The evolution of a design firm

Peopledesign is a successful consultancy design firm that calls Grand Rapids home. But from a business perspective, the world is its oyster.    

According to Kevin Budelmann, president, the firm services a global customer base and, in recent times, has been going through a subtle shift in the type and intensity of services it is providing. At the same time, it is applying a different filter to building its team, featuring three recent hires.

Budelmann referenced  the term "hour-glass economy" to describe one aspect of Peopledesign's new focus towards a more strategic type of consultancy requiring longer and deeper relationships with their customers going far beyond traditional design and branding services. 

"The hour glass economy refers to people in the middle that are being squeezed. For us, we felt an element of design has been commoditized and it has forced firms to move in one direction or the other.  We became strategic," he says. Budelmann mentions advanced research, sales training, and executive level strategy as examples of new services that Peopledesign is now providing to their clients.

At the same time, Budelmann says their organization is going through a natural transformation with their approach to recruiting and hiring within their firm. "In the early days, we have hired people like us, with a more traditional design background," he says. "These days, we are more interested in hiring different people with divergent backgrounds. How can we fill more gaps? How can we have a more robust offering to our clients?"

To learn more about Peopledesign, including their portfolio and job opportunities you can visit their website here.

Source: Kevin Budelmann, Peopledesign
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News editor