DesignedUp : A Designer’s Guide on How to Lead Inside the Tech Industry

"Carter’s new book, DesignedUp, is a useful guide for the modern design practitioner who sits at the intersection of the IT consultancy and agency world ― someone who chooses to plot their own course across many companies’ diverse set of interests instead of being loyal to just one. In doing so, they have selected an exciting path that will bring them many heralded victories and challenging pitfalls, which Carter has aptly navigated over her impressive career. If you have been in the field for a while, I think you will find Carter’s book to be a refreshing antidote to any career doldrums you may have."― Dr. John Maeda, VP of Design and Artificial Intelligence, Microsoft "Designers have long asked for a ‘seat at the table.’ What Emma Carter has done is given them the roadmap to not only get that seat, but to redesign the table to fit what tech-driven organisations need to succeed today."― Jeff Gotthelf, Author "Lean UX" and "Sense & Respond" Are you struggling to get non-designers to understand the value of what you do? Tech companies and consultancies can feel like an inhospitable landscape for designers. Too often, design is seen as a ‘nice extra’, rather than an integral part of the process, and designers find their voice overshadowed by decision-makers who don’t understand or appreciate the power of design. DesignedUp will help you eliminate obstacles and become a design leader who can effectively influence everyone from engineers to C-level execs. By sharing perspectives, methods, frameworks and hero stories from global Tech & Design leaders, including Rebecca Parsons, CTO at Thoughtworks; Andreas Markdalen, Global Chief Creative Officer at frog; Lauren Pleydell-Pearce, Executive Creative Director at PwC UK, Dr. Andy Polaine, Ex-global Group Design Director at Fjord, the book shows you how to: Assess and harness your strengths Understand and communicate in the language of business and tech Develop your influencing skills to bring tech leads and stakeholders on board with design Present compelling design arguments that resonate with decision-makers Turn execs into design evangelists Spread the love for human-centred design far beyond your deliver "Carter’s new book, DesignedUp, is a useful guide for the modern design practitioner who sits at the intersection of the IT consultancy and agency world — someone who chooses to plot their own course across many companies’ diverse set of interests instead of being loyal to just one. In doing so, they have selected an exciting path that will bring them many heralded victories and challenging pitfalls, which Carter has aptly navigated over her impressive career. If you have been in the field for a while, I think you will find Carter’s book to be a refreshing antidote to any career doldrums you may have."— Dr. John Maeda, VP of Design and Artificial Intelligence, Microsoft "Designers have long asked for a ‘seat at the table.’ What Emma Carter has done is given them the roadmap to not only get that seat, but to redesign the table to fit what tech-driven organisations need to succeed today."— Jeff Gotthelf, Author "Lean UX" and "Sense & Respond" Are you struggling to get non-designers to understand the value of what you do? Tech companies and consultancies can feel like an inhospitable landscape for designers. Too often, design is seen as a ‘nice extra’, rather than an integral part of the process, and designers find their voice overshadowed by decision-makers who don’t understand or appreciate the power of design. DesignedUp will help you eliminate obstacles and become a design leader who can effectively influence everyone from engineers to C-level execs. By sharing perspectives, methods, frameworks and hero stories from global Tech & Design leaders, including Rebecca Parsons, CTO at Thoughtworks; Andreas Markdalen, Global Chief Creative Officer at frog; Lauren Pleydell-Pearce, Executive Creative Director at PwC UK, Dr. Andy Polaine, Ex-global Group Design Director at Fjord, the book shows you how to: Assess and harness your strengths Understand and communicate in the language of business and tech Develop your influencing skills to bring tech leads and stakehol Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 dedication 8 Table of Contents 9 list of illustrations 12 foreword 13 a little note 19 introduction 23 The moving tide of change 25 UAP: Technology, design and art working in harmony 27 Worlds collide 40 Designing in the new landscape 47 Bringing my vision to life 47 As a design leadership step . . . 49 Design leadership and design management — What does it even mean? 50 one designedUp traits 53 Understanding who you are 55 My own strengths 57 Don’t ask for permission 59 The power of praise and recognition 60 Give credit where credit is due 61 Followers and trust 63 Removing the obstacles 63 Give solutions, not problems 65 No elitists here, please 67 Instil inspiration 68 Case study 68 Imposter Syndrome 69 Getting bankers to sketch! 74 Understanding users drives great design 75 We are all learning 76 So, to summarise . . . 78 two design agency life vs large consultancy life 79 Common observations 82 The big picture 82 Different justification 82 More influence 83 There is no longer a defined career ceiling 83 Breadth over detail 83 Taking the client on the journey 84 Cooking with an audience 85 The ‘wall’ and the problems it causes 85 Location, location 87 Visibility = opportunity 88 Getting involved in sales 89 Instant expert 92 Eat, sleep, repeat 94 Career paths 95 An Aussie in Blighty 97 Creating a vision for your career 99 Working agile 100 Who is the customer? 102 A tech perspective . . . 103 . . . on designers 103 . . . on the differences between the sexes 104 Bridging the gap 106 So, to summarise . . . 108 three design leader in an agile consultancy world 109 Don’t forget where you’ve come from 112 Thinking beyond your assigned role 112 Case study: Major bank ‘sharing bills’ feature 113 When agile meets obstacles 115 We don’t all speak the same language 117 Non-believers 120 When your go-to ways don’t work 122 Lead by example 124 If I had my time again . . . 126 Be comfortable with change 127 Embrace ambiguity 127 Take the big picture view 127 Ask deeper questions 128 Get comfortable with multiple languages 128 Be aware of how your audience thinks 129 Say ‘No’ without saying ‘No’ 130 Designers need to be around designers 130 Never underestimate your influence 131 Don’t pretend to be a unicorn 131 Helping younger consultants navigate our world 131 The truth no one tells you 133 So, in summary . . . 136 four proving the power and value of design 137 Getting buy-in 140 Get everyone thinking like a customer 142 Showcasing the design process 142 The client has an idea you know is stupid 146 Budgets and being afraid of the unfamiliar 147 How failure to usability test cost Citibank® $500m 149 Tailoring the design conversation so it resonates 151 Measuring the value of design 152 Ways to measure the value 153 What we discovered 155 Some frameworks to try 156 The outcomes 158 Showing the continuous value of design 165 Use your successes metrics to influence sales 167 So, in summary . . . 168 five don’t become the worst version of yourself 171 Dealing with conflicting attitudes 173 The 1% 178 Our past relationships influence us — sometimes unknowingly 180 Say ‘yes’, then figure it out later 181 We all need someone to aspire to 188 Don’t become the worst version of yourself 191 Giving space and taking space 195 What can we all learn from Erica? 196 Where there’s a problem, find solutions 198 Organisations will only change if we make them change 199 So, in summary . . . 201 six up your influence 204 Influencing people you don’t already have a relationship with 208 Show them what’s possible 210 Mixing technology and design 211 Influencing and leading in a remote world 220 Delegate to increase your leadership 222 Where to find support 223 Where are the best places to find advocates? 226 So, in summary . . . 228 seven one final note 231 Opportunity 233 Learn and evolve 234 Others are doing it—so can you 235 Lead the way 235 What’s next 236 thank you 237 index 241 agile,development;,Web,design;,customer,experience,design;,interaction,design;,Graphic,design;,visual,design agile development,Web design,customer experience design,interaction design,Graphic design,visual design