Language of Production



 

Why a language of production?

To manage the Tower of Babel problem.


 

 "A language is a system, used for communication, comprising a set of arbitrary symbols and a set of rules (or grammar) by which the manipulation of these symbols is governed. These symbols can be combined productively to convey new information, distinguishing languages from other forms of communication."

- Wikipedia 

 

Professional great design is fundamentally a mission-driven collaborative activity. As a professional practice, success or failure is measured and rewarded. Success will earn money, fame, fortune and the satisfactions of a job well done. In addition to the Art and Science of Communication Design, it also has its own production language.

 

It's about teams

Trust based collaborative teams can thrive in the context of common definitions of the goals, a clear set of role descriptions for all team members, timely feedback on team members' performance and external changes. The single most important element is mutual respect.

 

Many people think production can be defined in a textbook or manual, guided by spreadsheets and lists. While those can be important, real life collaborative production is more often a collection of conversations that are woven into a story. The stories are filled with interesting characters, sometimes stressful drama, often quick plot twists. Sometimes they can include the joy of victory and/or the agony of defeat.

 

The "language of production" helps organize the conversations of a goal driven team. A good language has commonly agreed upon vocabulary and a reality based set of rules that can move information, quickly and efficiently. A rich "language of production" can lead to more better, elegant design and the most  efficient allocation of time, attention and money.