GASP! Insights
From the GASP! Sessions podcast by Piquant, in partnership with IDI, we’ve been speaking to people working across design, strategy and production. The same themes keep coming up — around how work starts, where it drifts, and what actually makes it land.
Most creative work fails before it starts
Creative work rarely breaks at execution. It breaks earlier, when the problem isn’t properly defined. That shows up as work expanding in too many directions, teams exploring without alignment, and decisions becoming harder as the process goes on. By the time the work is underway, it’s already off track.
“It’s about narrowing down what the brief is… making sure that you understand what the problem is”
- Kevin King, Piquant
Ideas are no longer the constraint
Creative teams aren’t short on ideas. They’re dealing with an excess of them - more input, more references, more possible directions than can realistically be pursued. The challenge is no longer generating ideas, but choosing between them and committing to a direction. That shift is changing where the real pressure sits in creative work.
“Being creative these days is about editing down rather than going and finding ideas”
- Conor Buckley, Piquant
Creative work isn't something you hand over
The strongest creative work isn't developed in isolation. It emerges through collaboration, with clients involved as the work evolves, constraints become clearer, and ideas are tested. Treating creative work as a handover creates distance at exactly the point where shared understanding matters most. Staying close to the process leads to better decisions, stronger alignment and more effective outcomes.
"The people who are commissioning design most effectively are the ones who understand that they'll engage in a collaborative effort where we together identify the constraints, together find the possible solutions and together test them."
- John Lynch, Founder & Director, Context Studio
Design needs to be valued as business infrastructure
Design is no longer just a creative output. It is becoming part of how organisations grow, how public services improve, and how businesses communicate their value. But for that to happen, design needs to be understood as something strategic, not decorative, optional, or added at the end.
“We can sometimes spend time educating clients about the value of design, that design is important, and worth paying for.”
- Charlotte Barker, CEO, Institute of Designers in Ireland
Ready to make an impact?
Book a call with Piquant today.
