Jason Mesut draws on his experience as a management consultant and a designer to unpack some of the core challenges he has found with design realising its value to business.
14. Interaction designer within an
Industrial Design consultancy
Innovative design work
Creative designers
Moderate salary
Graduate within a
management consultancy
Suit every day
Corporate business folk
Big bucks
VS
50. Desires vs Dilemmas
But we are (seen as)
– Artistic or pretentious
– Idealistic
– Indecisive
– Purveyors of pretty
– Tribalistic
– Emotional
We want our
– Voice to be heard
– Efforts respected
– Value maximised
– World to be better
51. How can we fulfil
designers desires to unlock
their potential despite
these dilemmas?
53. Make it happen
Seek solutions
Own it
Acknowledge reality
Wait and hope
I can’t
Blame and complain
Unconscious unaware
Accountable =
influential
Victim
Skyscanner Designers use The Accountability Ladder
Steve ‘Buzz’ Pearce
Global Head of Design, Skyscanner
54. Make it happen
Seek solutions
Own it
Acknowledge reality
Wait and hope
I can’t
Blame and complain
Unconscious unaware
Accountable =
influential
Victim
How can designers
move from being a
victim to making
the change?
55. No silver bullets today
Just experiences
+ frameworks that may
help you in your work
72. Business driver
Brand
Operations
Employees
Customers
Users
Design goals
Support
Enhance
Consider
Appeal
Increase revenue
Reduce cost
Demonstrate relevance
Build on principles and identity
Avoid repetitional damage
Extend value proposition
Limit change
Mitigate risk
Limit cost of training
Retain job
Increase value in role
Support their motivations
For example
Best deal
Desirable
Reward loyalty
Fits workflows
Usable
Low effort
What outcomes do different aspects
of the business want to achieve?
73. If you don’t know, assume
Too often, higher level strategy
is unclear. It helps if you make
some assumptions.
74. Learn to play
the game
you’re in
Clare Munday
Experience Design Director
Independent
75. Understand how the business you are in
works. Commercially. What numbers and
tangibles it values. Then translate what you
are doing into those. Learn to play the
game you are in.
Clare Munday
Experience Design Director
Independent
76. How the hubs support the definition
NHS Choices continuously improves health information
and delivers it through the most appropriate use of digital channels.
Both are proven to support positive behavioural change
Empowering citizens by
providing the nation’s digital front doors to health information
Improve the
health of the nation
Improve the
effectiveness of DH
Increase
Capita’s profitability
Part of, and, supporting the NHS’s spectrum of urgency
999
Our
client
Our client’s,
client’s customer
Gov agency
Our client’s client
77. How the hubs support the definition
NHS Choices continuously improves health information
and delivers it through the most appropriate use of digital channels.
Both are proven to support positive behavioural change
Empowering citizens by
providing the nation’s digital front doors to health information
Improve the
health of the nation
Improve the
effectiveness of DH
Increase
Capita’s profitability
Part of, and, supporting the NHS’s spectrum of urgency
999
Our
client
Our client’s,
client’s customer
Gov agency
our client’s client
78. Understand the
complexities of
the end-to-end
process
Boon Yew Chew
Manager, Experience Design
and SapientRazorfish
Board Director at IxDA
87. Strategically help [others] in order to gain help
another time, getting close to a frenemy in
order to actually help each other or pairing up
with those that you don't work well with to
force you to work it out.
Kate Tarling
Service Design, Home Office
Mentor, Techstars
Design leadership, Fly UX
91. Seek allies and alliances
Figure out who is inspired and wants to support.
Who is not but is willing to align with what you're
trying to do. Whose interests run parallel with yours.
Kate Tarling
Service Design, Home Office
Mentor, Techstars
Design leadership, Fly UX
92. Avoid, over-rule or work against
Those who run contrary to your ideals, and who are
just on some kind of power trip. Who will always be
contrarian no matter what, and therefore you need
to avoid, over-rule or work against, to protect your
energy and health.
Kate Tarling
Service Design, Home Office
Mentor, Techstars
Design leadership, Fly UX
93. Create totems
to find the
open minds
Dave Malouf
Director of Product Design, Digital Ocean
94. I created a totem to
show the contrast of what
was possible and unstick the
model. It shook people up
and got their minds loose. It
helps you find the open
minds. Then have a drink or
lunch with them to start the
evangelising process. Aim
high!
Dave Malouf
Director of Product Design, Digital Ocean
96. Heart
What they’re passionate about
Head
What + how they think
Hands
What they’re capable of and do
Life experience
Hobbies / Sport
Politics
Work aspirations
Type of thinker / learner
Family
Music
97. I setup a monthly lunch
with the director of R&D.
