Design excellence is not just about creating beautiful and functional graphics, but also about fostering a culture that values and supports design thinking, collaboration, and feedback. In this article, you will learn some practical tips on how to create a culture of design excellence in your team or organization, whether you are a designer, a manager, or a stakeholder.
Developing a clear and shared design vision and principles can help bring your team and organization together around a common goal and direction. These elements can also direct your design decisions, processes, and standards. To create your design vision and principles, consider questions such as the purpose and value of design in your organization, the main challenges and opportunities for design in your context, the key attributes of good design in your domain, and how you want your design to impact users, customers, and society. Once you have answers to these questions, synthesize them into a concise statement that captures your design vision and principles. Additionally, you can use visual elements such as logos, colors, fonts, and icons to communicate your design identity and style.
Creating a culture of design excellence is only possible when all leaders are aligned on the value and importance of design, and on the identity and goal of the organization. Design must be nurtured and respected to produce exceptional results; this means time for exploration and iteration, cross pollination and collaboration with other departments, prototyping and testing, solid partnership with marketing and research and solid design leadership. Design excellence is not pushing for an MVP to get anything out there, its about rallying the company to create something that users will love and that will add value to their lives.
We could stop using questions on linked in to respond as complicated as possible, and make design seem as complex as many people’s spreadsheets . Design is about creating change , cultural change and shifts in behaviours and experiences . It’s there to delight and be enjoyed in all aspects. Your vision should always link back to these simple principles because if we are not doing them we are not designing we are just doing .
Creating a culture of design excellence entails fostering an environment where exceptional design is a shared value and constant pursuit. To achieve this, leadership must be dedicated to prioritizing design quality and provide the necessary resources. By establishing a clear design vision and values, the organization can align its teams towards common goals. Collaboration across departments is pivotal, promoting a user-centered approach where designers work closely with developers, marketers, and product managers to ensure designs resonate with user needs and business objectives. This iterative design process, supported by user research and feedback, encourages continuous improvement.
Start with the identity The heartbeat of your organization is far more valuable than any trends you can adopt. Spend time in deep discovery, understanding who you are as a brand and things will design themselves. We no longer have to "stand out from the crowd". We have to design an expression of what's on the inside because that's where beauty lies. Unapologetically.
A culture of design excellence is built on alignment, collaboration, and clear communication. It starts with aligning all stakeholders on timelines, goals, and design style. Collaboration then brings diverse skills and ideas together, enhancing creativity. Lastly, clear communication is vital, ensuring everyone understands and participates effectively in the process. This combination fosters a harmonious environment where outstanding design naturally emerges.
Design excellence is not achieved in isolation, but through collaboration with stakeholders such as users, customers, managers, developers, and other departments. Involving these stakeholders early and often in the design process can provide valuable insights and feedback from different perspectives and expertise. It also helps to build trust and rapport with stakeholders, reduce misunderstandings and conflicts, and increase buy-in and support for design solutions. To effectively involve stakeholders, use methods such as interviews, surveys, observations to understand their needs, goals, and pain points. Personas, scenarios, and journey maps can help to empathize with them while prototypes, wireframes, and mockups can be used to test and validate design ideas. Presentations, reports, and stories are great for communicating the design rationale and outcomes.
Get out early ugly sketches. Don't try to give them everything at once. Take it a step at a time with your stakeholders and move, teach, explain, show research along the way.
I advocate for an interactive approach that engages stakeholders directly, facilitating a deeper understanding of their needs and expectations. Through open dialogue and workshops, stakeholders can articulate their design preferences and gain insight into our process—an agile way of thinking that fosters collaboration and clarity.
Design critique and feedback are essential for improving design quality and skills, as well as identifying and solving design problems, generating new ideas, and learning from others. However, these activities can be challenging and intimidating, especially if you're not used to giving and receiving constructive criticism. To establish a regular design critique and feedback system, you should set clear goals and expectations, choose a suitable format and frequency, create a safe environment for sharing opinions without fear of judgment or rejection, and use a structured approach that focuses on both the strengths and weaknesses of the design while providing concrete recommendations for improvement.
In addition, I believe regular pre-scheduled meetings are crucial. They provide dedicated time for giving and receiving feedback, fostering a structured approach that contributes to both personal and professional growth as a designer.
I suppose the idea behind "How can one establish a culture of design excellence?" is more inclined towards an agency model rather than a community approach. Both aspects hold significance. Honesty and modeling play a crucial role. It involves questioning individuals about what they would alter and how they would handle the situation if they were in charge. At aagd, I ensure that people have the freedom to openly criticize and collaborate on our work. I believe this is the fundamental aspect of fostering a feedback-driven culture. The leadership should also be willing to embrace vulnerability within the same framework.
Design excellence is not a static or final state, but a dynamic and ongoing process. As a designer, it is important to stay up-to-date with changing needs and expectations of users and customers. To foster continuous learning and experimentation, seek inspiration from different sources such as books, blogs, podcasts, magazines, conferences, workshops, and online courses. Additionally, try out new tools and platforms that can enhance your design workflow and output. Challenge yourself and your team to explore new design concepts and solutions that can push the boundaries of your creativity and innovation. Lastly, measure the impact of your design experiments using data and metrics such as user feedback, usability testing, analytics, and conversion rates.
Embrace continuous learning and don't be afraid of making mistakes, although I understand it's not always easy. Personally, I struggle with perfectionism, which can hinder progress due to doubts and overthinking. One useful tip is to experiment during your personal time or in personal projects before applying it to client work. This approach helps you develop skills and gain confidence. Overcome mental barriers by stepping out of your comfort zone. Remember, it's okay to make errors – they're stepping stones to expanding your horizons and growing as a designer!
Design excellence is not only about overcoming challenges and solving problems, but also about celebrating your design achievements and successes. Recognizing and appreciating your own and your team's efforts and contributions can boost morale and motivation, as well as showcase your design value and impact. To celebrate, you can share design stories and outcomes with your team, organization, and community using different channels and media. Furthermore, rewarding yourself and your team with tangible and intangible incentives, such as bonuses or recognition, or organizing fun events like parties or games can further celebrate successes.
It’s only possible if you teach! Share! Collaborate! People who think of design as some “secret formula”, will buffer your growth and theirs too! Beware of these folks! They will understand in their own time and that is none of your business! Find someone who believes in sharing knowledge!
Crafting a design culture of excellence involves infusing purpose and innovation, inspiring designers to focus on solutions that resonate with end-users. Foster collaborations across diverse fields, breaking down silos and keeping the design team updated on trends. Establish a feedback loop for continuous refinement, embracing a bold approach and calculated risks for groundbreaking ideas. Uphold ethical standards for sustainable design practices, staying agile and adapting designs based on feedback. Celebrate the rich talents within the team, acknowledging diverse perspectives contribute to extraordinary outcomes. These moves can help achieve a culture of design excellence.