The Do’s and Don’ts of Good Design Strategy

As creatives, we know why and how our pixels matter. From simplifying the complex to motivating behavior change, user centricity is at the core of what we do. But the organizations we design for are not in the business of aesthetics, they’re selling solutions.

To further amplify the visibility and impact of our work, we need to connect the dots between our creative practices and business objectives. Successful designers do this well. They position themselves as problem-solvers, as opposed to “artists.” They use a business-oriented mindset to translate their design skills into business value, which they then use to grow design’s influence within their organization.

Here are some basic do’s and don’ts to help you take after their approach:

Do: Understand the business goals

Don’t: Confuse OKRs and roadmaps with strategy

The success of what we ship depends on a deep understanding of both the user’s needs and the company’s objectives.

That’s why it’s important to get a sense of the goals set by business leaders — not just design leaders — like financial performance, growth rates, and product market fit. It’s also essential to understand the rationale behind those goals–to know how achieving those goals will help your company grow faster than competitors.

Get familiar with the company’s vision, your product team’s mission, and how your discipline-specific strategies ladder up to them. Roadmaps will guide your day to day work and OKRs will help measure your progress towards it; know the difference and reference them frequently.

Do: Tie your design strategy back to your overall company strategy

Don’t: Rely on one single insight alone

Sure, staying on top of the industry’s latest best practices is an important part of the job, but what’s the true impact of prioritizing that latest rebrand if it doesn’t affect the business’ bottom line?

It’s easy to get lost in the details or focus on just one thing (like customer insights) instead of taking a step back and making sure that your design strategy ladders back up to all the company’s goals.

For example, if the business strategy is focused on increasing customer retention, the design roadmap should prioritize features and functionality that promote customer engagement and satisfaction.

Do: Say no to asks, proposals, and build requests outside your strategy

Don’t: Say yes to too many things

Strategy is just as much about what you say no to as it is about what you’re saying yes to. Saying yes to everything is typically a tripwire that a team is either struggling with focus or lacking clear strategy.

When you have a framework that guides your decision making process, you know where you need to focus — and that allows you to minimize, deprioritize, or push back requests that fall outside of that focus.

Do: Consult other teams on your design strategy

Don’t: Create your strategy in a vacuum

It may come as no surprise to designers that companies who incorporate design into their business strategy tend to see more success. In fact, the Design Management Institute reports that design-led companies outperform comparable counterparts by a staggering 211% when it comes to delivering shareholder value.

The link between design and a company’s bottom line is clear. That’s why it’s important for designers to not only build, but also plan and strategize, in conjunction with other teams.

Collaborating with — or even simply consulting — your company’s business functions when developing your design strategy is essential to communicating our business value, so pull them in early and often. Teams that plan and build together, will thrive together. (This McKinsey report about design departments becoming “vibrant town squares” is pretty compelling.)

Do: Get specific with your strategy

Don’t: Define a generic strategy that isn’t relevant to your industry or market landscape

It’s important that UX strategies are contextualized within the current realities of a product. Let’s use the example of a company that’s looking to increase its customer retention. To build an effective design strategy that addresses increased churn, a successful design team would consider the big-picture factors like the competition, changes in market trends, customer expectations, user research, or recent product/feature changes (or lack thereof).

This is another reason why it’s so important to collaborate with cross-functional partners as you create design strategy. In order to get a full, wide-angle picture, you’ll absolutely need those other points of view.

Do: Pursue an understanding of business basics

Don’t: Assume that because you’re a designer, you don’t have to know the business

The reality is that design exists to build the business — so the sooner we find a satisfying frame for our craft within that context, the more impact we can have.

We created our Designing Businesses workshop to help creatives at all levels develop basic business acumen and perspectives that apply directly to their day-to-day responsibilities. The next course starts in August. There are still seats available. One of them could be yours!

Here are three ways Design Dept. can help you grow as a leader:

1. Attend the Designing Businesses workshop to build your business acumen, or design a customized learning series for your team
2. Work one-on-one with leadership coach to tap into your creativity as a leader and transform the way you work with your team
3. Sign up for our newsletter to get design leadership wisdom in your inbox each week