Do you have a philosophy?

I have had the pleasure of working with Märit Torkelson in Hostmanship Norway for a very long period. More than 10-years when I come to think of it. A partnership between a virtual in-house graphic designer and a business is mutually beneficial. The designer gets to know the business and its tasks very well. A long-term relationship enables the designer to identify with the values and visions of the business. Practically, the designer will see the need for the design of various touchpoints at any given time. The business can count on and trust this knowledge and will not have to explain the same things repeatedly. One is simply becoming a team.

This is what Märit Torkelson in Hostmanship Norway says about our cooperation:

Hostmanship Norway is a business with a high number of different materials that need design, like presentations, books and worksheets for courses, and marketing materials. It is a great benefit to us to have a “virtual graphic designer” on board, who knows the graphic profile in and out and can implement this professionally across all our various visual touch points, and who also knows our values, visions, and goals as well as Hanne does.

This fall, we have (for the second time in our history) designed a new issue of “The Hostmanship Philosophy.” This small printed booklet is being used continuously in courses, and is also available as a digital download. It explains very shortly and clearly the Hostmanship ideas. We are currently in the process of rebranding, and the new booklet was designed with the new visual branding.

As mentioned earlier, as a virtual in-house designer, one gets to know the core message of a business very well. Hostmanship means “The Art of Welcoming.” To welcome others, each other, and oneself. This simple philosophy can be applied widely, and can make life simpler and more effective in many arenas: in workplaces, in service, in organizations, and private life, to mention a few.

After having designed the text for the Philosophy booklet twice, I almost know the content by heart 😉 This short paragraph has stayed with me especially:

…none the less we often experience environments and systems that appear to be prepared for any encounters, except meetings with real people. As if meetings with real people are something that takes place in theory and not in real life.

I stopped and thought about this in particular because I realized this is the case with websites to a great extent. How often have you tried to navigate a website, for instance, a so-called “customer-support” page, that seemed to be designed more to stop you from getting in contact with the business than getting the help you needed? How we “welcome others” is as crucially important in the digital sphere as over the counter, in the workplace, or via telephone. It is, in fact, the core of a subject called “Interaction-design.” I have had the pleasure of teaching 3 courses in Interaction-design at IGM (Institute of Graphical Media) in Oslo this fall and have brought the Hostmanship Philosophy with me into the subject. It is an excellent foundation for “user-friendliness.”

Do YOU have a philosophy, manifest or other type of text which explains what you do in a way that is easy for others to understand? We often get “home-blind” in our competency and assume everything is a given to others as it is to ourselves. Attempting an explanation with brevity can be very beneficial for you and make it easier for others to choose you.

If you need help with the visual design of your philosophy in the shape of a printed booklet or a digital download, please let me know. I can design the content, cover and illustrations or infographics if needed. Use the button below for a free discovery call.