Introduction
Every day around the world , hundreds of thousands of people are commissioning and managing designers. Their output is staggering , and worth billions .
Every man made object you can see , touch , read , and in some cases, . eat ! had to be commissioned and designed by someone.
Most managers however are poorly prepared to deal with " Creatives" and receive little or no formal training in their management. It is often assumed that managing a creative process is no different to a manufacturing one.
In reality experience is picked up by trial and (often very costly )error.
The design industry is less than helpful on this issue , like most service based professions it tends to shroud it's processes in jargon and vague definitions , possibly fearful that if it's customers really understood what's going on, they would either interfere, or take the job away and do it themselves .
The purpose of this article is to demystify the creative process that should run through every design commission, and help those involved to get the best possible solution regardless of the money they have available .

Forests have been felled to satisfy philosophers writing on the nature of creativity. How has it evolved? , where does it come from? , what trigger's it?. The theories of creativity are numerous and fascinating , but of no concern to us here because of one simple fact ...
You can't control it !
This is a terrifying thought to anyone about to commission a designer.
For people with a manufacturing background it is especially alarming. The thought that any industrial process could be out of control conjures up images of burst high pressure pipes or sparking electric cables thrashing about in the darkness .
Yet the fact persists . The actual spark of creativity which gives the designer you have commissioned a great idea . . . can not be controlled !
What you can control are the following.

1 Follow a process to measure and check your progress
2 Pick the right designer
3 Set them to work on the right task
4 Give them a thorough design brief
5 Set a sensible design budge