The comprehensive, concise, business focused, strategic and systemic guide for the digital age.
Business as usual is no longer enough.
Organisations must adapt and innovate in order both to meet the current rapid pace of change and to fully embrace new technologies, diversity, responsibility and resource efficiency. They need to have the ‘full stack’ of industry knowledge in order to do so. Due to the sheer complexity of modern business there is no one size fits all solution so The Primer is laying out what businesses need to know to work this through with designers, developers, communicators and change managers.
The Primer is being created collaboratively by the people at the ‘coal face’ of media, technology, digital development and business transformation. Throughout their working lives, they have found the same systemic problems cropping up over and over again, and sadly it’s getting worse. Current business books and training just don’t cover the range of what they need their clients to know, and they tend to go out of date quickly.
As the digital industry has reached a certain maturity, it is now time to examine and address these interconnected, long standing issues which deeply affect business capacity and effectiveness. There is over reliance on technology to fix human problems, and multiple projects fail due to lack of commitment to the design or development process or through poor communication. Most decision makers and business strategists are not aware that they have an outdated or inadequate understanding of the very technologies, processes, systems and people that they rely on.
Up to now, our contributors have been too busy to finish the books, blogs and materials that are needed, but are now coming together to pool resources and share the principles, knowledge, insights and guidance that they know will help, both now and in the future. Many of our contributors are experts in multiple fields, and are technical authors or expert speakers.
The book is putting the case forward for a progressive, pragmatic approach, and will provide the clues, insights and expertise to enable everyone to make the necessary changes in a way that works for them. Each chapter offers both an introductory thought piece and conversations with the people devising, designing and delivering key products and service. These insights and guiding principles embrace systems thinking and cover the fields of design, communications, workplace psychology and digital development.
The Primer is written in a common sense and accessible style to ensure that each chapter can be easily understood, and is illustrated throughout with diagrams, charts. There is also supporting online content and it is anticipated that the formats will evolve and expand as the project progresses.
Led by strategic designer Lucy Wills, the team behind The Primer are now inviting further designers, developers, strategists, consultants and communications experts to collaborate, contribute and partner on a collective, profit share basis.
We also welcome people from all industries and organisations who are interested in gaining a head start by test reading our content as it’s developed.
If you would like to find out more, please get in touch.