The world outside of Duffy & Partners' offices has changed a lot in the Minneapolis design firm's 25 years in business. The nature of the business itself has changed very little.

Joe Duffy opened with a small staff—only 9—and he has purposefully kept the office small: Today, only 15 work there. He was very careful in selecting his clients then, and he still is today. Then as now, economic waves come and go, and Duffy observes them with the same cool demeanor. He sees downturns not so much as a time when revenues are absent, but when client risk aversion is high.

"We have always been a relatively small company, and we have always been selective about who we work with," Duffy says. "We have a very important conversation at our first meeting with a prospective client when we ask what their expectations are. If I sense that they will not let us do work that we'll be proud of, we will not work with them. Usually, if you ask the right questions, you will know that right away, and you have to be honest with yourself. You can't turn a bad client into a good client."

But one of the biggest changes in the world outside of Duffy's office-and one that is very encouraging to him—is that there are many more good clients out there. These are people with a much higher appreciation of good design and how much it can do to improve business. More and more, he works with clients who already have design leaders inside the company, sitting with the top decision-makers.

Another positive trend is that today clients understand that a logo is only part of a brand's identity.

"We still do create what could be called an iconic representation of a single-minded notion—a logo. But it is created as part of an entire language for the brand, which also includes color, typography, illustration, paper grade, pattern, photo style, architecture, etc. Having to consider all of these factors make designing a logo more difficult and far more interesting," Duffy says.

Today, he would not accept a "logo only" project. Most clients don't ask for that anymore, and the ultimate audience is just not that interested in a "cool" logo: For the client and the customer, the logo is a practical tool that must work well. As Duffy puts it, does the logo, as part of the overarching brand identity, move the needle for the client?

Another big change in the world at large is that appreciation and understanding of good design by people in general is much more pervasive. For too long, he says, designers of all varieties have held themselves on pedestals that suggest they have some sort of secret powers to create things that the general public simply can not fully understand. The truth is, he says, designers do have a special talent, but it is to simply improve everyday life experiences. Everyone can do that to some degree, in his or her own way.

"What I love about design has to do with access and appreciation. There is a greater understanding of design today, especially in the West," he notes, adding that in Japan, design is a fully integrated part of life already. There, people arrange fruit in the grocer's window in a truly beautiful designed way. They really care about it. Or think about how they 'design' sushi, or prepare the Japanese tea ceremony, or wrap a gift. Design is practiced as part of their everyday life."

He explains the growth in the appreciation of the design profession with a simple analogy: Because he is a golfer, Duffy has a real appreciation and understanding for what Tiger Woods can do.

"But I have no fantasies about golfing at his level. My appreciation comes from doing what he does, but he doesn't have to worry about me taking his job away," Duffy says. Designers are more appreciated when everyone practices design in their life.

Design is not just for the wealthy or the artistically inclined anymore: It is for everyone. Duffy calls this movement "the democratization of design." It's a phenomenon pushed by the tremendous level of consumer choice available today. This produces a heightened sense of awareness and access: People have access to almost anything from anywhere on the globe and they want to live an individualized life.

"But with this access comes the need for clients to differentiate, both in the way that a thing is designed and the way it is presented. Business has been forced to see design as improving their product/service and differentiating," Duffy says.

The design principal is optimistic about his business and the design field in general as they celebrate 25 years. (See www.duffy.com for a full timeline of Duffy & Partners projects.) His office is busy with intriguing projects from clients he had not expected to be working with, including the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland and Amorepacific in South Korea.

Appreciation of design and identity will only continue to improve, he believes.

"What I love now is that we are usually presenting to the person at the top of an organization, and they understand that design really is vital," Duffy says. "There are so many more good clients out there than there was 25 years ago."