Jesse James Arnold

Federated design systems are great. In theory. But reality is a little more complicated. There are challenges associated with quality, consistency and follow through. In our latest episode, Davy Fung and I discuss the highs and lows of federated design systems. What's worked, what hasn't and how to come out the other side in one piece. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/g4W3SYqR #designsystems #podcast

63

5 Comments

Fact: Diverse design teams are faster, more efficient, and produce more innovative products.  Why?  Because diverse teams (teams that consist of people with different skillsets, educational backgrounds, and lived experiences) are simply smarter and more creative than homogenous teams. The diversity of skills and expertise in a multidisciplinary team encourages trial and error and challenging the status quo. This stimulates new kinds of learning and thinking, potentially resulting in breakthrough design solutions that would not have been possible with a single-discipline team. Ready to delve deeper? Read our full article, “Why Multidisciplinary Teams Create Design Better Products”: https://hubs.la/Q02xKCyt0  ---- Hello. We're Delve, a product innovation firm. We help companies bring bold ideas to market through human-centered expertise—strategy, design, engineering. Learn more about product design and development services at Delve: https://hubs.la/Q02xKt8T0 #DEI #diversityday #productdesign

9

This d.MBA episode shares a ton of great nuggets on advocating for design functions and how to have more impact as a designer? #UX #ProductDesign https://buff.ly/47VixoZ

2

Most designers are trained to present work to our peers, but as your career matures, your audience expands to include many other departments who don’t speak “design”. This article resonated with me and offers some sage advice about the use of storytelling and a “business lens” to craft more compelling presentations. #ProductDesign #Storytelling #UserResearch #BusinessObjectives

9

Join me and my guest, Sarah Doody, for Episode 137 of the #DesignThinking 101 #Podcast: Designing Your Career + UX for Small Business. Listen to it here: https://bit.ly/45lUCgN #CareerPlanning #UX #UserExperience

5

1 Comment

As a design leader, you work for your team—not the other way around. Learn how to keep your #UXteam happy, creative, and always on schedule. https://lnkd.in/eksZbUXM #DesignLeadership #TeamManagement #UXDesign #Productivity

3

📢 Attention, attention: the 2024 DesignOps survey needs your help 😊 Please repost, share with your #DesignOps friends, and let's get those inputs in so we can have the best possible benchmarking report for 2024! 👉 bit.ly/DOA2024Survey 👈 Deadline for responses is July 31. #DesignOps #Design #Survey #DesignOpsCommunity #UX #UXOps #CreativeOps

2

Some of the most effective design leaders don’t need to speak the loudest. Here’s what we've seen: ↳ Junior designers look to you to simplify complex problems. ↳ Product teams rely on you to connect business goals with user needs. ↳ Executives trust you to turn insights into clear, actionable plans. But, at times, others will question your decisions, even if they don’t fully understand the context. However ↓ The best leaders don’t have to make noise to prove their point. Your quiet influence comes from years of experience and knowing when to guide the conversation. Being a design leader means: → Mentoring others without seeking recognition. → Taking thoughtful, small steps that shape long-term strategy. → Helping people grasp the impact of design, even when it isn’t immediately clear. If you ever feel unnoticed, remember that the value you bring is often realised over time—not in a single meeting or presentation. Keep at it. The people who matter see the difference you're making. #design #designleadership #management

1

The State of Design: Why it is futile to write about it https://lnkd.in/gmmnr7JR Design is the default. —"If I cannot increase the volume of my device while I am in an online call, this is first a design failure and then an engineering failure." —"If I hurt my thumb while using a Jaguar tap, it is first a design failure and then a manufacturing failure (related tweet)." It sounds ridiculous when teams talk about adopting design thinking. Is the absence of design thinking possible? For example in a fine dining restaurant kitchen, do the chefs and the staff talk about butter thinking, or dough thinking, or olives thinking?