It helps that we both
care about the same thing. That
helped bring down any barriers.
I worked to understand his and
his team’s goals, so that we
could better support them and
work closer together.
Nick Myers
Director User Experience Design, Fitbit
Connect on a
personal level
99. Unite around a
common outcome
Kate Tarling
Service Design, Home Office
Mentor, Techstars
Design leadership, Fly UX
100. Plant ideas in
their head
Jane Austin
Director of Design and User
Experience, Moo
101. I would work out what his motivators were and play on them, planting ideas
in his head so they would later come out with the thing I wanted and I’d say -
amazing idea, however did you think of that?
It was my way of getting a seat at the table - I was too lowly and design was
poorly understood so he was my proxy
I’d then do an exemplar project, and it worked really well, made the
stakeholder look awesome and gave us data to refer to
It was all about making the stakeholder look good - he then got promoted,
and he promoted me giving me more influence and budget and the ability to
build a bigger team
Jane Austin
Director of Design and User
Experience, Moo
104. Crafting solutions isn’t enough
You need to make clear cases for
what you need to do and rationalise
what you’ve done throughout the
design process.
105. We need to convince others
Appealing to stakeholders and
their motivations.
Connection helps.
112. Situation Complication
Question
Logical argument
(inductive, deductive, abductive)
Key strand Key strand Key strand
Situation
Designers have a lot to offer business
and want to make the world a better place
Complication
They are often not heard,
misunderstood and not respected.
Answer
(The governing thought)
113. Situation Complication
Question
Logical argument
(inductive, deductive, abductive)
Key strand Key strand Key strand
Complication
They are often not heard,
misunderstood and not respected.
Question
How can designers unlock their potential and
stop playing the victim so that they can get better traction for their work.
Answer
(The governing thought)
Situation
Designers have a lot to offer business
and want to make the world a better place
114. Governing thought
Situation Complication
Question
Logical argument
(inductive, deductive, abductive)
Key strand Key strand Key strand
Complication
They are often not heard,
misunderstood and not respected.
Question
How can designers unlock their potential and
stop playing the victim so that they can get better traction for their work.
Governing thought
Designers need to connect, reason and manipulate to unlock their potential within business
Situation
Designers have a lot to offer business
and want to make the world a better place
115. Governing thought
Situation Complication
Question
Logical argument
(inductive, deductive, abductive)
Key strand Key strand Key strand
Complication
They are often not heard,
misunderstood and not respected.
Question
How can designers unlock their potential and
stop playing the victim so that they can get better traction for their work.
Governing thought
Designers need to connect, reason and manipulate to unlock their potential within business
Connect
Designers should connect to
their stakeholders and the
wider system to create
alliances and uncover
motivations
Reason
Designers should argue their
cases more objectively in line
with others’ motivations
throughout the process to
justify what they do and have
done
Manipulate
Designers should use their
skills to manipulate their work,
their messaging and
themselves for their and their
client’s advantage
Situation
Designers have a lot to offer business
and want to make the world a better place
116. Governing thought
Situation Complication
Question
Logical argument
(inductive, deductive, abductive)
Key strand Key strand Key strand
Complication
They are often not heard,
misunderstood and not respected.
Question
How can designers unlock their potential and
stop playing the victim so that they can get better traction for their work.
Governing thought
Designers need to connect, reason and manipulate to unlock their potential within business
Connect
Designers should connect to
their stakeholders and the
wider system to create
alliances and uncover
motivations
Reason
Designers should argue their
cases more objectively in line
with others’ motivations
throughout the process to
justify what they do and have
done
Manipulate
Designers should use their
skills to manipulate their work,
their messaging and
themselves for their and their
client’s advantage
Situation
Designers have a lot to offer business
and want to make the world a better place
117. Governing thought
Situation Complication
Question
Logical argument
(inductive, deductive, abductive)
Key strand Key strand Key strand
Complication
They are often not heard,
misunderstood and not respected.
Question
How can designers unlock their potential and
stop playing the victim so that they can get better traction for their work.
Governing thought
Designers need to connect, reason and manipulate to unlock their potential within business
Mgt consultancies + ad
agencies use a lot of data
Management consultancies
and advertisers use data to
make their arguments
These fields are successful
This has been going on for
years, and those industries
have been incredibly
influential to businesses
Design should use data
Because others who are
successful use data, if
designers use data better, they
will be successful
Situation
Designers have a lot to offer business
and want to make the world a better place
123. I hate it
Dislike bento boxes
That's gay
Get out
Not familiar to me, or where I had hoped to
be taking this.
