The Informed Life
Audrey Crane on Shadow Design
Nov 19, 2023
Audrey Crane, Head of Growth at DesignMap, discusses strategies for organizations to maximize the value they get from design work, including shadow design and its relationship to organizational maturity, investing in dedicated design teams, exploring 'design enlightened' organizations, and strategies to address shadow design.
36:29
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Quick takeaways
- To combat shadow design, organizations can consider increasing the design team's headcount or budget, bringing individuals who enjoy doing design into the design team, or providing basic design and research training to non-designers.
- To understand the extent of shadow design in an organization, a survey can be conducted among various teams, including engineers, product managers, and executives, to collect data on the amount of design work happening outside of the design team, which can be used to advocate for more resources and budgets for the design team.
Deep dives
Understanding Shadow Design and its Impact on Organizations
Shadow design refers to design work that occurs outside of the designated design team in an organization. It involves non-designers creating the final stages of design, such as workflows or screens meant for production. Shadow design is often driven by factors like a lack of access to design resources or under-resourced design teams. To combat shadow design, organizations can consider increasing the design team's headcount or budget, bringing individuals who enjoy doing design into the design team, or providing basic design and research training to non-designers. By addressing shadow design, organizations can improve the quality and efficiency of their design work.
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