Today on GovComms, we discuss the importance of looking to design methods to create strong and targeted communication. Our guest is Dan Formosa, a design wiz living a couple of miles north of Manhattan. His research focus is accessible design. Dan’s expertise is knowing how to design to directly engage and fit the needs of their user. contentgroup CEO, David Pembroke and leading design consultant and researcher, Dan Formosa sit down to discuss the importance of embracing complexity in all types of work. Dan explains why communicators need to start thinking like designers. Dan works with companies, organisations, and internal creative teams to develop products and services in a wide range of categories. Dan’s background is in product design, and he holds a Masters and a Ph.D. in Ergonomics and Biomechanics. Dan based his career on the idea that design should focus on people, not things. His work has received numerous design awards and has been selected for national and international exhibits. In 1977, invited to work with the Eliot Noyes studio, Dan became the junior member of a design team that helped IBM conceive how a computer could possibly fit into a home. Discussed in this episode: Looking to the edges rather than the average Developing ideas – how to research and ask smart questions Maintaining the momentum to innovate – plan for small successes The minimum requirements of branding