DHherwinJMaguire Design Leadership Frog IMP

Work in Progress:
Thoughts on Design Leadership

AIGA Seattle “Design Business for Breakfast”
David Sherwin + Justin Maguire
14 April 2010
Photo 470780785
by ewen and donabel
remix cc license
flickr.com
GO HERE.
Work in Progress: Some Thoughts on Design Leadership David Sherwin © 2010 frog design April 14, 2010 2
What does it mean to be
a design leader?
SO M E T I M ES T H I S …
A p rov i s i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n :
Design leaders guide organizations

in planning and fulfilling desired
outcomes for their clients—and growing
better designers in the process…
T h e r e a l d e f i n i t i o n o f d es i g n l e ad e rs h i p :
Design leaders make awesome

s*@% happen.
“When we have
a ‘concept’ and
people smile, we
take the next step.
When there are
questions, we go
back and try harder.”
—Hartmut Esslinger, founder,
frog design
Point of Sale Concept for Intel

T h e f i n e ba l a n c e b e t w e e n st rat eg i c p l a n n i n g a n d c r e at i v e v i s i o n
i s w h at m a k es A D ESIGN ORG A NI ZATION F U NCTION .
design leadership
design creative
mgmt vision
Creative vision:
“Designers have a
prescriptive job.
They suggest how
the world might be;
they are all futurists
to some extent.”
—Brigitte Borja de Mozota
Work in Progress: Some Thoughts on Design

“The FutureLeadership
of HealthDavid
CareSherwin
is Social,” © 2010 frog design April 14, 2010 9
from a frog design project for Fast Company

Just managing
de
mgsign
mt
designers may not be
design leadership.
cr vis
ea i o n
tiv
e
the
“future”
client
creative
vision
Being a creative
visionary doesn’t always
equal design leadership.
(But it sure helps!)
It takes leaders across the full range—
from process-oriented to visionary—to
fully activate a design organization.
design creative
mgmt vision
T h i s i s n ’ t e asy.
What traits does a design leader
need to succeed?
Maximum Length Client Name Maximum Length Project Name 24 September 2007 © 2007 frog design. client confidential. 13
A great design leader
possesses an unquantifiable
creative “secret sauce.”
Photo 373877988
by Fensterbme
CC remix / flickr.com
vision intuition ambition
opinions character
skills education
artistic
hobbies talents impulse
articulate
brave
craft-focused
creative
connected
curious Along with the sauce,
engaged a design leader also
directed needs to…
insightful
motivated
oversight
passionate
productive
professional
strategic
visionary
witty
Enjoy working with designers
and clients—as people.
Photo 250617310
by dunechaser
Function daily as a
behavioral psychologist.
Photo 363016301
Work in Progress: Some Thoughts on Design Leadership David Sherwin
by Spike55151 NO TO U CHING t h©e2010 frog design April 14, 2010
d es i g n e rs ! 18
Understand your team’s
creative disposition—
as well as your own.
h e lov es c r i t i q u e .
j u st as k .
Photo 144448750
by David M*
See from miles to microns.
Charles and Ray Eames: “Powers of Ten”

Answer the question “Why?”
Ocular Trauma, Wade Clark ©2005

Communicate
up, down, and
sideways.
Photo 2775415074
144448750
by shadowstorm
David M*
CC share
remix &/ flickr.com
remix / flickr.com
Collaborate with clients
and teammates—not fight
for control.
Photo 37085152
by CarbonNYC
CC share & remix / flickr.com
Apply steady,
constant pressure.
Photo 3309219331
by Paolo Camera
CC share & remix / flickr.com
Be brave and willing to take risks.
(Even in the fog of war.)
Photo 94326793
Work in Progress: Some Thoughts on Design Leadership
by ambrown David Sherwin © 2010 frog design April 14, 2010 25
What do I need to learn to
become a design leader?
If you want to work at a place like frog…
Project leadership
• Planning, methodology and approach/direction setting
• Ideation & innovation, measured in the quality of ideas and designs
• Creative/art direction
• Hands-on design, when necessary
• Storytelling and presentation/communication—to client and internally within your organization
• Ability to articulate complex solutions clearly
• An understanding of delivery technologies
• Strategic perspective applied to the work
• Project management, planning, ownership and delegation
• Oversight and reviews of direct reports
• Project resource management
• Confident client communication
• Quality of end results leading to client happiness
If you want to work at a place like frog… plenty.

Client service skills
• New business generation: talking to leads on a daily basis
• Proposal and approach definition; process, resource allocation, and budget assessment
• Leadership in pitching and client-facing presentations
• Vision, strategy and opportunity articulation
• Design advocacy
People management, organizational planning, and studio management

• One-on-ones, career development, goals, reviews, feedback articulation, motivation
• Stability, trust, and professional confidence as experienced by the org
• Visible and mature leadership, recognized by reports and teams
• Coordination, communication and collaboration
• Organization design, org planning, recruiting, interviewing and hiring
• Design and development process (understanding, communication, optimization)
• Managing and communicating up (incl. escalation, presentations, reviews, transparency, proactive communication, etc.)
• Humor, character, inspirational strength, special sauce, emotional connection to creative org
It’s not just about learning
to do all that stuff.
It’s about the journey
you want to take as a leader.
You need to be a master
at the craft of design…
PRINCIPAL
CREATIVE
DIRECTOR
master
ASSOCIATE CREATIVE
craftsperson DIRECTOR
SENIOR
critique resourcing ART DIRECTOR
presenting project mgmt
business writing client service
ART DIRECTOR
domain leadership follow-through
3 to 5 years to journeyman SENIOR

move up the ladder,
per domain DESIGNER
of design
INDUSTRIAL BRAND MOTION ADVERTISING USER INTERFACE IA/UX/IxD
DESIGNER
SOFTWARE SKILLS grid systems coding & scripting
design sketching photography research JUNIOR
storyboarding illustration copywriting DESIGNER
typography production paper engineering

apprentice © 2010 frog design
EPRO
April 14, 2010 31
…then you have another
mountain to climb.
design
leader
business strategy
organizational savvy
storytelling
strong at generating insight
multi-domain design expertise
master craftsperson / design manager
INDUSTRIAL BRAND MOTION ADVERTISING USER INTERFACE IA/UX/IxD

you’ve got
to be kidding!
Questions to ask yourself:
• What “hard skills” do I still need to learn?

