This is a tough one to talk about, folks. This is not an aspirational post, or even one that will give advice on how to avoid my mistakes. I don’t think I can show exactly where I went wrong, or how I could have changed anything. There is no happy ending. Abandon hope all ye who scroll here.
Spoiler alert?
Now, if you’re still reading, than you, yes, you with the shining rectangle in front of your face, might just be in a similar dire straight. At your company, design is viewed as superficial in comparison to other, more technical practices like engineering, HR, or potato farming. I’ve been there. It’s not fun.
You’ve scoured your local design book surplus store, gone to Meetups and talked to other designers who shake their heads in remorse, read too many overly-long Medium posts written by designers who say that you just have to stick with it, your hardcover copies of Sprint and The Design of Everyday Things are dog-eared and highlighted, heck, you have even started recording people using your product to give voice to their angst and tangible evidence of a need for improvement through design thinking.
If that’s you, then kudos. Stick with it. You’re on step 3 or maybe even 4 of the design-driven-company guide. Make it to step 5 and things will really sta…
