Almost four years ago, right after our first child was born, I had the idea to change the name of our company to People Design. My wife and business partner, Yang Kim, holding our baby boy, said, “Now?” I purchased the web domain name and sat on the idea for a while.

Baby Steps

Change can be scary. Not that we ever loved the name BBK Studio, but it had become comfortable. Rocking the boat could be unwise. I floated the idea with everyone here and with other people I admire, to mixed but mostly positive reviews. Many loved the name, while others thought it was a bit vague. We let the idea percolate.

Time passed. We had another child.

We tried a whole lot of other names. We discussed our value propositions, mission statements, and core values. We led ourselves through exercises we’ve designed for our clients, to get to the core message, the story of why they exist. And that first idea continued to be our best idea. In the end, we trusted each other, which is at the core of any good design process. People trusting in each others’ abilities is where real change happens.

Open Source Branding

Now my son is four, my daughter two. Community-based websites like Twitter and Facebook have dominated internet press, and Microsoft is in full swing with its People Ready. This year’s Image, Space, Object seminar by AIGA was on People-Centered Brand Experiences. We feel validated. It’s not a new idea. It’s not an exclusive idea. It’s a good idea.

As a name, People Design runs counter to the conventional wisdom of targeting a niche market, owning search engine marketing terms, or claiming exclusive intellectual property on a name. But I couldn’t see our becoming a Viant or Scient or Aquent or Altria. These names, while protectable, are not very meaningful. Quick — which is the new name for Phillip Morris? We could just put the names of our leaders on the door, but this firm is a collective of too many smart people. We all lead at some point. We know that choosing a name like People Design will force us to work harder to be known. But we have never minded hard work.

Having been through a few branding initiatives in my day, I wanted a name that painted a picture, that people could say, and that I could explain to my family. In the end, it’s difficult for me to separate the name from my feelings about what design is about — intentionality, creativity, utility, empathy, modernity.

I absolutely believe that it is less important for a designer to be a creative genius (the usual stereotype, followed by natural skepticism) than a conduit or catalyst for innovation and a visual translator — a coach and guide of the creative process. I think our new company name somehow upholds these ideas. A good designer helps people design.

All We Are Saying

Design is about people, for people, by people. But people are often the missing component in design. Too much of design is about itself. We believe in people-centered design. What could be more banal, or more profound? The best design is often invisible. At a recent conference, Bruce Sterling said that the future isn’t clean Bauhaus modernism nor dirtied-up Blade Runner futurism, but something in the middle. In the future, there are always just people.

Design is a verb. Design is a process, not an artifact. We believe that processes are more important than artifacts. Who designs? People do. We will focus on the design process and the people involved in it.

Markets are people. We talk about markets and marketing. Markets are just people who want things, or who might want things. Understanding the people in our customer’s markets will help us help them market effectively.

Users are people. When we talk about users and usability, we’re saying that people actually use the things that we design. We make sure to include users as we design and work hard to understand what they need.

Our customers are people. So we include and collaborate with them in our work. We empathize with our customers. I suppose that’s why they have been so loyal.

Designers are people, too! And people are designers. It’s a cliché but true that in any organization, people are the greatest asset. We are collaborators in a true sense, internally and with our clients and their customers. Work today is too complex for any one person, and people will support what they help to build.

We will happily rely on each other to build our future.

Welcome to People Design.