• What domains of design do I want to add
to my portfolio?
• What “soft skills” do I need to acquire
to progress towards a leadership role?
• What ingrained behaviors might
stand in my way?
What will your
career path look like?
PRINCIPAL
CREATIVE
DIRECTOR
master
ASSOCIATE CREATIVE
craftsperson DIRECTOR
SENIOR
ART DIRECTOR
ART DIRECTOR
journeyman SENIOR
DESIGNER
DESIGNER
JUNIOR
DESIGNER

apprentice © 2010 frog design
EPRO
April 14, 2010 34
Ok, that’s nice.
What do I really need to learn to
become a design leader?
Here are 3 things you should learn
first on your journey:
• How to direct a team of creatives
• How to frame big, gnarly problems
• How to present effectively
9:30 AM
Work with your team

to form a braid.
These are NOT drawn-out meetings! 2 PM
Think agile. Quickly discuss work

in progress across all disciplines,
then get back into your to-do’s.
4:30 PM
This can help manage
“swoop and poop.”
That is only a symptom of a
key stakeholder being
out of the loop.
Publicly post work
in progress.
If it’s in the computer,
it’s invisible.
1 5 10
raw idea refined idea + polished,

raw execution final design
Know how to critique.

Use the “egg system.”
1 5 10
raw idea refined idea + polished,

raw execution final design
Ask why? Provoke Make suggestions Provide final advice

your entire team to to illuminate new on craft and nuance
articulate vision. design directions. before delivery.
It doesn’t have You aren’t the designer Often, the idea is only
to come from you! in this situation. clearly evident here.
“ D es i g n i s n ot a d e m o c racy, d es i g n i s a b o u t q ua l i t y.” — Ha rt m u t Ess l i n g e R
Know when to be a dictator.

This should always be a last resort.
If you tell your team what to do, they won’t
learn to think for themselves.
Foster an attitude of working together
towards shared goals and vision.
Business
Learn to see
strategy
like a strategist.
Product &
service
strategy
Marketing
strategy
Tactics
Competitors
in your problem
space
Know what
Proposal tools you should use
Research &
to get to tactics.
Experience
Brief
Creative
Brief
Deliverables
Brief
? ! !
research experience creative deliverables

brief brief brief brief
State business Reframe business State the agreed- State the agreed-
problem as it is problem with upon strategy upon strategy
understood new data & insight
Focus on the “parti” Restate the “parti”
Create objectives Create a “parti”
Set boundaries Describe relationship
for your research
Describe on brand voice between previous
List the inputs story arcs and visualexpression project and
new work
Qualify the Convey story Articulate
audience concepts and emotional impact Provide in-depth
themes specification
Provide high-level
Describe activities specification
& emotions
to evoke
A brief should be… brief.
Killer creative thinking comes from focus.
You need a bull’s eye to aim at,
not a dartboard.
Help! I’m a design leader.
Now what?
Let go of being
a flow junkie.
Learn to deal with ambiguity.
Focus the spotlight on your team,
not you.
Never hire people that work
and think just like you.
ownership
TITLE FORTUNE
EGO
To be a better strategic thinker,
draw insight from everything.
customers competitors complementers sales & retail
organizational
trends technology comparatives toolbox
Design the environment & culture
of your organization over time.
Tuesday
8
9
Make the time 10
to be available,
11
to mentor, and
to teach. 12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Reach outside your organization
for your growth.
“Acc e pt t h at ev e ry t h i n g i s a d ra f t. I t h e l ps to g e t i t d o n e .”
— BRE PETTIS & KYO STA RK
Everything you do as a design leader

is a work in progress.
And the first step is
designing the journey.

DHherwinJMaguire Design Leadership Frog IMP

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Work in Progress:

Thoughts on Design Leadership

Design leaders guide organizations

Design leaders make awesome

Point of Sale Concept for Intel

Work in Progress: Some Thoughts on Design

from a frog design project for Fast Company

Charles and Ray Eames: “Powers of Ten”

Ocular Trauma, Wade Clark ©2005

If you want to work at a place like frog… plenty.

People management, organizational planning, and studio management

3 to 5 years to journeyman SENIOR

Work in Progress: Some Thoughts on Design Leadership David Sherwin

master craftsperson / design manager

INDUSTRIAL BRAND MOTION ADVERTISING USER INTERFACE IA/UX/IxD

• What “hard skills” do I still need to learn?

Work in Progress: Some Thoughts on Design Leadership David Sherwin

Work with your team

Think agile. Quickly discuss work

raw idea refined idea + polished,

Know how to critique.

raw idea refined idea + polished,

Ask why? Provoke Make suggestions Provide final advice

Know when to be a dictator.

research experience creative deliverables

customers competitors complementers sales & retail

Everything you do as a design leader

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen

• What “hard skills” do I still need to learn?