission," but makes it difficult to consider how and where rules work into this business. To learn about the inner workings of these business affairs, we developed mock design firms, even dividing our groups into partners and staff. I worked with my group to devise the business plan. This was particularly challenging, considering the rigid, rule based nature of such a document, but with some precedent work it became more clear where the line must lie between business and design. We accuountd for pretend backgrounds of each team member, as well as the history of our firm. I enjoyed exploring the possible specifications to tailor to certain markets. In our case, Helix design caters to large, global investors and maintains relations with big business on an international scale. This sort of clientele was incredibly exciting, but terribly difficult to budget for. We are accustomed to small local projects with rather low budgets. To consider finances for a multimillion dollar skyscraper carried us into vastly unfamiliar territory.