Elisabeth Pastor, partner and co-founder of Humantific, participated in the international conference Icograda Design Week, with the slogan Straight to Business in Madrid.

This expert in design and communications, who will develop a workshop for the next edition of the Master of Communication Design Labs Masters, was at the branch of IED Master Madrid to answer a few questions regarding her personal vision of the future role of designers and the new possibilities of design and communications in the business world.

How is design reacting to the economic crisis?
Regarding the crisis situation and facing a decrease in professional demand, my recommendation is to be focus in a very direct way. Right now in Spain there are many problems and we have to find solutions, taking a little step backwards to get a better perspective and say, “in addition to knowing how to make a website or design a product, I am a designer, which means I know how to think and I can help try to solve some of these problems.” I would like to refer to the quote by Charles Eames when he was asked, “What are the frontiers of design?” and he answered, “What are the frontiers of problems?”… Design is a solution to an existing problem. There’s a lot of work to be done here.

How should a designer be trained nowadays?
One of the fundamental things in design and information management, which is still only infrequently taught, is to understand design as a way of helping people search for and find ways to do something…, aside from using communication as a form of expression. That is a fundamental part of our work, from the perspective of knowing how to communicate easily and effectively. For example, a graphic designer designs a good subway map that allows people to navigate through the city; it is something useful and permanent. Companies would give anything to have a permanent map of the market, which would allow them to direct themselves and know where things are currently going and where they can go in the future.
Designers already have the tools to make good maps; it’s just a question of learning how to apply them in the business world once they know how to interpret them. They have to know how to use the language of design to give answers to the needs that are presented to them.

What is the present-day role of designers?
The traditional vision of design is not enough to reach businessmen and be able to help them. Designers have to learn how to speak a different language, one that is not only focused on form, aesthetics…They have to give solutions to existing problems. We’re talking about Design 3.0 that goes beyond the design of a product according to a given briefing. It’s a design in which ‘Sense Making’ becomes more important, in which the creative process is shared and worked with the client in a very direct way, understanding their problems while defining the project. Encompassing processes in a more visual, strategic way, allowing them to see that you are helping them think in a new way, a way they may not be used to, to find solutions.
You can even help them find solutions in fields other than design. Designers are people who help thinking, but are not experts in the area – they do not know everything – they are not financial analysts, engineers or pharmacists. What they do is help each client think within their specialty.

This post is also available in: Spanish