The recent UK Customer Service Institute survey showed that, across all sectors, levels of customer satisfaction have fallen in recent years. The economic situation is of course playing a part and this is potentially driving some organisations, as the economy recovers, to push for winning new customers at the expense of focusing on serving existing customers. Consumer expectations are also going upwards, they are more likely to use things like social media to air any discontent and their needs and preferences are rapidly changing. For organisations addressing this, they will take various measures, some strategic, some tactical. This should include...
“We had the pleasure of having Simon work with us for around 18 months. During that time Simon challenged us and presented us with ideas for taking Hyphen to new levels, and getting us out of the box it’s all too easy to get into as busy business owners”….more.
...Delighted to announce that my client Hyphen is working with Bosch Lawn & Garden’s product development team to research future technologies and innovations for Lawn and Garden products. Supporting the in-house team at Bosch, Hyphen are creating innovative designs and working prototypes…more.
...Edengene has recently explored the benefits and pitfalls of Design Thinking to understand what big businesses may be able to learn from designers. Here they interview my client Mike Elam for an inside perspective on how Hyphen approaches innovation…more.
...Chris Girling, one of the UK’s top wayfinding design experts and lead wayfinding designer for the London 2012 Games, is joining CCD Design and Ergonomics to drive the agency’s wayfinding offer. At LOCOG (the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games), Chris was lead wayfinding designer, responsible for the design and delivery of the London 2012 wayfinding and signage kit of parts. He worked with senior management designing a wayfinding and signage strategy for all competition and non-competition venues including the Olympic Park Common Domain, the Olympic Village and the Media Broadcast Centre. His work included the creation of a...
Delighted to announce that leading intellectual property (IP) specialists, the Marks & Clerk Group, have launched a product design and IP consultancy service in partnership with my product design and development consultancy client, Hyphen Design. The Group’s consulting arm, Marks & Clerk Consulting, will now offer product development services with IP protection at the heart of the brief. In particular, consultancy will be provided for functional products such as professional equipment and tools, household and leisure products. IP protection for functional products, in the form of a patent, grants a party the right to prevent others from exploiting its invention...
The author Ann Landers once said, “There are really only three types of people: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who say…What happened?” Which of these people-types reflects you and your design team’s current behaviours – the proactive, reactive or generally inactive? * There is only me in my team, on a full-time basis anyway Simon, but I would like to say I aspire to the 1st – for my sins. * So long as you’re proactive to all of the above you may be alright. Watch, question, deliver. * Personally, being a ‘driver’...
A candid perspective by Bill Lee for Harvard Business Review Traditional marketing — including advertising, public relations, branding and corporate communications — is dead. Many people in traditional marketing roles and organizations may not realize they’re operating within a dead paradigm. But they are. The evidence is clear. First, buyers are no longer paying much attention. Several studies have confirmed that in the “buyer’s decision journey,” traditional marketing communications just aren’t relevant. Buyers are checking out product and service information in their own way, often through the Internet, and often from sources outside the firm such as word-of-mouth or customer...
“Owners of small design firms – to what extent are you working IN and/or ON the business?“ * Hi Simon, this varies for me throughout the year and in all honesty I have probably been working too much in the business rather than on it recently…today I am probably working 70% on developing the business and 30% on actual project work! * Too much working IN the business is why the majority of my design clients work with me. However structure and discipline is a dual-edged sword as many creative thinkers run screaming from the very idea. Finding a harmony...
Brief extracts from a recent talk by John Gleason from ‘A Better View Strategic Consulting’ (formerly 20 years at P&G) Client challenges: Speed (to market) Scale (desire/need to grow…’being bigger is better’ thinking) Complexity Innovation (rarely delivered, more an aspiration) Value (demonstrating/seeing this clearly for their company, and cost containment) Agency pointers: Engage your whole team. Try to reveal/show/explain clearly how clients will experience your process. Client lists (whether written or often presenting the client’s logo)….what does this tell a prospective client about your role/achievement/s for those companies – ROI?). Client logos can look impressive but they tell nothing. Don’t...
