Design With People in Mind

Kevin Budelmann and his partner in business and life, Yang Kim, aren't satisfied just with designing an eye-catching website or arresting poster at People Design in Grand Rapids: they hope to leave a legacy for the entire region through their profession.

"Our region is developing its own identity," Budelmann told a gathering of more than 200 design professionals at the J.W. Marriott who answered his call to form a West Michigan chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts. "So what role can we as designers play in shaping it?"

Judging from their response, local designers share Budelmann's and Kim's vision of West Michigan producing work that stands up nationally in scope, yet remains distinctive in its regional identity.  With resounding support from the meeting , Budelmann petitioned and received the go-ahead from the New York City-based AIGA  to form the professional West Michigan chapter that can serve designers in the graphics arts, website design and other industries.  Those interested in participating in the nation's oldest and largest professional design organization from this area have had to travel  to Chicago or Detroit for workshops and competitions. 

Closer to Home
That may end soon.  A  core of dedicated professionals who were key to creating the West Michigan  chapter elected Budelmann as president, and he is busy now with inviting individuals to serve as officers and board members. The region that Budelmann has in mind casts a pretty wide net: west to the lakeshore, east to Lansing, south to Kalamazoo and north to as far as anyone will travel to attend a meeting. Budelmann says he wants diversity on the board so that it represents various firms, but the common element among all board members will be a passion to "shape the region."

It's curious that Budelmann and Kim should feel that drive to mold West Michigan since both are from different areas of the country.  Budelmann, 39, was born in Kentucky, but raised in Canton, a town in upstate New York.  Kim, 40, was born in Seoul, but immigrated with her parents to the Washington D.C. area when she was a child.  They met at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh as students of graphic design, and internships at Herman Miller Inc. brought both of them to the metro Grand Rapids area in 1992.  Together with another partner, they formed BBK Studios in 1997 with an emphasis on graphic design.  Kim and Budelmann wed in 2001, and they bought out their business partner to eventually form People Design, which employs 20 designers, artists and writers at offices in the Brass Works Building.

The Purpose of Design
But the underlying philosophy of People Design helps explain why Kim and Budelmann are interested in the wide ranging aspects of their work and how it can transform companies or even communities.  "I believe design is less about itself, more about society, business, and people – recipients of good design," Budelmann says.  “Some firms see it as more decorative or more aesthetic, but it’s really a problem-solving activity.”
 
When working with one of a dozen or so local and regional clients – including Spout, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Herman Miller and Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts – the People Design team members do their homework. They conduct empathy research to get into the mind of the client’s customer, examining the impact of the company and its products at every step in the user’s experience.  The findings are then used to implement an overall design process to help guide the organization.
 
“A client might come to us with a project, but we won’t necessarily follow the parameters as we find hidden opportunities,” says Kim, the firm's vice president and creative director . “They might say they want a website, but we might discover that their customers don’t go online. If the client had gone to a web design firm, they’d build them a website. We’re more flexible and can identify different solutions.”

Budelmann and Kim practice what they preach, incorporating the same flexibility of thought into their own business. In their office, everything not only looks good, but also serves a purpose. The conference room (or Living Room, as the sign on the door reads) walls are made to accommodate pushpins, making it easy to tack up cards to plot out a typical user experience or a storyboard. All the furniture is on wheels and Plexiglas room dividers hang on a track, so the office layout can be adjusted on a whim and desks and tables can be moved to promote collaboration. Everything is designed to be nimble enough to change with business demands.

“We have a lot of collaboration, and believe in cross-pollination,” Budelmann says. “People who have opposing points of view come up with better results, and we encourage having a good dialogue to determine the best solutions.”

His belief in cross-pollination carries over on a community-wide scale. Budelmann is confident that forming an alliance among professionals will help strengthen the local artistic community and boost the city’s reputation as a viable place for creative businesses. “There have been concerted efforts to find like-minded people and to shape the identity of West Michigan,” he says. “We want to help create a local environment where people can grow and build a career.” 

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Kelly Quintanilla is a freelance writer born, raised and living in West Michigan. She is also the marketing director at Ada-based CUSO Development Company.

Matt Gryczan is managing editor of Rapid Growth.

Photos:

Kevin Budelmann and Yang Kim photographed at People Design inside the Brassworks Building - North Monroe

Photographs by Brian Kelly - All Rights Reserved

Brian Kelly is a commercial photographer, filmmaker and Rapid Growth's managing photographer. You can follow his photography adventures here on his blog.