It feels very cluttered. I was hoping for something
more clean and Swiss in keeping with our brand.
In banking, people are used to darker interfaces.
My previous macho slick black platform was
successful.
I’m angry that you’ve spent so much time doing
this, not engaging with me and being so far off
the mark.
Team heard Client meant
124. Requirements weren’t clear
Many were hidden, but we needed
to make solution tangible to
uncover them. We just didn’t start
with that appreciation.
125. We presented updated work with
rationale and probe responses
Explaining:
– What we were trying to achieve
– Challenges we overcame
Probing:
– What do you mean by that? (clarify)
– Why do you feel that? (probe)
– Do you mean? (paraphrase)
126. Pre + Post Rationale
Be clear why you’re doing
something, and explain why you
did what you did.
128. Booster rockets help you on
the way to a breakthrough
solution. They help you
make progress, but can then
be jettisoned
Matthew Cockerill
Creative Director, Seymour
Powell
135. Don Draper
Made up ad guy
Advertising is
famous for it
The emotional creative tapping
into human insights, and the media
guys persuading with data
139. verb (used with object), manipulated, manipulating.
1. to manage or influence skillfully, especially in
an unfair manner
2. to adapt or change (accounts, figures, etc.) to suit
one's purpose or advantage.
3. to examine or treat by skillful use of the hands
Manipulate
140. verb (used with object), manipulated, manipulating.
1. to influence skillfully, and consciously, using
designer skills to better demonstrate the value
of solutions to businesses and the market
Manipulate
(In a designerly way)
142. Research bias
Research is not objective.
It can always be strategic.
Who we
recruit
Methods we
use
Discussion
guide
How we dig
into answers
How we spot
patterns
How we
Synthesize
How we share
with others
Target Approach Focus Probe Analysis Synthesis Comms
143. We need to focus on young
professionals (or millennials)
Generic cliche I heard recently on one
project. Not helpful to design with.
We recruited broader sample instead.
144. Video works as a trojan horse,
shaping perceptions when it’s
sent around the org
Markus Hohl
CEO London, Hellon
Design Associate, Design Council
149. We sought
opportunities that
benefited everyone,
aligning business and
IT, and ensuring we
secured a long term
engagement.
Brand
Client business
Technology
Customers
Springboard
Digital touchpoints
Personalised,
relevant
Premium
Agency Digital touchpoints
Initial vision for an airline
To create a springboard for a premium, personalised
and relevant experience across all digital touchpoints
Phil Whitehouse
Delivery and Innovation
Director, APAC at Digital LBi
160. We saw the opportunity to ‘hijack’
a diagram with the adjacent
message we wanted to make sure
the client heard.
Basically we slipped in the
message they’d asked us not to
tell them, around one they had.
Nick (Bomo) Bowmast
Bowmast
161. Do you really need a seat at
the table?
Is this really the influence we want?
162. Get a slide in the deck
Influence beyond the meeting.
A video. A poster. Or just key slides
that are used again and again.
165. Play to the magpies
Use your powers of pretty and
fidelity to play to those that are
attracted to the shiny + the cool
166. In auto design school, we
were advised to render the
concept sketch we wanted
chosen in red, the others in
muted tones.
Drew Smith
Senior Design Manager,
Westpac
167.
168. Beauty is a lens with
which creativity seems
clearer
Will Bloor
Brand Experience Director EMEA,
Futurebrand
172. Sell them
sexy shit
A dangerous cycle
Boon
Manager, Experience Design
and SapientRazorfish
Board Director at IxDA
173. [too often] people keep going back to pitches
and eye candy — sell them sexy shit, try to
deliver sexy shit, and if things don't quite work
out, then manage client expectations using
other sexy shit.
Boon Yew Chew
Manager, Experience Design and SapientRazorfish
Board Director at IxDA
188. Do all three all the
time, with as little
manipulation as
possible
Dave Malouf
Director of Product Design, Digital Ocean
189. C R M
Connection Reasoning Manipulation
Do more here + rely less here
190. Do it positively
and consciously
Don’t lose your soul and
damage the relationships
you’ve cerated
If you have to manipulate…
191. Thank you
@jasonmesut
Lee Sankey, Jane Austin, Dave Cronin, David Sherwin, Christina
Wodtke, Justin Stach, Kate Tarling, Clare Munday, Dave Malouf,
Nick Bowmast, Nick Finck, Steve Buzz Pearce, Richard Seymour,
Seamus Byrne, Maria Brendes + more