AI for Design Researchers workshop: Nov. 17th-20th
Hey folks! We have some spots remaining in our upcoming workshop and are offering discounts for Design Better subscribers:
Communicating the value of design
By Aarron Walter
Ask designers why they’re left out of the decisions that shape their work, and you’ll hear the same answers: we’re downstream, they think we make things pretty, nobody understands what we do. Barry Katz, who wrote Make It New, a history of Silicon Valley design, hears it from former students now working in tech. Design, he told us (podcast), is “still a kind of a fragile presence in many companies”. It’s misunderstood, and underused as a tool businesses can use to drive adoption, improve retention, or increase margins. Design’s business potential is immense, so why is it still a struggle to get executives and colleagues to recognize its value?
Some of it is our doing. Designers are kept out of decisions because they often don’t describe their work as a competitive advantage. A strong understanding of business is required to communicate that.
We’ve talked to countless design leaders over the past decade about this topic. There are clear patterns. This guide collects evergreen advice that has worked for designers at companies like IBM, Google, Meta, Intuit, Wells Fargo, and more.
