Jeffrey Hamelman is the director of the King Arthur Bakery. He’s one of a limited number of Certified Master Bakers in the United States. He is the author of BREAD: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes. Jeffrey is a recipient of the Bread Baker’s category Guild coveted Golden Baguette Award (King Arthur Bakery website, 2016). In a recent issue of Bread Magazine, Hamelman published an article titled Ever See an Artisan Plumber? He argues that using the term ‘artisan’ in the bakery world is strange and needless in his opinion. He believes that with bakers–as is the case with electricians, plumbers, and other trades– there are those who are good, bad, and in-between; and he sees that this is enough. He warns that bakers need to be careful that they don’t become arrogant and start using the term to denote superiority over other hard-working craftspeople (Bread Magazine newsletter, July 2016).
“I’m a baker, and proud to be one. Isn’t it enough to simply be a “baker?” The term has such a deep honor associated with it.” – Jeffrey Hamelman
The Gift and Curse of Terms
Hamelman has been baking for more than four decades. With an opinion like the above, the master baker shows that he’s been too involved in the baking world for so long to a point that he can’t see the baking world from the outside anymore. The term ‘artisan’ gave creative license to many bakers to think different and do more, which added more to baking. Granted, some of these additions we could’ve done without; for example, does the world really need a Cronut (sorry, chef Ansel)? Such additions were made possible only after the bakers started to think of themselves as artisan bakers.
The same goes for Service Design. While some of the Design Thinking principles and Service Design tools have been around in essence before the birth of Service Design as an independent discipline, the sheer existence of Design Thinking as a term by the late 1960’s/early 1970’s led to the birth of Service Design in the early 1980’s and development of all related tools and methodologies. Of course, without substance, terms mean nothing. One has to deliver what they claim they are capable of. For people outside the Design world, terminologies can either help them understand roles and functions or confuse them even more. To me, this is one of the things that differentiate good design thinkers from bad ones.
[2022 update]
The Role of Terminologies and Definitions
When a term confuses the audience rather than help them better understand then it is more of jargon. The purpose of jargons is to position the jargon author as somehow an expert — "It's so complicated that I don't get it and this means these guys must be more knowledgeable than me. Let's sign up with them." — At least, that's the theory behind it. Complicating matters for others is a sign of weakness, not strength. However, adding your own terminologies to your field, whatever it is, to add depth, share a perspective, inspire others, and make matters easier to digest (I couldn't help myself with all this writing about bakers) is definitely something I would recommend.
If not an 'Artisan Plumber', then what?
So the question now is: how do plumbers differentiate themselves? Will a term like Hamelman's 'Artisan Plumber' deliver any clear understanding or position this plumber in a clear way with an immediate value? Personally, I don't think I will call a plumbing company because they are artisan plumbers. However, I can see the need for plumbers, private music teachers, personal trainers and many other service providers would benefit from using their professional titles as an immediate differentiation tool that communicates the value each promises to deliver to prospects and customers alike. What would that be? We need to dig deeper into your business. After all, not all plumbers want to position themselves the same way. If they did, we would still need a newer definition.
Tip: If you need help with this subject book a free Strategic Business Therapy session or ask about the in-house strategic brand definition masterclass. See links below.
Loaay Ahmed (MDes, FRSA)
Strategic business therapist, academic and founder of The Outsider's Perspective. Loaay has decades of experience in guiding his clients, small and large, on how to navigate their business challenges. Through the 1-hour consultation, coaching and mentoring sessions called Strategic Business Therapy, you can address your business challenges in a one-to-one setup. SBTs are practical and effective. Book a free first session.
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This post first appeared on MDes.org, a website Loaay Ahmed dedicated to his writings during his Service Design Innovation masters degree studying years.
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