Bonus Episode: Shani Sandy, VP, Experience Design at IBM, live in NYC for UserTesting's THiS Connect Tour

19 snips

Jun 17, 2025

Shani Sandy, VP of Experience Design at IBM, is a trailblazer in creating user-centered innovation. In this discussion, she explores the importance of adapting to rapid technological changes, particularly with AI. Shani emphasizes building trust through transparent design processes and the growing collaboration between disciplines like design and engineering. She shares insights into navigating the evolving job market influenced by AI and reflects on a challenging but rewarding team experience that highlights collective ownership.

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INSIGHT

AI Must Solve Human Problems

Designers must always start with the human problem before applying AI as a solution.
AI should be used as a tool to help solve existing problems, not as an end in itself.

INSIGHT

Designing AI For Trust

Designing AI experiences now requires building user trust by providing transparency and explainability.
Confidence indicators help users gauge how much to trust AI outputs in critical contexts.

ADVICE

Designers Must Prioritize Ethics

Designers must actively consider unintended consequences and ethical impacts when creating AI experiences.
Incorporate principles like explainability and use behavioral analytics to understand and design for user trust.

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Maybe you’ve already heard, but we’re in the midst of significant global and technological change. It will be a struggle for many businesses to adapt, but IBM is a company that’s no stranger to change. Time and again, they’ve reimagined, restructured, and refactored their business to stay relevant. Our guest today, Shani Sandy, is playing an important role in IBM’s current transformation as VP of Experience Design.

Welcome to a live episode of Design Better recorded at THiS Connect presented by UserTesting in New York. We’re talking with Shani today about how her team stays connected to users to design great products, design’s role in the new era of AI, and how IBM is evolving.

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Bio

Shani Sandy is a visionary design executive whose ethos—DESIGNING FORWARD—reflects a career dedicated to propelling businesses, communities, and cultures through intentional, people-centered innovation. With a powerful blend of strategic leadership and creative insight, Shani has led transformative initiatives for Fortune 500 companies, including pioneering roles as the first Executive Creative Director at S&P Global and the first Design Executive at IBM Systems. Her expertise lies in integrating multidisciplinary design, AI, and emerging technologies to elevate user experiences, drive measurable business outcomes, and cultivate design maturity across organizations.

Known for aligning design strategy with C-suite objectives, Shani excels at translating complexity into clarity and forging collaboration across functions to deliver lasting impact. She is a sought-after keynote speaker, having shared her insights at premier conferences including 3% Conference, AIGA National, and Adobe Creative Jam. A passionate mentor and advocate for underrepresented creatives, Shani is equally committed to shaping the future of design leadership as she is to delivering on today’s innovation. Whether guiding enterprise transformation or nurturing the next generation of designers, Shani leads with bold vision, strategic execution, and an unwavering focus on outcomes.