DESIGN CONSULTING GROUP
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After 15 years of design work in the quick-rising Dallas creative community of the 80s and 90s, DCG was formed to take advantage of new technology that allowed willing individuals to vector toward independence.

No longer were slick offices and dazzling conference rooms necessary. The shift was practical and inevitable. It allowed entrepreneurial designers to produce agency quality work without the overhead and staffing issues of a system that had been in place for 60 years. With reduced layers of management, and quicker solutions, emerging businesses in the fast-rising Texas economy afforded these independants an abundance of opportunity.

Small businesses had found a valuable resource that allowed them to compete toe-to-toe with bigger competitors using fewer marketing dollars. The launch was in sync with the height of the telecom/internet frenzy of Y2K and Adobe software along with Apple products fed the rise of the virtual designer. The need for bigger agencies will never end. The top-dollar marketing campaigns that integrate research, focus groups, executive presentations and media strategies are worth the investment, but the post 2000 economy has opened up a wide range of smaller companies surviving with under 50 employees..

And the design world is still transforming...at a faster pace. The way we view websites has had 4 significant transformations in the last 60 months (as evidenced by the use of WIX for this site). Printers have disappeared. Security issues and online transparency require finer defensive skills. Forming strategic partnerships rooted in integrity is imperative. (TidalBrain.com, BrumleyPrinting.com, PaceGFX.com)

Still...great design is based on enduring principles. I was lucky enough to experience both sides of the shift. With great mentors at Texas Tech (Frank Cheatham - who studied under Saul Bass) and employment at Advance Design Center (US and Mex), this West Texas kid was patiently tolerated by associates with much more acumen (Jack Hermsen) and worldwide exposure. Every successful mentor shared the same relentless lesson: The best design is based on specific objectives and the most exciting solutions are discovered in solid concepts. This process can be an irritant to hard-charging clients and frantic managers with hot deadlines, but it is essential...and required no matter the hurdle.

It continues to be a voice swirling in my head. It was stressed in college, discussed on plane trips, and strategized in rushed rides to business lunches: The best design is based on specific objectives and the most exciting solutions are discovered in solid concepts.