Management - Rise of the creative drought

Lee Finnerty Page; 1

Intro 3

Management Practices 3

John Howkins: Creative shift 5

Food for (Creative) Thought: Howkins and CIIC 6

Creative Industries Innovation Centre 7

Design Management 8

Hugo&Marie 9

Architect firm’s Management 9

Summary 11

Bibliography 12

Books 12

Journals 12

Electronic 13

Images 13


Intro

Architecture firms have become increasingly complicated with the professionalism of

health and safety, and the increased number of specialisationʼs involved in realising a

building (Kolko 2010). However management consultancies and researches like John

Howkins express the belief in a shifting of the creative sector on a global scale, towards a

“creative economy”. This will change the way firms manage individuals. Individual choice

and judgment will become more valued, and pivotal in integrating the construction and

design process back to the needs of the client (Platt & Spier 2009). As creativity and

symbolic values become coveted, the individualʼs own creative input is respected, and

thinking becomes a proper job.

Yet if this global shift is being fostered by Management consultancies1 as a step in

evolving the creative sector, what are their aims? Increased worker productivity? Industry

profit? How is this affecting management down the line? i.e. From the CIIC to the

individual and to the firms. One of the examples called upon to illustrate how this particular

zeitgeist in the creative community is cross disciplinary in all sectors of creative economy

is the design management consultancy led by artists Hugo Mario and Jennifer Sims. The

architecture firm “Make Architecture” is another whose success story revolves around the

management principles in this essay.

Management Practices

This creative industries shift affects management of architects studio and the designers

atelier. The management principles of these firms need to be more individual orientated,

as recent success stories by Make architecture firm and Hugo&Marie Design management

consultancy have indicated.

The repetitive economy, of one off innovative design, has pushed consumers too far. The

choices they have been granted are too few2, “Consumers are striking back themselves,


1liketheCIIC

2DuringtheIndustrialagewhere“Onesize8itsall”.

not only in the form of the D.I.Y., fair labour, and green movements, but also by simply

withdrawing, out of sheer economic necessity, from the relentless rhythms of getting and

spending that dictate our modern lives” (Almquist & Lupton 2010, p.3).

In the past Architectʼs studio, the imagination was used to overcome certain problems of

how to create what the client wants. Now however, “Having the technologies to realise

most anything we wish to do, the question is no longer ʻhow can this be madeʼ but ʻwhat

do we want to doʼ” (Brown, et al, 2010, p.3). In the creative sector Bruce Brown (2010)

suggest we have a potential crisis of “Imagination Poverty” because of this.

Architects must remain cognizant of synthesis when they plan out a design process, this is

especially relevant in todays studio environments. In which, according to Kolko (2010),

designers attempt to “organize, manipulate, and prune gathered data into a cohesive

structure […]Design is always about synthesis - synthesis of market needs, technology

trends, and business needs” (p.15). The market needs have not always been on par with

user needs, but they have to suit the users needs for architecture and design to become a

more user orientated process.

Elizbieta Kazmierczak (2003), among other researches, argue that without the user,

design cannot exist. This is what John Howkins says, in Creative Ecologies, has

happened. Mass production does not address the individual, therefore a move to a

creative economy will appeal to the user as individual design can be tailored to suit the

consumer/client 3 (Howkins 2009). We Love Inc is a studio recently started in 2008 that

operates from around the world 4. Their main goal is to integrate the user into their

processes because they see design as collaborative. More creative firms are finding this

managerial idea the best road to success.


2TworeportsintheUK:“Constructingtheteam”1994,(LathamReport)and“Rethinkingconstruction”1998,(TheEganreport)focussedontheneedtointegratetheconstructionprocessbacktothebene8itsoftheclients(Platt&Spier2009).

4Thisisbecauseeachofthethreemembersisinadifferentcountry.Themeaningistoaddressmoretheglobalisationandallowthemtobecomemoreinvolvedwithprojectsbybeingoutintheworld:“Wewanttobecomemoreintegratedintoourclientsbusinessprocesses.Weseedesign(inthebroadestsense)ascollaborative”(Pound2010,p.30)

John Howkins: Creative shift

John Howkins5 recently published his latest book: Creative Ecologies: Where Thinking is a

Proper Job, (2009). In his book John talks about the growing importance of creativity in

todays shifting economy. Symbolic value is being added to the service industry and in the

near future more individually attuned designs will become a reality as we enter a “Creative

Economy” (Howkins 2009). This will be quite a change for the management of Small to

Medium Enterprises (SMEʼs), and the Creative Industries Innovation Centre (CIIC) is

prepared to provide entrepreneurial mentoring to these SMEʼs in an attempt to foster

creativity in the Australian service industry (Fida 2010).

