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Corporate design consultants possess the skills to see and to help others
see.
London Business School - Peter Gorb, Director, Design Management Unit, London Business School
In 1981,
before MTV ever reached one TV, Robert Pittman made a critical decision. He asked a team
of graphic designers to create an identity that presented the channel's
spirit - "open-ended, fluid, impulsive, spontaneous, defiant, disrespectful,
and unlike anything ever before." That decision resulted in one of
the world's most powerful logos and launched MTV on its way to becoming
the world's most popular music channel and Pittman on to the CEO slot
at Time Warner.
One of many success stories, the MTV case history testifies to the ability
of graphic design to build strong links between a business and its customers,
suppliers, and staff. We could cite similar accounts about Nike, Crate
& Barrel, and Starbuck's coffee. But we didn't create this text just
to wow you with the value of graphic design, but also to guide you in
working with a graphic designer early on so you can create your own success
story.
Graphic designers serve businesses by helping them communicate their most
important messages to customers, employees, stock-holders, and the general
public. Like advertising and public relations, graphic design provides
businesses with a strategic tool that can inform people, move them to
act, and influence how they perceive products, services, and companies
themselves. In fact, as in the MTV example, graphic design can literally
transform intangible assets - spirit, attitude, personality - into tangible
objects that people immediately understand. This content area is devoted
to helping businesses and other organizations tap the great potential
of graphic design. And the way to do that is to understand how graphic
design works.
Text excerpted from "The Graphic Design Handbook
for Business" ©1995 American Institute of Graphic Arts/Chicago
Chapter


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