Former Facebook designer Gabe Valdivia talks about designing 0 to 1 experiences, emphasizing storytelling, prototyping, and speed. The discussion covers the challenges and tactics for early-stage teams, efficient design systems, and the evolving role of designers in the industry.
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Quick takeaways
Designers must focus on storytelling to engage audiences effectively in their work.
Transitioning to a fractional design partner offers direct accountability and empowerment in output.
Deep dives
Designers as Content Creators
Designers are seen as content creators, emphasizing the importance of storytelling in their work to engage audiences compellingly. The comparison is drawn between the best designers and TikTok creators within a company crafting ideas that resonate powerfully.
Transition to Working Independently
Gabe Valdivia transitioned from working at established companies to becoming a fractional design partner for early stage teams. He found empowerment in being directly accountable for his output based on his effort, contrasting the indirect correlation between input and output in a traditional in-house setup.
Shifting Roles in Design
The concept of the traditional triad, involving engineers, product managers, and designers working closely, is challenged as newer companies redefine team structures. The evolving roles like design engineers and prototypers signify a potential shift towards smaller, more adaptive team units.
Future of Design Industry
The design industry is predicted to undergo significant transformations in the next five to ten years, leading to changes in designers' roles, relationships with companies, tool usage, and overall industry landscape. Embracing change and envisioning an evolving design field is highlighted as an exciting prospect by the speaker.
One of the most requested guests has been Gabe Valdivia. He was an early designer at Facebook, a designer manager at Google, and has led design for different startups over the years most recently as the head of design for Patreon. But in the last year he's made the jump to start his own practice and position himself as a fractional design partner for early stage teams. So a lot of this conversation gets into the weeds about what it's like to design 0 to 1 experiences. We talk about tactics for speed, storytelling, prototyping and a lot more...
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