The New DMI Logo: Boldly Visualizing What We Do
With the start of this spring semester comes the launch of our new DMI logo. Based on the four key skillsets outlined in the Competency Framework, these bold symbols are the new face of DMI.
What is the Competency Framework?
As a vanguard in the field of undergraduate-level Design Management education, a key question in the formation of our curriculum was: what skills should be developed at the Bachelor’s level to prepare students for careers in this unique management field? It’s clear that successful designers are often unprepared for leadership roles. Likewise, managers from other functional backgrounds generally don’t understand design processes. There is evidently a need for this particular skillset, but what abilities does that include?
The Competency Framework is our answer to this problem. Developed by DMI lecturer Sarah Ruedi and Program Chair Jan-Erik Baars, it the result of research conducted with industry leaders regarding which skills were the most necessary for Design Managers. The 14 qualities defined fit into four main categories and form the basis for the course of study here at DMI.
Manage the Design Process
This is the most fundamental of the four Competences. It also represents the most traditional role Design Managers have played: project managing design teams. The ability to strategically define the tasks at hand (typically in a design brief) and map out the processes necessary to complete them successfully is central to this aspect.
By the time they complete their studies, DMI graduates are fully able to manage the design process. As you can see in the graphic below, the other competency areas are introduced, but primarily developed later in one’s professional life.
The design process includes a series of cyclical iterations, so here it is represented with a free yet directional curl. You’ll also recognize this loop from the Lucerne Design Management Process model. In this symbol, as with the others, the square frame represents the domain of Design Management, the structure DM provides within which these activities can take place.
Mediate Business Value
This area of competence connects “Design Doing” to Business Purpose: it makes sure that any design processes are in-line with the goals an organization wants to achieve. Whereas design processes in the first competency frame can be self-contained, here design must connect to other aspects of and stakeholders in an organization to ensure their intentions are aligned. By and knowing how to tailor communication to the needs of varied stakeholders, design can help organizations succeed and gain legitimacy in the process.
Its graphic representation captures the typical business goal of growth with an upward-facing arrow. It can also be seen to express the increase in the value of both design and the organization itself when design is used strategically.
Foster Creative Environments
Whether working with designers, professionals from other functional backgrounds or interdisciplinary teams, Design Managers are experts at creating environments for meaningful creativity. This is one of the primary reasons Design Management exists at all: the needs of exuberant creation and mechanized management don’t traditionally match. Wherever they find themselves, Design Managers can create spaces of open-mindedness and trust where effective collaboration can thrive.
This box has tidy and well-defined borders that allow for all kinds of inventive craziness to occur inside. Just like the clear timeframes and objectives of a well-managed design process, it creates a framework where creative energy can flourish without losing sight of its goals.
Connect and Convince Others
This set of abilities, the final of the four, is the most advanced. In fact, we only begin to build this invaluable skillset in our program. It can only be developed over the course of one’s lifetime, with years of navigating interpersonal relationships and professional experience. It involves connecting the function of design to business purpose: determining why an enterprise exists and how design is integral in that.
This set of leadership skills include the translation of abstract ideas into actionable information (sense-making), self-awareness and empathy. At this level, Design Managers can promote an organization’s vision and bring purpose to any of its activities.
In its graphic form, a horizontal arrow purposefully connects vertical silos to bring direction to an organization.
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This strong new set of symbols is the new face of DMI, so you’ll be seeing it around. While the “think outside the box” icon will remain our profile image across social media, you’ll still find the “CompFrame Quartet” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Linkedin.
Here’s to our fresh look, and the start of a new semester!