The crux of Creative Ecologies is Howkins insistence of a global shift happening, a turn

away from the current model of society: “The way economics and business has

approached (economic choices) for the past fifty years has been to focus on

one-off innovation implemented in mass production with ever lower costs

and prices. Business has seen creativity and innovation as specialist

functions. I call this the repetitive economy. We are now seeing a shift to

the creative economy where, although basic goods and services have not

diminished in absolute terms, the bulk of growth comes from their added

symbolic value” (Howkins 2009, p.10).

Production from a design point of view becomes increasingly important as we move from

mass production to symbolic value and nostalgia.


6DeputyChairoftheBritishScreenAuthorityandMemberoftheUnitedNationsAdvisoryCommitteeoftheCreativeEconomy

According to Howkins (2009) there has been a move in some of the developed countries

away from a manufacture industry, towards a service industry6. “In Britain,

manufacturing declined precipitously and contributed only 14 per cent to

GDP by 2007” (p.15)7. Firms and management have revolved around this service

Industry because there is no shortage of: “[...] rich, discerning consumers seeking

cultural satisfaction, and multiple businesses aiming to supply it, often using

new technologies’. In most European cities, about 50 per cent of workers

work in so-called ‘knowledge industries’ and about 10 per cent in creative

industries” (Howkins 2009, p.16). This current model of users and clients prompted by

“Mainstream Design Research” is in pressing need of revision, already consumers are

withdrawing from the rhythms of spending and getting commercialised mass produced

goods (Almquist & Lupton 2010). The house is no longer a machine for living in, in the

service age clients expect a certain level of customization that has meaning to them.

Food for (Creative) Thought: Howkins and CIIC

“[...] only through cooperative effort will the creative sector be able to create

a culture where creative thinking is respected and valued” (Fida 2010, p.30)

John Howkins gives speeches and presentations as he travels to promote his ideas and

help foster the shift to a creative economy. In this endeavor he collaborates with the

Creative Industries Innovation Centre (CIIC) to help the Australian government cultivate

creativity in the creative industries. Some of the industries CIIC broadly defines as creative

are; publishing, visual arts, architecture, and design. A member of the CIIC Advisory board,

Shane Yeend who also spoke along side John Howkins was persuasive in the fact that the

best thing governments could do to encourage creativity was mentoring, and through

collaboration we can achieve those ends (Fida 2010). John spoke alongside Shane Yeend


6Germanyisoneofthelastdevelopedcountriestomaintainamanufactureparexcellence(Howkins2009).

7ThisserviceIndustryisdescribedbyHowkinsunderthetitle:“TheAmericanDreamMachine”,inCreativeEcologies,2009.

about “[...] the shift in global economies from a society based upon repetition and

manufacture to a society based upon novelty and experience” (Fida 2010, p.30). The CIIC

said “while innovation is global, economic development occurs within regions” (Fida 2010,

p.30). This regional business thinking complements well with Howkins global perspective.

Creative Industries Innovation Centre

The Creative Industries Innovation Centre8 offers entrepreneurial mentoring to SMEʼs in

the form of business reviews and funding support to implement the recommendations of

those reviews. “The CIIC also assist firms in the creative industries sector to make a larger

contribution to the Australian economy” (Fida 2010, p.30).

The CIIC places emphasis on business mentoring, stating it as the best thing to

realistically support Australiaʼs creative sector (Australian Government).

Yet in a creative industry ʻbusiness mentoringʼ can only go so far and beyond that is

ʻcreative mentoringʼ. Creative mentoring is where artist like Mario Hugo and Jennifer Marie

come in, who have set up consultancies to bring together different kinds of artist to create

larger projects9.

The CIIC helps small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) improve their productivity and

competitiveness by providing professional business advisory and development services.

The Centre also builds collaboration between researchers and businesses, and assists

creative businesses to access the latest technologies and market specific information

(Australian Government).

The Innovation department has done some networking of its own to help manage:

• A comprehensive Business Review.

• Industry intelligence, workshops and networking opportunities.


4TheCIICwaslaunchedinearly2009

5Largerprojectsallowformorepublicity,buttheyalsoworkindividuallydependingonclientsneeds(Hugo&Marie2008)

Through networking and collaboration across the many different industries in the creative

sector, efficiencies in specialisationʼs occur as people from broader lines of thinking come

together, like Architects, Designers and Artists (Kolko 2010).

