Designed to Speak profiles and features designers of all disciplines and their objective is to help inspire and engage the design community. The series was created because of a lack of direct inspiration and communication within the online design community. Designed to Speak aims to bridge that gap.

In this episode, Roy and Matthew explain that, in order to achieve full understanding of their clients and what they're asking for, research needs to be done. From competitor brand audits to interviews with internal stakeholders or suppliers, this discover process is what gets them in-the-know.

"There are a lot of people who want to know the answer straight away, but we believe that, after half an hour of meeting someone, it would be unrealistic and irresponsible of us to say we have all the answers," explains Roy. "For us, it's about going through the process of getting to know and understand the arena that they're playing in and figuring out who they are."

"I think it's a cultural problem. We're not comfortable or conditioned to be vulnerable and to say 'I don't know.' We're supposed to have answers," remarks Matthew. "Saying 'I don't know' isn't the same as 'I have no idea how to do any of this.' I have very good knowledge about how to lead a client from the Badlands into the Promised land, but I don't know how to solve it on the first day."

Watch the full episode here:

Subplot Design Inc. is a Vancouver-based brand and packaging design firm that specializes in solving tough problems for demanding clients in highly competitive world markets.