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Playbook is actionable career advice for designers.
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Read trending advice from our communityHow do you show the value of investing in a design system?
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Joshua Sortino
Calculate the amount of time designers spend creating elements from scratch and compare to how much time would be saved with a design system.
Without a design system, designers must re-create every (or most) elements in their designs. This is time consuming. By showing the amount of time that could be saved with a design system, you are able to prove the value in terms of hours gi... more
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Joshua Sortino
Track how long it takes to onboard a designer.
When new designers join, how long does it take for them to understand your design language? Show the value of a design system by explaining how much faster designers could be on boarded.
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Joshua Sortino
Similarly, determine how much time engineers spend asking designers for specs and clarification.
Engineers will often need the exact measurements of elements in a design. When no design system exists, they will need to re-ask these measurements every time. Additionally, other questions may frequently be repeated without a source of trut... more
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When is the right time to transition an IC to manager?
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Joshua Sortino
Is the company or product growing?
As a product scales so will the team. In this instance, transitioning from IC to manager might be needed to help the company continue to grow.
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Joshua Sortino
Are you already “managing” or influencing others without the title?
Some of the strongest IC’s who have developed in-depth knowledge of the company they work at or the practice they work within often become the strongest influencers on others. In these cases, transitioning from IC to manager is very natural ... more
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How do you put together a case study for a design project?
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Joshua Taylor
Add structure and make it skimmable
If you've done all that writing, add some structure to make it easy to scan. And provide headers that people can skim so they know where they want to dig in.
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Brooke Bell
Your role
How did you contribute to this project? Did you have a heavy hand, or were you only there for bits and pieces? Be honest.
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Brooke Bell
Conclusion
What did you and your team conclude from your design process to reach this design? What were the results from your project and how did they impact your company or product.
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How can I get involved with the design community at my school?
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Jordan Singer
Find a club or an organization in need of design help
Uncovering the branding and design needs of clubs and organizations on campus is key. Find someone in need, and lead the way for design. That's what I did with a campus organization and a collegiate hackathon, and it paid off major dividends... more
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Jordan Singer
Attend meetups and events centered around your interests
A great way to get involved in the design community at your school is to discover those who are already a part of it. Attending meetups and events at or around school is the pathway to meeting new and like-minded people, and can lead to unco... more
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How do I decide if it’s right to drop out of school?
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Brandon Jacoby
View your time and effort as an investment
Which option will provide the larger return? Not just financial return, either. Think about the long term knowledge, connections, and growth opportunities you will be faced with or miss out on by dropping out.
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Brandon Jacoby
Where would you grow more in your design abilities?
Some people really benefit from a classroom environment, others benefit more from real-world application. Figure out what works best for you and factor it in to your decision.
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Brandon Jacoby
Does school have anything more to provide?
Think about if or what school has provided you up until this point. Is it something you value? If so, will staying in school provide any more of it?
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How do I decide on what roles to hire for?
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Joshua Sortino
Clearly understand the weakest points of your design process.
Under each design practice falls a set of processes. For instance, UX design requires understanding the problem space, wire framing, and designing.
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Joshua Sortino
Make a list of each design practice your team is responsible for, and each practice you’d like your team to be responsible for.
Understanding what you want your team to be accomplishing is the first step in determining what roles you will need to hire for.
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Joshua Sortino
Identify and hire to stengthen your team’s weaknesses.
Each designer on your team brings skills to the table. By understanding your weakest points of the design process, you will have a better understanding of your team’s weaknesses. Hiring for the areas you are weakest is often a good strategy ... more
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What tools and methods do you use at your company to gauge the relationship between consumer-facing product changes and key metrics?
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Matthew Ström
Plan your product changes around metrics
When you begin working on a new feature, improvement, or even a simple fix, attach an intended outcome to the work you do.
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Matthew Ström
Make hypotheses and keep track of them
Encourage your team to estimate how your work will affect your KPIs (or OKRs or whatever you choose to call your metrics). Write them down, and check back often.
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How do you make moodboards and what do you include in them?
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Briana Hokanson
Are.na: Great for in-depth research.
Pros: Are.na has the ability to collect all types of media for inspiration (including website captures). Cons: It might be overkill and a time-suck if you just want to create a simple visual moodboard.
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Briana Hokanson
Artboards in XD, Sketch or Keynote.
Pros: No fussing with UI, no broken links, no ads, no need for an internet connection. Best for quick and dirty moodboarding, which I honestly find to be useful for capturing the essence of a vision. It's also easy to subdivide different aes... more
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Briana Hokanson
Pinterest: Easy way to get started collecting images and videos.
Pros: Easy to collaborate and share pictures/videos. Cons: It is frustrating if you want to organize into subcategories, you can't merge boards, and the tagging/search UX is a mess. Honestly who writes the descriptions for these things?
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