The Creative Within - 07/06

Welcome to the 2006 American Inhouse Design Awards Annual. Chosen from more than 4,000 entries, the winning pieces showcase graphic design for commerce and culture at its best by professionals who ably advance their clients’ objectives and build meaningful value for their enterprises. I have never been prouder to publish an issue. The winning designers and design teams should be prouder still.

In an ideal world, that sentiment could and should conclude the welcoming phase of this edition. Good design is good design, whether the creative comes from within or without –– end of discussion. But more needs to be said, because the achievement is even more profound when seen in a broader context.

Muscle Flexing

First, the winning pieces represent more than individual triumphs, as important as those are. They also symbolize some healthy muscle flexing by a significant segment of our community that is increasingly getting its due. Signs of the rising influenceof, and interest in, inhouse design are everywhere: this annual, for one, but also the dizzying growth of InSource, an association of corporate creatives, from 25 to 1,000 members; the increasing number of events and conferences sprouting up to address design management matters; the sheer size of the group, now estimated at upwards of 50,000 in the United States alone; and anecdotal evidence that more and more companies have come to understand that, in a cluttered and competitive post-industrial era, great design can be the great differentiator.

Tradeoffs

Second, the path to design solutions are often very different for inhouse creatives from that of an independent graphic design firm or advertising agency. As observed by Tracey Turner of The Creative Group — generous sponsors of the American Inhouse Design Awards program — the advantages of working inside are significant but the related trials and tribulations can make the experience “not for the faint of heart.”

Certainly, there are real advantages to “inhouse” for the individual and the organization, and these are worth a quick recap.

For the designer, advantages can include: relatively more regular and predicable hours; corporate perks such as stock, benefits and even child care; security, stability and a certain level of comfort; the opportunity to develop strong business relationships with internal clients; a shared vision and purpose regarding the organization’s mission; knowledge and understanding of the company’s products or services; access to resources and information; a chance for more teamwork, cooperation and collaboration with first-rate professionals in many disciplines; and an opportunity to work in diverse media and types of projects.

From management’s perspective, the upside includes: onsite convenience and access; designers with intimate knowledge the brand, corporate culture and business objectives; potentially faster turnaround; someone who knows how to interface with external vendors; the chance to receive personal attention and be involved in the shaping of the project; and an often more efficient and affordable solution than working with outside resources.

R-e-s-p-e-c-t

Sounds great. Sometimes it is. But frequently, inhouse departments must confront and overcome an essential challenge: gaining the respect of the decisionmakers within the company or organization, as well as the broader creative and business communities.

Topping the list of issues is the constant pressure to justify the department’s existence, and to show the value of it’s role. Crucial to this effort is the need to communicate to upper management that a first-rate design department advances the company’s vital branding and sales objectives while also yielding bottomline savings and efficiencies.

From this core challenge, a series of additional issues arise: marketing the design department so that the fun, sexy and important assignments stay inside; achieving the proverbial “seat at the table” to help shape strategy early on; building a quality team that possesses the specific skill sets, attitudes and lifestyle priorities designers need to successfully fit; maintaining enthusiasm and freshness in a setting that is not always conducive to creativity and has its share of repetitive projects; and working smoothly with an outside agency when a decision is made to outsource.

As if that were not a full plate for inhouse design teams, recently elected InSource president, Marty Shova, observes: “Today, many of these issues are becoming more and more critical. Corporate creative teams are under tremendous pressure to do more with less. They are working with less time, fewer marketing dollars and increased expectations driven by businesses with lofty goals delivering increasingly standardized products. Many companies have recognized the importance of maintaining the personality and culture of a brand, and proper design management is the cornerstone to insure brand equities are maintained. That is why groups like ours remain dedicated to help these creative teams by providing the tools and real world solutions that help showcase inhouse design as a strategic marketing function.”

Two Steps Forward

Graphic design is more critical than ever to the success of products, services, information and ideas. Inhouse departments are perfectly situated to play a truly integral role in advancing the goals and building value. Thankfully, many design departments are successfully pushing against the inherent constraints, converting upper management, and upending conventional wisdom.

Speaking of conventional wisdom, it has long held that inhouse projects and executions are not the stuff of design annuals, and that inhouse designers do not expect their efforts to be validated. If that ever were ever true, it is no longer.