This research, the findings and insights, combined with experience has led to a framework of needs to be addressed, by designers and non-designers. This framework is focused on the underlying biases and assumptions each side has of each other, unspoken but yet prominent and present in such a way that it prevents companies from making […]
Designers
10. Ethos – What makes a designer a designer is at the same time seen as an asset and a liability.
We have used Ethos to describe what makes a designer a designer, an association of values that generically characterize designers, and though some attitudes and behaviors observed in designers might correlate with their ethos, there is no implicit or explicit causation. We have described these as a balance between two sides of the continuum, tensions […]
8. Flexibility – Designers tend to stick to design, no experience in managing other areas.
This insight describes an argument that designers tend to stick to design, they have little to no experience in managing other areas, and this being something that defines the necessary flexibility for anyone to get a position in the C-suite of a large corporation. It’s the example of CEO’s that started in a low wage […]
7. Scarcity – There aren’t enough qualified designers with the right experience in the market.
This insight was added because several of the interviewees stated that, if the F50 companies decided all at once to hire a new designer for an executive position in their C-suite, they would have a very hard time because there were not enough qualified designers with the right experience in the market, that many of […]
Is it because they don’t have an engineering degree?
According to market data, engineering is the most common undergraduate degree of the F500 CEOs, and it has been for some time. Approximately one third of CEOs majored in engineering and only 11% graduated from business school. This might be another insight that impacts access to Designers to this selective group, a strong engineering, highly […]
6. Preparation – Designers don’t have the right education and training, skill set, mindset.
This insight describes an argument where designers don’t have the right education and training, skillset, mindset. While these elements are all different in nature – education what you get in school, training what you can get throughout your career, skillset embodies hard + soft skills and result from natural and apprehended means, and mindset which […]
2. Necessity – There is no need, design is already represented, these corporations are at the top of their game.
This insight generally describes a corporate context where there is no need for a designer in a C-suite position, design is already represented in some shape or form by one or more executives, these corporations are at the top of their game, so it is arguable that they don’t need a designer in this position. […]
What about the Senior/mid-career designer survey?
We designed a longer survey aimed at senior/ mid-career designers in medium/ large corporations, this time soliciting support from organizations that associate designers in different domains. This survey had forty multiple answer questions covering eight sections: • Demographic data on the respondent • The company/ corporation they work/ worked • Education and training • Career […]
What was the research methodology?
The research of the doctoral thesis was focused on the development of knowledge of a particular context that impacts design, and the expectation is that the knowledge produced may later transform in different forms of practice. The research started with a given statement describing a situation, and has ended in specification to implement a solution, […]
What makes a designer a designer?
If the definition and history of design is far from consensual, so is the definition of a designer. Beyond craft elements that make a designer an apt professional, what makes a designer a designer are more core beliefs and view of the world, as well as how we are seen by others. When we address […]