“Designers are the real leaders in a company. Not even your boss!”
Hehe that is a controversial statement.
And I want you to realise how big and important you are in your company!
Before I joined my design school CREAPOLE-ESDI in Paris,
I randomly met the director Mr Jean-Michel Leralu. He taught me that a great designer is a great leader.
While engineers used to drive companies, now great companies are driven by designers who show empathy for users, understand their needs and create for them. Designers use sociologic approaches to create products that people will love using.
Look at this chair you are sitting in, the Samsung phone you use daily, your Apple MacBook, the Stanley Bottle you bought when it was hype! The restaurant you plan to go dinner tonight. The house or building you live in.
As you glance around, everything you see started with a thought, a drawing.
As a designer, you do not only bring ideas to life but also lead the way in turning those ideas into reality. A great designer is more than a creative genius sketching on paper; they are leaders who inspire and convince others to join your journey.
Designers are leaders who inspire and convince others to join their journey.
If you are especially introvert like me, you know what?
That can be tough sometimes.
But you will discover new facets of your personality with excitement.
Since, I tried to apply his advice in my design career – and you would surprise how much more fun your creative journey becomes! Imagine being the driving force behind something amazing.
1 Beyond the Drawing
Designers wear many hats. They are not just “Artists”.
They’re strategic thinkers who navigate multiple departments to make their vision happen. This means presenting ideas to marketing, engineering, logistics, and accounting teams, among others.
The goal is to show not only how your designs benefit users but also why the effort is worthwhile.
Even if each department is super professional, if they don’t share your enthusiasm, they might just do the minimum required. But to succeed, you need their full energy—110%—just like you’re giving to your project.
You need them as much as they need you.
It’s a team effort!
2 Be Ambitious and Push Boundaries
A great designer is ambitious, always striving for something significant and impactful.
Their mindset is all about identifying what needs to be done and finding ways to make it happen.
This often means pushing boundaries and challenging conventional thinking.
You want to communicate with other departments to find alliance and support. Share about your work and learn from them. So, you would work with a unified team.
Your motto is to set and ambitious goal and figure out a way to get there.
3 Gain people’s trust
Like what Michael DiTullo shared with us in our podcast:
“The most difficult part as a designer is to preserve your idea.”
There will be 1000 reasons why people will try to simplify it, denature it, or even destroy it!
Don’t give up and be ready to fight for your project.
4 How to Overcome Challenges
The path to success is rarely smooth.
As a leader you can’t play “the grumpy dictator”. Or you may end alone pretty quick.
You will need to be able to listen to your team and various department resistance.
Remember, a great designer’s role is not just to lead the design team but to facilitate the entire process, from idea to launch. Seek for collaboration from of the departments so all share the same goal and vision.
By doing so, they increase the chances of their product being noticed, purchased, and used by consumers.
In other words, improve people’s life.
5 Collaborate Across Departments
Even with a revolutionary idea, not everyone will have the tools to realise it.
Also, each department may face obstacles.
For many, you would never be aware of if you would remain in your “office cubicle”.
As an introvert designer, you can’t just drop an idea, waiting for people to love it and defend it for you.
You gotta get out of your turtle shell and take leadership.
Designers must work closely with each team, understanding enough about their roles to communicate effectively and propose solutions that improve the process.
As well as you need empathy to create a product that people will love, you will need empathy to understand other departments.
Here are some examples of potential objections and how to address them:
Marketing Objections: “How will this product appeal to our target audience?”
Solution: Develop marketing materials that highlight the product’s unique features and benefits, showing how they align with consumer needs.
Example: In my previous company at Charles & Keith, the design and marketing team created “FASHION STYLE GUIDES” to help regional buyers to better visualize what type of shoes would match what type of style and accessories. It helped convincing them to carry the shoe designs in their stores and display them in the shop windows with confidence.
Engineering Team Objections: “Is this design feasible with our current technology?”
Solution: Collaborate with engineers to explore innovative solutions or modifications that make the design more feasible without compromising its essence.
Example: If a specific type of shoe outsole would become a fad (trend that last 1 season only), it could be interesting to outsource the outsole production. It would avoid investing on an expensive technology that would be used only once.
Logistics Objections: “How will we manage production and distribution efficiently?”
Solution: Work with logistics to streamline processes, perhaps by optimizing supply chains or implementing more efficient packaging solutions.
Example: In fashion, time is money. It is essential to deliver the shoe collection on time before everyone else if we could. The previous process had no common visual timeline for everyone to refer too. I created a GANTT CHART that would make it easy for everyone to know how much time each department would need for their task.
In case a department would be late, we tried to “negotiate” if a department could squeeze their timeline, so the products would still be delivered on time.
You may ask: Why a designer should bother about the process? Because the product you are developing is “your baby”. If you believe in your project, you got to do anything on your power to help it grow with the best conditions.
If you can improve the company process, you would also help all designer project’s higher chance to succeed too.
If you don’t know something, be transparent.
Just say you don’t know and ask questions. Investigate with a positive mindset and enthusiasm.
Remember, a designer is a Problem solver.
That applies withing the company too!
Use your creative mind to help unlock other departments solve their issues.
6 Empower and Support
To succeed in this multifaceted role, aspiring designers must be brave and seek support when needed.
Yes, your drawings and ideas are essential. However, your ability to bring your product to life is equally important.
Creating comprehensive documents that outline the benefits and feasibility of their ideas can help facilitate collaboration across departments.
By doing so, designers empower each team to contribute effectively to the project’s success.
Conclusion
In conclusion, being a great designer is not just about creativity;
- it’s about leadership,
- collaboration,
- and inspiring others to share your vision.
My recommendation for aspiring designers?
Always do more than the tasks attribute to you. Be passionate and target influencing business decisions!
Be curious and learn from everyone working in the company to build a holistic approach.
If you are willing to jump in improving or facilitating the company process, you never know where the next innovation come from. : )
Keep pushing forward, and remember, you’ve got this!
Cheers,
Chou-Tac
PS: I am now in Los Angeles for 1 month, if you want to meet up, let me know! 🙂
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