The Centre helps SMEʼs across Australia by helping them to network with specialisationʼs

that can increase their ability to organise data into a cohesive structure through design

synthesis. CIIC has a network of Business Advisers located around the country working

one on one with firms (Australian Government).

Design Management

“I still think that there’s an inherent romance in things made by hand, in

things you can pick up, hold and smell” Mario Hugo (Webster 2010, p30).

At 27 years old Mario Hugo is already cited as an influence among a generation of

designers. He spreads his ideas of his love for the craft or handmade element in design

through his consultancy he co-set up. Along with Jennifer Marie Sims they manage artist

and designers who share their love and passion for the work they make (Webster 2010).

“Even in my drawings I tend to work on found paper; I scavenge the used bookstores for

paper and tear out the flysheets in the front and back of the books. For me itʼs a ritual,

working by hand. It feels very honest” (Webster 2010, p34).

Mario Hugo set up Hugo&Marie to represent other designers. Mario started this

management idea to help other designers who have a certain degree of craft - The

characteristics they look for in designers is someone who has “… a real kind of passion

and love in the work that they make” (Webster 2010, p.32). Hugo&Marie, Like the

architecture firm “Make”10, both respect the individual input of the people they support with

firms and consultancies, “There is a shift in the role of the individual characterised by an

increase in the occupations that value and require individual choice and judgment” (Fida


10Makeisa8irmthatisintheRIBAJournal2006forsurvivingrapidgrowthandbeinginapositiontocarefullyrecruitonlythosetheythinkwillimprovetheirentire8irm,theirsuccessisfrommanagingtheindividual(Young2006).

2010, p.30). This cross disciplinary goal is achieved through similar management

principles that apply to design consultancies, artist studios and architect firms.

Hugo&Marie

“Hugo&Marie is an imaginative consultancy specializing in artist

management. We have the pleasure of working amongst and curating

talented leaders in a number of creative disciplines. We call ourselves by

many names - artists and art directors, illustrators and designers - but we

each share the compulsion to speak in the wonderful, nuanced vocabulary of

visual media.” Mario Hugo - Introduction to Hugo&Marie Website

Many designers are making their own books, magazines, garments, crockery set, because

designers universally share a love of crafts, a lot of Designers also create their own plates

or ceramics. This individual approach means each designer adds a unique nicety anything

they create. The designers influencing this “Creative Economy” shift grew up in a

modernised and over commercial world. Hugo Mario recalls when growing up:

“ […]sitting there with plates with Transformers all over them, or GI Joe.

The world was such a particularly commercial monster” (Webster 2010, p.32).

Mario Hugoʼs Hugo&Marie is “[...]a small agency that represents talent” (Webster 2010), a

networking agency that manages artists, and brings similar ideas together to bring larger

projects to fruition11 (Webster 2010).

Architect firm’s Management

“[…] roles for all involved (are) changing, especially for the architect” (Platt &

Spier 2009, p.21).


7ThiskindofnetworkingrepresentsthesamethingthathappenedwithTheovanDoesburgasheattemptedtobringartisttogethertocreateanewmovement.ThemovementVanDoesburgaimedforhoweverwasawayfromcraftsandmoretowardsmovementsthatledtowhathasbeencalledthebyhowkinsastherepetitiveeconomy(Buxton2010).

Architectural practice has become considerably more complex in the last twenty years,

and so to has the management of the firms. When many new firms experience rapid

growth it constantly leads to even quicker decline. As architecture firms won competitions

for large projects there would usually be a rush to recruit staff to fill newly appointed

positions, yet those firms may not be adapt at managing so many people (Young 2006).

“Make”, an architecture firm that recently survived its rapid growth owes its success to the

management of individual staff members, having “an overview of staffs competencies and

skills so you can bring in what you lack” (Young 2006, p.30). This firm is an emerging

example of the shifting role of the individual, where the right networking, collaboration,

individualʼs and of course a management goal towards a creative economy, firms can

better contribute to the creative sector. These are the ends the CIIC hopes to achieve in

Australia, shaping firms, then regions to evolve the creative sector and increase industry

profit (Fida 2010).

“Many more professions are involved in realising a building, and the construction industry

has become professionalised in areas such as health and safety, management training

and continuing professional development” (Platt & Spier 2009, p.21). However in the UK

there is an unanimous feeling that there is a skills shortage in the building industry and a

decline in the quality of trades. “The industry has become litigious and more

international” (Platt & Spier 2009, p.21).

