Insight: Defining the Studio of 2015

Today, the only constant in the practice of design is change.

Mid-century, graphic designers focused on form. By the 1980s, designers were responsible for both the form and content of messages they were designing; they became known as communication designers. Today, designers are designing to enhance understanding when form and content are conditioned by context and impact over time. This is a different practice—one that trends toward experience design.

This change in the nature of communication design has been accompanied by a different set of expectations of what makes an effective designer. In an earlier project, “Defining the Designer of 2015,” AIGA and Adobe sought the insights of influential design thought leaders in practice, in academia and among clients to define the necessary competencies for an effective designer, given the challenges designers expect to face in 2015 and beyond.

In contrast, “Defining the Studio of 2015” explores the team and workplace dimensions of the topic, revealing a different set of expectations for design practice as they pertain to the studio. When the velocity of change in the design field comes up, it is often linked to the speed of technological developments—both hardware and software. Yet just as dramatic has been the social movement toward co-creation, collaboration and multidisciplinary, integrative design work within a practice—whether a studio, a start-up or a corporate or institutional design department.

This initiative seeks the perspectives of those visionary design thought leaders from all disciplines who have organized their studios—physically, technologically and culturally—in order to glean the greatest value from their creative design teams, who find themselves challenged by new and often difficult-to-solve problems within our increasingly complex global environment. It looks to design studios and design leaders from all disciplines that are poised for 2015 and beyond.

For “Defining the Studio of 2015,” which will run over the course of 2013, leading-edge studios will share their insights on the topic, offering an inside look at their plans and aspirations for the future. The stories in this series will not be definitive; they will be anecdotal, representing models for responding to the challenges of tomorrow.