The importance of being a commercially literate designer

In today’s evolving market, the role of a designer transcends aesthetics, user journey mapping, and whether or not you should code; it demands a keen understanding of commercial dynamics. Being commercially literate empowers designers to advocate for their proposals by aligning them with business growth objectives, enhancing the relevance of their work to wider stakeholders.?

Whether navigating budget discussions, justifying project costs, or understanding conversion rate trends, commercial literacy equips designers with the essential tools to thrive in diverse sectors. In this blog post I explore why commercial literacy is a critical skill for designers, sharing insights and experiences from various professional settings to illustrate its importance.

A public sector perspective

Regardless of what sector you work in, you need to be commercially literate as a designer. The required commercial know-how you need just come in slightly different flavours. For example, when I worked in government the narrative was always built around how we were saving money for the taxpayer.?

At GDS we got quite good at building the case for user centred design by being aware of how we spoke about ROI. Jen Allum was great at this – when framing work initiatives, she’d often speak in terms like ‘Why do we think this is worth ￡250k of taxpayers money?’. To some this may feel like a blocker to experimentation, but this approach effectively tested whether the proposals and insights had solid foundations.

When I was Head of Design for Government as a Platform at GDS there was a budget squeeze looming. The GOV.UK Design System came under scrutiny from a budgetary perspective, with high level folks questioning its commercial viability. Tim Paul and his team were able to navigate this period expertly, not by emphasising the aesthetic consistency of the components, but by demonstrating how the design system saved millions of taxpayer pounds by reducing government service team development overheads. The team was able to do this by prioritising time with economists to build a robust narrative around why this product was worth investing in.

Current approaches at Which?

At Which?, we’re open with our colleagues about our commercial footing. We run quarterly all staff sessions on the subject and regularly circulate important commercial metrics via email and on office screens. To get a sense of how much of this information was sinking in I recently conducted an 'Acquisition and Retention' quiz at our product design and user research team meeting. In this quiz I asked questions regarding things like seasonal conversion rates, content engagement trends and latest cancellation metrics. It was just for a bit of fun, but enabled another way for folks to get a broader understanding of the types of metrics they should be aware of.

Within my team we’re on a journey of enabling our product designers and user researchers to be more commercially aware. This is conditioning us to build better cases for our work and also forge better cross-functional relationships with commercial teams. By speaking each others language the goal is to build better narratives for long lived workstreams that might take a little more time to unlock user and commercial value.

An example of this is how we were able to demonstrate the value of longer term investment in improving our onsite search experience. By correlating search complaints to a drop in member satisfaction we were able to build the case for longer term focus in this space positively impacting member retention. Although it may seem obvious, having these data points and insights readily accessible is critical.

We've also integrated the concept of guardrail metrics into our squad OKR planning to help mitigate the risk that narrowly focused Key Results could negatively impact broader commercial metrics outside the target area. A comprehensive understanding of the commercial landscape relevant to your responsibilities ensures that your work stands up to scrutiny. While you don’t need to be an expert in all aspects of commercial metrics, possessing a high-level understanding can foster collaboration, build trust, and ultimately empower you to undertake impactful work.

Conclusion

In essence, commercial literacy should be regarded as a fundamental aspect of modern design practice, integrating user-centeredness with business acumen. Spanning different sectors, the examples discussed illustrate how understanding and articulating the commercial value of design work fosters more effective collaborations and strategic decisions. By embracing commercial literacy, designers not only enhance their own credibility and influence but also contribute significantly to the sustainability and success of projects they care about. As we continue to navigate an ever more complex working environment, the ability to blend traditional design skills with commercial insight will remain a pivotal asset for designers looking to grow into and thrive in leadership positions.