How to use the directory

Individual

1. Fellow - Any Professional Member who has given especially meritorious or distinguished service to the Institute or its predecessor societies or the design profession

2. Professional - Any Associate Member with more than five years’ experience as a practising designer who, after a Peer Review and in the opinion of Council, has attained a high level of professional competence

3. Associate - Being any practicing designer that has not met the criteria required to become a professional member or undertaken the required peer review for advancement to Professional Membership

4. Graduates - Being any recently graduated designer who has no more than three years experience practicing design.

5. Students - Being any student participating in a fulltime design related course who is not practicing as a designer

6. Corporate - Any company, institution or organisation offering design-related products or services, or which is a client or employer of designers, or a supplier to designers and supports the objectives of the Institute

7. Affiliate - Someone who wants to align with DINZ but is not a practicing designer/educator (usually small businesses who want to network)

8. International - An overseas-based New Zealander who wants to stay connected, or someone from another country who wants to hold an international membership.

Corporate

Business Corporate

1. Any company, institution or organisation that is a supplier of products or services to designers.

2. Or that is a client or employer of designers.

3. Or who has an interest in being affiliated to design professionals, and supports the objectives of DINZ.

1.  Any design consultancy or studio offering design-related products or services.

2. Or who is an employer of designers and supports the objectives of DINZ

Any company, institution or organisation offering design related products or services, or which is a client or employer of designers, or a supplier to designers and supports the objectives of the institute.

Craft/Object

Contemporary work with a significant craft component – where the handof the maker is more of a feature than it is with industrial, larger-volume production.

Design Management

Involved in utilising the resources and capability available to a business/organisation to create strategic value.

Education

People who have gained experience as practising designers and/or been educated to tertiary level as a design educator.

Graphic

Professional designers skilled in the creation and implementation of strategically led visual communications and print-based media solutions. Includes identity, brand, visual communications, corporate communications, packaging, editorial & books, illustration, typography, photograph, environmental and integrated campaign development.

Interactive

Skilled design professionals whose primary responsibility as a practitioner is the design of screen-based design solutions. Includes website, multimedia, information architecture, usability, development and online based design solutions.

Product

People whose primary responsibilities as practitioners is the design of products, instruments, equipment, packages, transportation, environments, information systems or related design services.

Spatial

The design of buildings and the interiors of buildings, including obtaining resource and building consents. Design of fittings, soft furnishings, decoration and colour schemes.

Find a Designer

• Do your research on the Professional Membership page of the DINZ Directory.
• Look through portfolios on the DINZ pages and on their own company website.
• You might want to look through past issues of Prodesign, the DINZ professional journal.
• Check out the DINZ Code of Ethics to get a feel for the kind of professional values a good designer should have.

Investigate

• Contact clients who have worked with the designers you've identified as possibilities.

Shortlist

• Keep it short – 2 to 3 people/companies.

Don't ask for a free pitch – you wouldn't want to give away your ideas and hard work for free, would you?

Interview

• Obtain a copy of the designers' general terms and conditions of engagement.
• If you've been attracted to this design company because of a particular piece of work, then make sure you get to work with the person/people who actually created the work you like.
• Write a broad description of your project – this provides the "non-negotiables" of the brief but allows creative room for your chosen designer to take the project to new and unexpected directions (the essence of innovation).
• Find out exactly who will be involved in your project and when their involvement will be required.
  Review a couple of case studies they've done for similar clients.
• Ask them to "reverse brief" you – to tell you what they think you want.
• What approach/process will they use to deliver the result?
• Talk about fees and any other means of remuneration they'll take from the project.

Commissioning

• Choose your designer/design company (if you haven't done so already).
• Work together to re-write the brief (including the budget – which has undoubtedly needed to grow to meet your wish list!)
• Determine responsibilities and timeline.
• Keep an open mind and enjoy being part of the design process.