4. Make Your Case
When Ann Neumann came on board as the Liberty
Science Center’s director of design, there was already
an overall rebranding project underway. The New
Jersey museum had worked with an outside company
to do extensive market research, but when the
visuals started coming in, Neumann wasn’t happy.
She felt the solutions were generic and the in-house
team could create something more specific to the
center. Instead of complaining, she put together
an aggressive proposal to bring the project back inhouse,
and her idea was approved.
Her advice for designers in similar situations is
to make the business case for what you’re proposing.
To win projects, in-house teams have to show
they can deliver work that’s equal—if not better—in
quality to that of external designers. Plus, they need
to prove that they’re affordable and can meet the
project deadline. One thing Neumann pointed out,
for example, was that her department could handle
the redesign while still fulfilling their regular duties
producing the museum’s collateral material.
The museum’s rebranding included everything
from a new logo to communication materials. It also
helped Neumann and her young design department
prove themselves in a big way. “You have to establish
your credibility and promote the talent of the staff,”
she says. “We’re only as good as our last project.”
Now that the new system is in place, there’s a new
company-wide rule: Anything that the public will see
has to be written by the communication department
and designed by Neumann’s 10-person team. It helps
maintain brand consistency, as well as high quality.
Recommended Resources
Bringing Graphic Design
In-House: How
and When to Design It
Yourself, by Orange-
Seed Design, $35,
Rockport Publishers
InSource: An organization
of in-house
graphic design professionals,
InSource
enhances “the understanding,
impact and
value of in-house
design within the corporate
environment.”
InSource was created
in 2002 to fill the void
in opportunities for
dialogue, training, and
support for in-house
design directors and
managers. The perfect
antidote for corporate
creative isolation,
InSource sponsors
seminars on a range
of topics relevant to
in-house designers,
and if you’re too far
away to travel, you
can sign up to listen
in by phone for a
modest fee.
