Don’t let team politics get in the way of shipping great design
by Daniel Burka / Design Partner, Google Ventures
Shipping great design work is a struggle. You can have expert-level knowledge of Photoshop, color theory, copywriting, grid systems, and branding — and still consistently ship crap products. Things happen: colleagues meddle with your work, interfaces get implemented poorly, compromises cut to the bone, and great ideas fall to the cutting room floor.
Unfortunately, there are few resources available to help designers develop soft skills like working with a team and building credibility. Here are a handful of techniques that I find useful.
Know your own team #
Identify decision-makers #
Big organizations (annoyingly) call these people stakeholders; in small teams the decision-makers might include the company’s founders or the engineers who build UI. Consciously identify these people and get to know them. What makes them tick? What makes them excited to come into work every day?
Speak their dialect #
Explain your recommendations so decision-makers can understand you. If you’re convinced that the logo needs to be tweaked, a flow needs to be improved, or a feature should be done a certain way, try using the decision-makers’ dialect. “People will like it” or “it looks better” won’t resonate with an engineer or a CEO. “We think people will use this feature more” or “this reinforces our brand” are stronger arguments.
Feel their pain #
Consider what pressures your decision-makers face. Maybe your CEO is worried about the promises she made to her board, your engineer is refactoring the codebase, and your UX director is striving to maintain cross-platform consistencies. As you work toward shipping your project, there will be compromises made by all of these people — many of them necessary. If you can’t defend your decisions against these pressures, consider whether they are really the right decisions for the company.
Build credibility #
Bring the data #
Do your homework so you can confidently make recommendations. Taking a mobile-first design approach? Be ready to quote your product’s mobile stats. Think a new interface is a big improvement? Conduct a quick and dirty user study so that you can (kindly) rebut your CEO with real evidence.
After you launch, measure the success of your design — not only will you validate this decision, but you’ll equip yourself to say “this type of change yielded 120% more usage” the next time you want to try the same approach.
Shut up and design #
When people argue in the abstract, it’s hard to make design decisions. Luckily, designers can make things — they can bridge the gap between concept and reality. When your colleagues are debating the right product approach, grab a pen and paper or your laptop and sketch it out in medium fidelity. Now there’s a real(ish) thing to discuss, and you’re at the center of the debate.
Prepare #
The biggest struggles usually occur at the end of projects. That’s why it’s important to start working with your whole team early on. Try sharing rough concepts with colleagues and get feedback from in-house experts (for example, ask your sales team if the new pricing screen reflects how people buy your product.) People will go out of their way to help you build a feature if they feel like it’s partly their feature too. Engage your engineers, in particular, as early as you can — it’s not only critical to have them as partners but their input will invariably result in better design overall.
Pre-prepare #
This is one of the softest skills of all — try to be friendly with your entire team. If PMs, engineers, and management enjoy getting lunch with you, you’ll be privy to important information and you’ll be in a better position to ask for favors. You don’t need to be BFFs, but relationships take work and it’s too late to form a relationship when you need to call in a favor.
Get a seat at the table from the beginning #
All of the above won’t help you ship great design if the product is fundamentally flawed. Ideally you’re involved in all the early discussions, helping to turn an inkling of an idea into a concrete plan. But that’s easier said than done.
One approach is to ratchet up your value to the team. Start with a few simple projects and knock them out of the park. Thoughtfully make design improvements to someone else’s idea and studiously explain why these small improvements matter. You’ll win some arguments and you’ll lose some arguments (that’s OK), but over time you’ll become known as someone with valuable insights and suggestions.
Become known as a tinkerer #
Instead of following along, show that you’re willing to tinker and hack on new ideas. Your engineer has a wacky idea? Before saying “no”, give it a shot and discuss it together. Your PM suggests something that’s only OK? Try her suggestion, but also try a tangential solution and bring them both to her to discuss together.
Come up with your own ideas and express them through design. While everyone is discussing what to do, you can take your ideas and make a prototype that looks like a real product. Carry a few of your own ideas past the ideation phase and into production, and your standing in your organization will rise.
Outright ask to be at the table #
Sometimes the direct approach is the easiest. Maybe it never occurred to your CEO that you can do a better job if you understand the business and strategic rationale for product decisions. Leadership may be afraid of having too many cooks in the kitchen, so be ready to allay those fears — you can promise to just be an observer for the first few product meetings… then slowly increase your influence.
Act the part #
Keep your cool #
It’s possible to get your way by smacking your shoe on the table (yes, I nearly pulled a Kruschev once) but raising your voice is a clear sign that you’re losing control. People will avoid asking for your advice and they’ll be scared to bring up legitimate challenges the next time. Plus, who wants to be that person?
Be passionate #
I hesitate in giving this advice because it’s very far down the spectrum of soft skills, but I’ve found it really effective to be outwardly passionate about design. Luckily I don’t have to fake it, because I really am passionate about what I do.
When other people see your enthusiasm for your work, it’s infectious, and they might start seeing the magic in it too. If a typeface makes you really happy because it has a wonderful ligature that carries the reader’s eye across the letterforms, excitedly show someone and explain why ligatures are awesome. It’s pretty simple: people like collaborating with passionate people.
You don’t have a veto #
Above all, avoid playing the “I’m the designer” card. Believe it or not, I’ve heard designers try to win an argument by declaring that their job title gives them a veto on design. Even decisions that seem simple, like choosing a color, should have a clear rationale you can explain in plain English. If you must resort to putting your business card on the table, you’re actually going to undermine your credibility.
So, just make your boss happy? #
Company leadership may not like to hear it, but this advice does not translate into “just make your boss happy.” You could do everything your boss asks, and in the short term, that might get you a pat on the back and a raise. But in the long run, that’s not going to help your company or your customers, and it’s certainly not going to help you ship great design.
Nor is this advice about manipulating people or about how to get your way. There are plenty of dark arts that you could use to sneak under the radar or get your way. You might feel clever if you use the dark arts, but your team won’t like you and ultimately your work will suffer.
These techniques are all about collaborating to achieve a great result for your team, your company, and your customers. Your team is an invaluable resource for critique, ideas, insight, and advice… but only if you have a healthy relationship with them.
Daniel Burka is a design partner at Google Ventures. He founded Milk and Silverorange, and led design for Digg and Tiny Speck.