Evolution of the Graphic Designer
It is my believe that all graphic designers have the potential to become entrepreneurs simply by virtue of their ability to think creatively, generate ideas and help clients bring those ideas to market by creating and executing commercialized branding programs. However, both students and professionals alike appear simply to lack the business acumen or experience to translate their original ideas into viable business opportunities.
While the system of Design Thinking and discipline of Design Management each supports the integration of business and design, my school of thought tends to focus on success at the organizational level, rather than Denise Anderson: Graphic Design and Entrepreneurship: The Rise of the Design Entrepreneur at the individual level. The result is that graphic designers often lack the business education, structure and resources to pursue entrepreneurial endeavours. If graphic designers want to bring their own ideas to market, they need to know what to do, how to do it and where to find the network and resources necessary to launch and build sustainable businesses. In order for this to occur, graphic designers need to think and act more like traditional entrepreneurs.
The Graphic Designers need supplemental business education that is tailored to understanding the full life cycle of how to take a product or service from idea to market. They also need to understand the concept of risk and how much of it they are willing to take in order to pursue entrepreneurial ventures, as well as understand the common traits of entrepreneurs and how to draw upon or develop similar traits in the context of their role as graphic designers. The acquisition of this business knowledge, coupled with graphic designers’ innate ability to think creatively and innovatively, will be the driving force in helping graphic designers become successful Design Entrepreneurs.
It is my opinion that the combination of business education and design education is innovative because it creates a new type of entrepreneur: the Design Entrepreneur. Design entrepreneurs have the power to speak the languages of both business and design so that they can effectively (and profitably) take an idea from concept to market. According to Fixson and Read, “the ability to translate between two languages and being comfortable switching between two different thought worlds is an ideal skill with which to identify and make completely new connections (2012).” For these reasons, undergraduate graphic design programs must begin to incorporate into their programs business education that is tailored specifically to the needs of graphic designers.