Real-Life Lessons in Co-Creation for Designers By Hannah Baker Dear Reader, Have you ever faced the challenge of aligning a diverse team to create a unified vision? It's a common struggle for designers who aim to create products that resonate deeply with their users and business goals. Recently, I embarked on such a journey with the Guild of Working Designers to refresh our community approach. Today, I will provide an in-depth look at our process, challenges, and insights, showcasing how...
30 days ago • 4 min read
What is product discovery? by Jeff Humble Dear Reader, So, there's this secret term that product leadership uses to describe your work behind your back. And today, I want you to be crystal clear on what it is. It's a word they use to describe it when you do extra research to ensure you're designing the best possible idea. It's a phase of work that you might call UX, but they call it something else. They call it "product discovery." What is Product Discovery? The term comes from consultant and...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Why Introverts Struggle with Leadership [2024] By Hannah Baker Dear Reader, I want to revisit the "Why Introverts Struggle with Leadership" newsletter I wrote in 2022. It's been two years, and the insights shared back then are more relevant than ever in 2024. I'll also provide new reflections from our current experiences. Why is this important now? In 2024, designers face new challenges, including the rise of AI and the threat of layoffs during economic downturns. Facilitative leadership is...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Why You Need to "Get" the Business Strategy by Jeff Humble Dear Reader, I ran a strategy workshop for 20 design leaders and managers here in Berlin yesterday. We discussed the 3 levels of strategy. Here's the slide: Ok, here's a quick breakdown of the 3 levels: Corporate Strategy - Most companies don't need a Corporate Strategy. An example would be Alphabet's Corporate Strategy for Google and YouTube. You can probably ignore that one. Business Strategy - The main strategy at most companies....
2 months ago • 2 min read
What We Dreamed Up at the Design Community Session By Hannah Baker Dear Reader, Wow, what a whirlwind of inspiration we stirred up at last week's Designers' Collective Dreaming meetup! Your passion, ideas, and stories have inspired exciting visions for the Guild of Working Designers' future. Our meetup was not just another gathering but a hands-on exploration of what makes a design community flourish and how we can enhance it. Through heartfelt conversations, sticky notes, and imaginative...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Figma Skills Won't Get You Promoted by Jeff Humble Dear Reader, Today's advice letter concerns the design community's fetishization of Figma and how our obsession with tools gives the wrong impression. Let me explain. Everywhere you look, designer dudes are trying to sell you on Figma. Design is so much more than software for drawing rectangles. But still, you click this stuff. It's almost like you think that learning this one piece of software is the job...rather than, you know, learning how...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Shaping the Future of the Guild of Working Designers - Let's Co-Create! By Hannah Baker Dear Reader, As one of over 6,500 newsletter subscribers, you're part of a vibrant group passionate about senior-level design and leadership. You might have heard us refer to the Guild of Working Designers, or Guild for short, and maybe you're even part of it. But if you've been curious about what this is and why it exists, we are here to clarify that and offer an opportunity to shape its future. The Guild...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Innovation by Design with Cristina Colosi Dear Reader, Last night, we heard an inspiring talk from Cristina Colosi, a service designer working on the innovation team at Rainforest Alliance. Many designers want to get involved in sustainability work, and Cristina is an example of how you can use your design skills to make a real impact on the climate. Cristina gave us a firsthand view of her innovation work with a case study about an NGO that involved farmers, corporations, and the entire...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Balancing Freelance Life with Maya McBeath Dear Reader, Last night, we had a roundtable with Maya McBeath, a human-centered designer, user researcher, and workshop facilitator. Maya shared how to maintain steady work without losing your soul. Freelancing can be tough, but Maya's human-first approach is a way to keep doing the work you love on your terms. The down-to-earth discussion includes: How Maya started freelancing Cultivating resilience by diversifying income streams Practical...
5 months ago • 1 min read