Art Event: Keith Granet- The Business of Design
The presentation that Keith Granet gave about his work had its ups and downs. While interesting and rather informative, since I plan on going into a form of design myself, it also had its downfalls. Granet opened his presentation with a video showcasing a few of his clients and their opinions about his occupation and how his business changed and enhanced their lives. He described his firm that assists designers as providing “things you have to do to things you want to do”. His book, the Business of Design, gives advice to designers as to how to turn their passion into a profitable business, and he recommends it as a “must read” for all design students.
To explain his business further, Granet stated that it can be divided into four “buckets” of business: management consulting, product development, design leadership network, and business design. He also holds summits where leaders in the design field meet to share ideas. He then talked more about his business and many techniques and ideas that he said would help designers and business people, including good listening skills, finding work when you are at your busiest, and being disciplined, talented, and having “chutzpah”.
Overall I found Granet’s presentation interesting, but not necessarily helpful for my aspect of design that I am interested in as a career: exhibition design. I also found that a few bits of content that he shared were unnecessary, including the video at the beginning where his clients shared their opinion of him. I feel as if I should not be forced to have an opinion of someone based on what others think, but on how the person is themselves. I did really appreciate his respect for Hartwick College, however, as respect for this small school I have attended for almost a full four years is in short supply.
