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the skill set of a strategic designer

strategic designers:

  • always put the user first - are empathic, but also have the business goals in mind
  • build a bridge to the users by design, discover their unarticulated needs and wants
  • start with the brand, with analysis, differentiation and positioning, not with symbols and color
  • conduct research, make sense of things, be aware of trends, 'connect the dots' and understand complexity
  • bridge research, insights, business strategy and design
  • are great communicators, prepare concise presentations and milestones for stakeholders
  • understand and speak the language of business and are able to communicate upwards, downwards and sideways
  • need endurance; change does not happen overnight
  • recognize that strategic design always has an impact on existing systems: the designer needs to be able to understand and manage the change that he sets in motion
  • build consensus in teams using visualization skills
  • generate, illustrate and share strategies using design methods
  • need to be 'T-shaped' team players
  • translate insights into tangible design attributes

Chances, Stratetic Design