We see what we mean
How might engineers and designers reach clarity faster?
At a large international company in the entertainment and education industry, a team of engineers and designers needed to bridge the gap between their very different work processes. The engineers needed to be faster and better at communicating complex ideas and concepts in a way the designers could understand. The designers had to find ways to better include the engineers in the more creative processes.
The organization found that their innovation team needed new tools and processes to move faster and smoother through their innovation process. For a long time, the different professions in the team had felt that they were not speaking the same language. Engineers were not keen to use visuals, as they knew the designers were much better. The designers were struggling with getting the details and concepts of what the engineers were saying. There was strong sense that working more visually could hold some of the answers.
We spent time understanding the workflow of the team, their use of visuals and their presentation style and material in order to come up with suggestion as to what kind of visual language and visual concept needs the team could benefit from developing.
A one-day workshop where the team of 35 engineers and designers were introduced to a visual way of working. They collectively creating more than 200 icons and 20 visual concepts. The team learnt to draw in a simple way - a challenge for both sides - leading to become better communicating complex ideas and concepts.
Visual way of working