Andy Vitale, Chief Design Officer at Constant Contact, discusses scaling design organizations, leadership challenges, and the impact of Grey's Anatomy on design. The podcast delves into nurturing talent, building relationships in design teams, and the evolution of design leadership roles in organizations. It also highlights the importance of asking questions, shifting perspectives, and embracing humility in professional settings.
Strategic five-year planning ensures lasting success and growth for design organizations.
Valuable feedback and constructive criticism drive personal and professional growth in design leadership.
Creating a culture of experimentation and learning from mistakes fosters resilience and continuous improvement within design teams.
Deep dives
Andy Vitale's Diverse Leadership Experience
Andy Vitale, Chief Design Officer at Constant Contact, possesses a wealth of experience in leading design teams across various organizations. From growing Rocket Companies' design team into a multi-disciplinary organization to mentoring designers at Kent State University, Andy demonstrates expertise in scaling design teams and fostering future design professionals' growth through engaging conversations and educational initiatives.
Passion for Lucha Libre and Design Journey
Andy's unique background in professional wrestling gave him insights into athleticism and storytelling, which later influenced his design career. His passion for Lucha Libre, a Mexican version of pro wrestling, led him to transition from wrestling to creating designs for flyers and TV shows. Through Lucha Libre's acrobatics and vibrant aesthetics, Andy discovered a new level of excitement and storytelling that resonated with his design journey.
Lessons Learned and Impacts of Feedback
Andy reflected on valuable feedback received, such as addressing his 'all or nothing' thinking pattern. Learning from interactions with mentors and colleagues like Casey Wolf, Andy embraced constructive feedback to grow personally and professionally. By acknowledging the importance of feedback and self-improvement, Andy navigated challenges, adopted collaborative approaches, and successfully led diverse design teams to deliver impactful results.
Setting a Five-Year Plan for Organizational Success
Planning a vision and strategy for a five-year leadership tenure focuses on setting the organization up for lasting success and growth. This includes creating tangible goals, such as team awareness and career development platforms, alongside aspirational aims like establishing a design headquarters. The strategic planning aims to secure company buy-in, establish credibility, and position design as a critical component within the organization.
Embracing Mistakes and Learning for Continuous Improvement
Encouraging a culture of experimentation and accepting mistakes as part of the learning process is vital for growth. Adapting to changing scenarios and iterating on strategies based on feedback and outcomes allows for continuous improvement. Being humble in acknowledging and learning from mistakes fosters a culture of resilience and promotes personal and professional growth.
Andy Vitale shares his experiences as an executive design leader, how he’s successfully scaled several design orgs, and why a career in pro wrestling wasn’t for him.
Highlights include:
Why do you create a five year plan for the design orgs you lead?
How has Grey’s Anatomy informed the design of your design organisations?
Why go to the trouble of helping someone who’s struggling in an interview?
How do you navigate the expectations of being the most senior design leader?
How do you feel you’ve enabled people on your team to speak to you as an equal?
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Who is Andy Vitale?
Andy is the Chief Design Officer of Constant Contact, an automation platform that helps small businesses to simplify and amplify their digital marketing. In this crucial role, Andy is responsible for providing executive leadership for the design organisation.
A master when it comes to scaling design teams, while at Rocket Companies Andy grew the design team into a multidisciplinary organisation with over 170 people working across design, research and brand.
Aside from his busy day job, Andy is also helping to shape the thinking of future user experience professionals, through his work as an adjunct professor for Kent State University’s Masters of Science in User Experience Design programme.
Andy is the co-host of the Surfacing Podcast where, alongside Lisa Welchman, he engages designers, technologists, and business leaders in inspiring conversations.
He is a member of the Fast Company Executive Board, an Adobe Education Leader, and - believe it or not - he still finds time to mentor designers on ADPList.