Ryan Scott, an early designer at Doordash and former design lead at Airbnb, now helps others amplify their design impact. He shares insights on presenting designs effectively and unlocking credibility. Discover his strategies for navigating UX debt, leading large redesigns, and speaking the business lingo. Ryan emphasizes the importance of collaboration and resilience in design teams, alongside the need for designers to truly understand their organization's dynamics. A wealth of knowledge for designers aiming to elevate their influence!
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Quick takeaways
Detail orientation and narrative coherence are essential for designers to engage stakeholders effectively during presentations at high-stakes companies.
Tailoring presentations to the specific audience ensures effective communication, particularly when addressing decision-makers to maintain focused dialogues.
Understanding and framing design concepts within business metrics helps designers gain stakeholder buy-in and positions their initiatives as essential to company objectives.
Deep dives
The Importance of Detail in Design Presentations
Detail orientation is crucial in design environments, particularly in high-stakes companies where executives scrutinize every aspect. Presentations not only need to feature high-quality design work but also must exude professionalism and narrative coherence. Key figures, such as Brian, the CEO and chief designer, expect to see even minor visual discrepancies, necessitating designers to be meticulous in their work. Successful presentations require clear transitions and a strong storyline to engage and maintain the attention of stakeholders.
Understanding Audience Dynamics in Design Communication
Designers should tailor their presentations based on the specific audience to ensure effective communication. For broader audiences, providing essential context that explains the problem and proposed solutions is necessary. In contrast, when addressing upper management or key decision-makers, it is critical to be succinct and to clearly communicate what feedback or decisions are needed. This strategic framing prevents conversations from veering off-topic and allows for focused dialogues that are productive for the team.
Iterative Design and Risk Management
When tackling design challenges, approaching them with humility and a willingness to explore the problem in depth is essential. Risk can often be mitigated by gathering data through user research, competitive analysis, and empirical testing before making significant design changes. Engaging stakeholders early in the process helps establish a foundation of trust where concerns about potential risks can be discussed openly. This collaborative approach leads to clearer communication and a greater likelihood of moving forward with innovative ideas.
Framing Design Concepts for Business Relevance
Designers need to communicate the value of their ideas within the broader business context to gain buy-in from stakeholders. Understanding business metrics and aligning design goals with company objectives fosters a stronger partnership between design and other departments like marketing or product management. By emphasizing how design improvements can lead to increased customer satisfaction, higher retention rates, or revenue growth, designers can elevate their proposals from creative ideas to essential business strategies. Framing concepts in economically relevant ways makes it easier for non-designers to perceive their significance.
Investing in UX Debt Responsibly
The perception of UX debt as always harmful can be misguided; not all debt is negative if it leads to greater overall value. Designers can accept some level of UX debt if it facilitates faster product launches and addresses pressing user needs or market demands. The vital question is whether the debt is impeding future business opportunities; if so, it needs rectification. By making larger, more cohesive value-driven design proposals rather than small, isolated fixes, designers may garner the necessary support and resources to address systemic UX issues effectively.
This week's episode is with Ryan Scott who was an early designer at Doordash and then spent years as a design lead at Airbnb. Nowadays Ryan teaches hundreds of designers ranging from seniors to VPs how to make a bigger impact at your company.
This episode is jam-packed with insights about:
What it’s like presenting at Airbnb CRIT
Ways to unlock your credibility as a designer
How to mitigate risk when presenting your ideas
What it takes to speak the language of the business
Types of “PM-y” questions that designers should be asking
How Ryan led a massive redesign of the Airbnb booking flow
The right (and wrong) way to make a case for investing in UX debt
How to talk about your work in a way that resonates with non-designers