Reports like the Latham and the Egan12 report, intended to reintegrate the user into the

design process, do not raise the question “How do we create better buildings and spaces,

in short, better architecture” (Platt & Spier 2009, p.22). Rather, the concern is client

satisfaction or industry profit (Platt & Spier 2009). Industry profit is more the aim for the

CIIC as they help these firms manage their workers for the coming global shift. Part of the

reviews they do is to help the firms realise individual input and creativity for a world where

increased symbolic value means increased industry profit (Fida 2010).

Industry profit is the main objective for the creative sector, and management around it will

not alter, it is a business. In a creative economy though, increased client satisfaction

Lee Finnerty Page; 1012SeeFootnoteNº2forinfoaboutthesereports

means increased industry profit. Consumers are withdrawing from our repetitive industry

(Almquist & Lupton 2010), and to draw them back in management must address a

synthesis of all factors of design (Kolko, 2010), the market needs have changed, therefore

the design process is in dire need of revision.

Summary

The architectʼs firm has changed a lot due to economic shifts, and as changes in the past

have affected the service they provide, from the Agrarian age of crafts and handmade to

the industrial revolution and with it the shift to mass production. Now as Howkinsʼ

prediction begins to take shape in the creative sector, managerial principles will shift back

to the individual, where creative thinking becomes a proper job.

Management consultancies like the Creative Innovation Industries Centre have already

begun fostering this change by helping firms manage their workers according to the

principles Howkins stated as the foundations of a new creative sector. Although this

change as far as they see is aimed at industry profit, as is always the case in a service

based industry.

Architect and design studios like Make Architecture and Hugo&Marie become more

individually orientated and can work more on a strengths vs weaknesses management

style which is beneficial for designers and architects alike. More firms are concentrating on

what each individual can add to a task based on client needs and to avoid an

overcrowding of ideas.

This movement is still itself in a design stage but with networking and collaboration, like

what we have seen in the past, the design process can become a truly beneficial tool in

individual customization, and this new ecology can become fully implemented into society.

Fin


Bibliography

Books

Chappell,D.,Willis,J.D.2000,TheArchitectinPractice,BlackwellScience,Malden,MA.

Howkins,J.2009,CreativeEcologies:Wherethinkingisaproperjob,UQPublishing,Melbourne.

Lupton,S.2001,ArchitectsHandbookofPracticeManagement,RibaPublications,London.

Journals

Almquist,J,LuptonJ.2010,‘AffordingMeaning:Design‐OrientatedResearchfromtheHumanitiesandSocialSciences’,DesignIssues,vol.1,no,26,pp.3‐14.

Buxton,P.2010,‘Shapingthe20thCentury’,RibaJournal,p.20.

Brown,B.,BuchananR.,DoordanD.,MargolinV.,2010,‘Introduction’,DesignIssues,vol.1,no.26,pp.3‐4.

Fida,J.2010,‘Foodfor(Creative)Thought’,Fida2010:Interior/Architecture/Design/Objects/People,vol.1,no.30,p.12.

Kazmierczak,E.2003,‘DesignasMeaningMaking:MakingThingstotheDesignofThinking’,DesignIssues,vol.1,no.19,pp.45‐59.

Kolko,J.2010,‘AbductivethinkingandSensemaking:ThedriversofDesignSynthesis’,DesignIssues,vol.1,no.26,pp.15‐28.

Platt,C.,Spier,S.2009,‘LightingtheBluePaper’,arq:ArchitecturalResearchQuarterly,vol.1,no.13,pp.21‐36.

Pound,S.2010,‘ShowingYoutheLove’Urbis,vol.1,no.55,pp.30‐31.

Webster,G.2010,‘DesignIcons:MarioHugo’,ComputerArts,vol.1,no.172,pp.30‐34.

Young,E.2006,‘TheBiggerPicture’,RIBAJournal,vol.1,no.8,pp.28‐32.


Electronic

AustralianGovernment:DepartmentofInnovationIndustryScienceandresearch,2009,CreativeIndustriesInnovationCentre,8April2010,http://www.enterpriseconnect.gov.au/Innovation/Pages/CreativeIndustriesInnovationCentre.aspx

Hugo,M,JenniferM,2008,HugoAndMarie,10April2010,http://www.hugoandmarie.com/

MakeArchitecture,14Aplril2010,http://www.makearch.com/

Images

TitleImageSourcedfromwww.MarioHugo.com.Hugo,M,2006,26April2010,http://www.mariohugo.com/#/?works=42


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Management - Rise of the creative drought