Design with Project Management

New York University

Design with Project Management

Chengcheng Shi

Management of Information System

Michael Shum

March 5th, 2018

Abstract

The paper talks about the importance and necessity to integrate Design and Project Management. In order to address the current issues occurring due to the lack of communication and management for projects between the design industry and clients, designers and architects are encouraged to bring Project Management into the design and delivery fold to optimize the experience for the customers, for it is the abstract that they really desire and value. Analyzing the requirements of clients and integrating these two disciplines can allow designers to better anticipate risk, better balance constraints, improve their ability to think from the user perspective, and effectively improve team communication.

Introduction

Design and Project Management sound like two separate concepts with only one similarity, which is working on projects with project teams. One is about, for outsiders, the outcome of designed products or environments, while the other one is more about the process and duration, management. Architects and designers are compelled to be part of the creative process and passionate about making something great. They spend tremendous time and energy on the design processes and making sure their work is special, different and interesting. However, for them, the management of the project is a secondary matter, and it is just something that they have to do to protect their results. As a consequence, no matter what the outcome, many clients are not satisfied with the delivery process and don’t consider it a pleasant experience.

Design with Project Management

This situation is not something new to the design field. Working and communication with clients is always one of the hardest part of the design processes, but ironically, the only way to create work that both fits into clients’ lifestyles and creates the best experience for both of the clients and designers is to work hand-in-hand with communication. For instance, despite the fact that Farnsworth House, built by Mies van der Rohe, one of the greatest and most influential architects in the world and in the history, is one of the 20th century’s most delicate masterpieces, Farnsworth put Mies in court, indicating that he met neither the needs nor the desires of the client. The real inhabitation life of Farnsworth was described by Matilda Bathurst, who is a critic on Art and Design for Cereal Magazine: “And where was she to store her clothes? Mies had not accommodated for more than a minimalist lifestyle…She replaced them (silk curtains which were destroyed by the flood) with bamboo slats to hide from the eyes of the journalists, daytrippers, architecture students, and photographers, who, from the very first, had come to see the Modernist idea which had caused such controversy. Who had come to see what perfection looked like” (Bathurst). As a grownup woman, living in a glass box, which is the basic design of the house, she felt that she lost her privacy and afterwards, she was rejected when she asked him to change.  Another famous case is Azuma House, which was designed by a famous architect Tadao Ando in Osaka, Japan. Attempting to build a house that keeps you away from the heavy-loaded life and brings the nature back to you, the architect made a concrete box, which was permeated with natural environment, and that created a quiet space from the city. It enabled the client to appreciate the four seasons just sitting at home. However, structurally he designed the atrium, which connected every room of the house, without rooftop, which caused a lot of unnecessary troubles for the client. They had to clean the fallen leaves in autumn and snow in winter, and couldn’t go to restroom without an umbrella on rainy days (设计便利店). What we need to do is not only fully understand what the clients really want and need, but also create memorable experiences for clients as they go through the design process.

In fact, more and more design companies nowadays confirm that clients are asking for higher levels of liability and leadership than ever before to ensure their projects to be successful. For those people who just graduated from universities or graduate schools, it is very hard to look for a position in design field, especially Interior Design and Architectural design, as the demand for these professionals is getting weaker, and the market of these fields is getting saturated. What the companies want the most right now is no longer junior designers, but experienced professionals and project managers or people with project managing experience, because organizations realized the importance of Project Management in the design process, delivery process, project success and continuous enhancement.

Consider that people are still willing to pay for experiences and entertainment with their limited budgets, for example, even during the economic recession. Take Starbucks. People like to go there and pay a higher price for the coffee due to the atmosphere deliberately and subtly designed by the designers, and also, for coffee lovers, the smell of coffee that fills the space. What’s more, because of the comfortable sofas as well as the hospitable staff, people are happy to buy that experience. “People want places where they can get inspired and get comfortable,” explains Liz Muller, senior vice president, Creative, Global Design & Innovation of Starbucks, in an interview with Architectural Digest (Kellogg). Have you ever noticed how you line up for your coffee in Starbucks? You are lining up alongside the cashier counter instead of vertically to it. It is designed to enhance the customers’ experience when they are in the long queue. People easily get annoyed or impatient when they have to wait for a long time. Lining up along the counter where the coffee is made, the customers are looking at the process of how the coffee is made instead of the back of the head of the person in front of you. Besides, engaging yourself, even passively, into something, especially something dynamic, reduces the feeling of wait time, and in turn reduces your temper. Even though you still need to wait to get your coffee, your experience will be so much different, and that’s why people like spending their time and money there, not just for the drinks.