2

This is a great post for designers moving into management/leadership roles. The nature of your job changes dramatically and it's important to figure out the most effective ways to help your team and the company. As noted in the article, it's very easy to have your time consumed by managerial tasks (operational work). Being deliberate about how you want to spend your time, focusing on the change you want to bring about and working consistently towards that end are critical skills to learn. #UX #Design #DesignLeadership https://lnkd.in/e_g4TRJx

7

2 Comments

Have you ever wondered what makes independent UX design studios stand out in the competitive digital landscape? Having worked with both Fortune 100 giants and small startups, I've seen firsthand how independent UX design studios can provide efficient, creative solutions tailored to client needs—solutions that truly enhance user experience and foster innovation. In my latest article, I dive deep into why independent studios often outperform larger agencies and in-house teams when it comes to UX design. Here are some of the key highlights: ✅ Flexibility and Agility: Without the layers of bureaucracy, independent studios make swift decisions and adapt quickly to client feedback. Imagine getting changes implemented within 24-48 hours instead of the lengthy wait typical in bigger agencies. ✅ Specialized Expertise: We bring deep, diverse knowledge to every project. Our team members have worked across different industries, which gives us the ability to tackle UX challenges from fresh perspectives—something that in-house teams can sometimes struggle with. ✅ Personalized UX Solutions: We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all. Each client has unique needs, and our personalized approach ensures the end product not only meets functional requirements but also resonates deeply with users. ✅ Freedom to Innovate: Independent UX studios operate without the constraints of corporate hierarchies. This independence allows for a creativity-driven environment where we challenge norms and propose innovative solutions, benefiting our clients with impactful, user-centred experiences. If you’re considering enhancing your digital product or need an agile partner to bring your UX vision to life, this article is for you. Dive in and discover how partnering with an independent UX studio could be your best strategic move. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eWTvXdea #UXDesign #UserExperience #IndependentStudios #Innovation #Agility #DesignThinking #AIinDesign #LeanUX

5

"There is no AI and ML without data, and there is no data without people" you have to read this interview with Ovetta! so many powerful insights around the importance of data to the work we do today!

9

Over the years I've tried many approaches to design critiques with the teams I've managed. Without fail these 4 simple principles impact the effectiveness of design critiques greater than anything else when established as ground rules. For presenters: ✦ Describe the problem you're solving ✦ State the target audience* ✦ Specify the feedback you're seeking All of the above can be done in less than a minute, either verbally or in written format. For participants: ✦ Ask questions before comments "I think you should go with blue instead of red" is less effective than first asking "Why did you choose red for this?" The additional context that comes from asking questions will lead to more effective feedback. Design critiques are the easiest and most important thing design teams can do to improve design quality. Alone they are not a silver bullet. But they are the foundation for all other improvements to design quality. If you're not holding regular design critiques (usually weekly), this is step 1 for improving design quality. If you're already holding regular design critiques but not doing the 4 principles above well, this is step 1 for improving your design critiques. Better critiques. Better quality. * "Everyone" is rarely acceptable as the target audience. Even if the feature being presented is intended for everyone, 99% of the time there's a specific segment or archetype you're aiming for. #design #critiques #quality

356

14 Comments

The more that designers can think with a business mindset, the more effective they can be at influencing key stakeholders and driving desired outcomes.

1

The greatest impediment to continued career growth for mid-and-senior-level designers often isn’t their design skills. It's their business acumen. More than ever, organizations want designers who can align their work to the overall strategy and drive impact. And in order for designers to do that, they need to understand how businesses work. In this new, 4-week course, participants will learn the business foundations and strategic frameworks required to more effectively influence strategy, align design work with organizational goals, and become a trusted strategic partner to stakeholders. Intrigued? Go here for more info and to enroll: https://lnkd.in/gyH6kN2X

6

The ONE biggest challenge stopping design teams from the wider adoption of design systems UIUX design teams across companies and agencies have challenges of different sorts. Not all of them have realized the problems in their everyday design work. Not all of them know there could be a solution to their everyday design problems. Not all of them have found their way to using design systems. OR There's something stopping them from building their design projects on a design system. In your experience, what could it be? #uiux #designsystem #uxdesign #websitedesign

7

2 Comments

Despite years of developing user-centric design methods, there's still a solution-first mentality in senior management. Senior stakeholders, typically won't come from a background in design, sociology or anthropology. They are more likely to have a business degree. Business thinking is all about KPIs, risk management, return on investment, efficiency, etc. They tend to want to deliver something tangible to shareholders, show progress and have something to measure, as their professional career is pegged to these types of achievements. Linear models give them a feeling the universe is deterministic and they are reducing risk. How can organisations become customer-centric? I worked on a couple of projects at Intuit, where they changed their 8,000-person organisation by embedding a Design-for-delight (D4D) culture. They used 'catalysts' to spread the knowledge. Intuit customers visited the office and were on first-name terms with the employees. The story is fascinating about how they changed from a product-led organisation to a customer-centric community. It's an old video, but back in 2011 they were going through a big change that included leadership training in UCD. (26 mins) https://lnkd.in/eV4dqcnn

8

1 Comment