How to think strategically as a designer and understand product vision
3 critical skills to learn to make yourself a stronger design job candidate
I've been reflecting on the field of Design recently, as many great Designers I know have suddenly found themselves out of a job.
People have stated that UX Design, as a field, is dead. I don't necessarily agree with that, but there's a shift coming that many Junior UX Designers need to be aware of. Tactical designers are on the decline, while Strategic designers are on the rise.
I'm not the only one who thinks this; many recruiters also voice similar concerns.
To understand what this means, we first need to discuss what these concepts mean.
Most Designers start as Tactical Designers
Designers, whether they realize it or not, often align themselves in one of two ways when they first start working:
They align themselves with the Product team
They align themselves with the Engineering team
What's more is that most Designers align themselves with Engineering. What does that mean?
The Product team may develop a backlog of features to build and ask you to build a feature. So, Design works closely with Engineering to build that feature, with prototypes and actual code.
What's wrong with that approach? Did anyone consult with Product about "Why should we build this feature?" or ask about the user's wants and needs? If not, you might have just built a feature users didn't want, wasting time and effort.
Do too much of this, and you may be in a feature factory. A feature factory is where product teams churn out numerous features based on a nebulous list of priorities rather than user interest.
While User research can help mitigate some problems with this, it's often aimed at solving lower-level problems. For example, it might tell you that users don't find particular features helpful, but the Product team usually wants to know about the developed features, not additional features users want.
Working in this way is what Laura Fish and Scott Kiekbusch, authors of "The Designer's Guide to Product Vision," call a tactical Designer. Tactical designers serve as a bridge between Design and engineering, helping to build features. Still, without a clear vision of where you're going, you can waste time and effort building features no one uses.
So what's the alternative? Fish and Kiekbusch say the answer is to become a strategic designer. And you might have started on this path already.
Strategic Designers understand the Product Vision
My path toward becoming a Strategic Designer started with a simple ask: The product team wanted me to build a Future-state Journey Map (and prototype).
Engineering still needed to build several features due to technical constraints. However, Product still wanted those designs and ideas put in a prototype, which they could discuss with potential clients.
The problem, as it turned out, was that the requirements for some of these things were vague. Because they hadn't been brought into our Agile backlog, there needed to be a clear vision of how these things would interact.
I would need to think more than two sprints ahead for some of these features. I did what came naturally to me: I asked many questions to try and frame the problem correctly. The answers I uncovered, as it turned out, did more than spell out the requirements of the feature: it helped me understand why Product wanted this in the first place.
This was my first taste of Product Vision, the essence of the Product, and a better way to think about Design. This was the 'other' choice offered to Designers, aligning with the Product team to understand the overall strategy, long-term objectives, and more.
You may have encountered some aspects of Product Vision before, primarily if you conduct User Research. Users might talk about long-term goals or motivations or request features the Product team says are included in the long-term roadmap.
These small steps may help align Designers with the Product team, and it's a crucial part of becoming a Strategic Designer. Strategic designers, in other words, bridge the gap between Design and business. So why are Strategic Designers on the rise, and why Tactical Designers are falling?
Because UX alone is not enough anymore. The landscape is changing for many Designers, and with the advent of AI-based tools, what matters more are the thinking aspects of the Design role.
So, how do you start becoming a Strategic Designer if that's the case? It starts with three essential skills: Problem Framing, Sketching, and Design Storytelling.
Help to Frame Problems, Then Visualize a potential solution
I've talked about Problem Framing before, but applying it to a strategic initiative recently allowed me to review exactly what I did.
Problem framing, in simple terms, is about asking the right questions for a project. Rather than letting Product hash out all the requirements ahead of time and then spoon-feeding them to you when they're ready, it's the process of learning to ask the right questions during the process that helps Product come up with the right solution.
Many Junior Designers may hesitate to ask too many questions, fearing that doing so may negatively affect them.
However, there are a few fundamental rules to keep in mind to help you with this process:
Don't waste other people's time if you only need to ask one person:
One primary reason people get frustrated with too many questions is it can quickly devolve a larger meeting into a one-on-one question-and-answer session. Many participants have limited time to talk, so if you need to delve deep into a problem with an individual, schedule a one-on-one with them.
Emphasize the benefits of answering questions with a sketch:
The other reason people tend to get frustrated with questions is that it might seem like there's no benefit to answering them. You can address this by specifically mentioning what your team gains from this: a sketch.
I'm not advocating that you have the complete Design ready for sketching, though. However, the idea that you can turn a list of requirements into something visual is often incredibly appealing to your team. So be sure to mention that when you start to ask your questions.
Understand which details matter to the design problem:
I've mainly encountered this in technical fields, but it may apply when starting a project. If you don't understand the terminology, that's fine; you can learn the technical piece later.
You need to understand the core concepts, the design implications, and how they may relate to one another.
Once you understand this skill, the next step is to learn another skill: Design Storytelling.
Design Storytelling, or how to persuade high-ranking people
Design Storytelling often seems like a peripheral skill only useful for presentations, but it's a powerful tool that can even persuade CEOs.
In addition, when you engage in design storytelling, you're invariably forced to consider the bigger picture. The reason is that to tell a story effectively, you're forced to consider the core question: "Why?"
Explaining why users did specific actions, why they would (or would not) use your site long-term, or why certain features are more helpful than others are critical questions that your team needs to understand. These help inform long-term strategic thinking and help to define "Product Vision" for your stakeholders.
I won't dive too deep into Design storytelling, as I've explained the details more thoroughly in another article, but know that it is an essential skill that's opened many doors.
Strategic Design may be the future of senior-level Design jobs
I never imagined that my habit of always asking questions would lead me toward becoming a Strategic Designer. Not only has it opened doors to people within my organization, but it's also provided me with a degree of job security.
When you're the designer known for translating business ideas into visual designs, even if they're vague, companies tend to value you. On the other hand, if you're a designer just waiting around for detailed instructions, your role may be perceived as more expendable.
I'm not saying there isn't a market for Tactical Designers. There will always be a demand for tactical designers who collaborate well with engineers and rapidly develop design features.
But the path to senior design jobs, in a world of vague business ideas and uncertainty, seems much more straightforward as a strategic designer. If you're reflecting on working in Design and want to consider skills that can make you a strong job candidate, think about learning to become a strategic designer.
It can help distinguish you as a strong job candidate.
Kai Wong is a Senior Product Designer, Data-Informed Design Author, and Top Design Writer on Medium. His new free book, The Resilient UX Professional, provides real-world advice to get your first UX job and advance your UX career.