International Design Day

Kindness is important in every sense – not least across the business landscape. Since start up nearly 25 years ago, kindness has been embedded within The Sign Maker ethos. Kindness to the planet has been paramount while our customers have remained at the heart of every sign and memorial. Although ‘kind design’ may not be a phrase we often hear, this year’s theme for International Design Day poses a curious question – ‘Is It Kind’?

With this in mind, we’re taking a moment to explore the concept of kindness from a design perspective. We’re keen to join the conversation surrounding ‘kind design’ and we’re looking forward to sharing the platform with fellow businesses and designers. 

What Does Kind Design Mean To Us?

This year’s theme is opening up significant dialogue around kindness within design practices. Inevitably, these discussions are asking designers to consider the success of their designs by a metric of kindness. The International Council of Design has suggested that humility and generosity are two of the defining characteristics of ‘kind design’. That’s all well and good, but what does this mean to The Sign Maker and, perhaps most importantly, our designers? At first glance, appreciating kindness from a design perspective may seem unusual. However, Davey Chivers (our experienced in-house designer) thoughtfully reflected upon what ‘kind design’ means to him. 

Davey expressed, “At The Sign Maker, many of our projects are very personal. You can’t help building up empathy.” He’s right, of course, the personal nature of sign-making loans itself to needing a foundational level of empathy. Davey continued, “Traditional or modern, simple or sophisticated, young or old in style – drawing up a design that looks great is our professional obligation. However, a design drawn for a memorial that assists with healing and closure, or configuring a design that forms part of a sign for our client to be proud of displaying – that’s not ‘kindness’, as such, but it’s human.” Bridging the gap between the humaneness of empathy and the practicality of sign design is exactly what the council of design is calling for. 

When it comes to design at The Sign Maker, we strive to partner with each of our customers. We do this by building relationships and showing a professional level of personal attention to each design. Simultaneously, we manage to be mindful of the project’s purpose while designing from the perspective of necessity and kindness. Although sign design is a profession, the human nature of collaboration requires the sort of kindness that is intrinsically woven throughout the process.  

Weaving Kindness Into The Design Process

Because we craft such a breadth of products onsite, the diverse range of skills needed for each design is significant. When discussing International Design Day with Davey, he reflected on the design process. He provided insight into how he approaches designing with kindness (using his natural empathy, generosity, and wealth of experience). 

Where a ‘brief is concerned’, often our clients have taken great care in working out exactly what they need from our service. In these instances, Davey refrains from ‘designing’. He, instead, carries out a client’s vision (even if their ideas don’t always adhere to ‘best design practices’). When necessary, Davey will tread carefully, perhaps offering an alternative design option if he considers that a design could be elevated. This might include, for example, presenting a design with a more natural symmetry or exploring an image that may result in neater craftsmanship. Davey reiterated, “The end result should always have a customer’s DNA within it; it’s THEIR sign, THEIR memorial, THEIR design.” In essence, it is our belief that we should honour a client’s brief. We will only bring design flourishes when required (as opposed to carrying out our vision of perfection). 

From time to time, a client may not have shared a brief. At that point, Davey approaches his work as you might expect a designer to. He gathers hints from our clients and engages with the subject of their design in a way that our customers can appreciate. 

Our design team is made up of four individuals who each offer something different when it comes to design. However, this shared vision of designing with heart is what we cherish most at The Sign Maker. Their ability to weave compassion into the process, and to measure the job that they’ve done considering the metric of kindness, is something truly to be proud of. 

Getting The Most From Your Sign Design

At The Sign Maker, we pride ourselves on using best business practices throughout the business, enabling you to get the most from our service. From house signs and business signage to memorials and wheel covers, there is no limit to what we can craft and design – the entire team is on hand to work with you. 

It would be a privilege to design alongside you should the need arise. Rest assured that we’ll continue to approach your sign or memorial with kind practices throughout the business. We’re so glad to be part of the conversation this International Design Day.

Telephone: 01769 561355 | Email: sales@sign-maker.net | https://linktr.ee/thesignmaker

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