Design management combines technology, design, and business management. To become a design manager, one needs an in-depth understanding of the creative process, design principles, and the ability to manage creative thinkers in sync with corporate design goals. A master’s degree is usually required, and personal qualities such as superior interpersonal skills and critical thinking are essential. Business schools are adding design management concentrations to their business degrees to teach creative thinking and management principles.
Design management is a career field that combines technology, design and business management. To become a design manager, an individual must have an in-depth understanding of the creative process and design principles, as well as the ability to mentor and manage creative thinkers in sync with corporate design goals. The education needed to become a design manager can be obtained through any number of different paths, but it usually requires a master’s degree at a minimum. Generally, to become a design manager, a student earns a master’s of business administration (MBA) with a design concentration or a master’s degree in a design field with a business concentration. With few exceptions, a design manager must have several years of experience in the field of interest.
Design management is a relatively new field that encompasses many types of design across a variety of industries, and design management educators tend to disagree about how design management is taught. Still, any design management education must combine business management with arts and design. The key element for anyone wanting to become a design manager is to be an excellent designer who is familiar with the creative process and design technology. Design managers often have a master’s degree in fine arts or an art education at the undergraduate level.
As more management professionals look to become a design manager, business schools are responding by adding design management concentrations to their business degrees that teach creative thinking. These concentrations also teach the skills needed to establish a guiding framework for the design process and use resources to increase creative productivity. Students learn various business management principles to effectively manage this process, including marketing skills, financial management elements, and project management. Design managers are the navigational link between the creative process at its most basic level and the achievement of corporate goals.
The personal qualities required by an individual who wants to become a design manager are varied. As the field encompasses not only design project management but also the integration of design principles into management philosophies, there are different types of personal qualities that add value to the various focuses of design management. Design managers almost universally must be able to manage creative teams and have superior interpersonal skills. This involves using available resources to help the creative process operate more efficiently, while keeping track of corporate goals as a whole. Design managers must also be able to incorporate business principles, think critically and attend to details.
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