Having a design team has become a dire necessity in almost every industry now to be able to present a brand/business in the best possible light.
Research shows that companies that invest in design and aesthetic presentation for their products, services and promotions have seen an impressive surge in product demand and customer satisfaction.
A design leader, or design team manager, is responsible for leading a group of creative individuals in order to get the best out of them. It is, however, a very challenging task as creativity cannot be forced. Being a manager is often synonymous to being authoritative, but when it comes to managing a design team a project manager has to be a team player in order to get their creative juices flowing.
We’ve put together a list of best practices that will help you effectively manage a design team:
Have one-on-one meetings:
Clear concise communication goes a long way in understanding and effectively managing a design team. A lot of designers are under constant pressure for delivering exceptional work in a short time frame.
Having one-on-one meetings with designers helps you connect with them individually and give them feedback on their work. You also get the opportunity to help them with any pressing issues and resolve their concerns.
Identify strengths:
No two designers think alike. It is possible for them to have similar aesthetics, but not the same working style. This is why sometimes even a good designer fails to provide good results in a particular task.
When you are aware of a designer’s capabilities you can set realistic expectations and get assured results. Understand and identify their strengths and allocate work accordingly.
Make use of management tools:
Managing a team of creative individuals working on multiple things simultaneously can get overwhelming. It can very soon become chaotic trying to make everyone work in sync and deliver work on time.
You can opt for a free project management software to plan and allocate resources in an organized manner. It allows you to keep track of everyone’s progress within a project and identify which designers are available for upcoming work.
Establish clear goals:
Timelines often get pushed or delayed with design teams because no one can accurately predict how much time certain tasks take. To tackle this, a design manager must establish clear long term and short term project goals to make sure things don’t go out of hand.
Giving designers clear briefs and defining their roles gives them a sense of purpose. Having an understanding of what exactly is expected of them allows them to focus.
Keep them motivated:
Motivation is the key when working with design teams. Good design takes time and effort and it could easily be misunderstood as being lazy. Once you have given a designer a deadline, stay in touch with them to understand roadblocks and motivate them to overcome them.
Another important reason to keep motivating your design team is to help them break through creative blocks. They are under constant scrutiny to come up with something outside the box and this can lead them to feeling burnt out.
Encourage experiments:
Nothing great comes out of routine. Designers need to break the old patterns and experiment with new ideas. As a design team manager, you must encourage and support your designers in experimenting with new ideas.
When you constantly try to do new things, these experiments lead to finding more innovative ideas. Design teams who dare to experiment have been found to make a positive impact on the company’s revenue.
Conclusion:
If you want to get the most out of your design team, do not fuss over every small detail and stifle their creativity. Appreciating and uplifting them, on the other hand, goes a long way in ensuring that they are at the top of their game and constantly produce quality design work.
