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 […]
Insights
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 […]
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. […]
1. Design CEO – There are not enough Design savvy CEO’s/ Executives that understand the value of Design.
So, why there aren’t more designers in the c-suite of large corporations?
How did you arrive to the list of insights?
Since the 1:1 interviews started with the broader question, we began collecting insights, and these started to populate a list that was clustered into several topics. For every 3 guests that mentioned the same insight, we created a shortlist which at a certain point had 3 main insights. As the conversations with guests proceeded, so […]
So, why there aren’t more designers in the c-suite of large corporations?
The list of insights generated is done so in a statement format, almost as they were stated by the interviewees directly or implicitly. Research and reflection was conducted as if these were hypothesis, in some cases results pointed clearly towards a response, but in others the response was elusive, and in other cases there are […]
Was there misalignment between the two surveys?
Both surveys had a number of questions in common, and though they were not written in the exact same way, the data collected is comparable and allows juxtaposing and insight generation. The three areas that both surveys addressed were: • State of design in the company they worked in • design definitions • Insights impacting […]
Any recurrent arguments in the conversations?
There are three arguments that have come up since the first time we articulated this inquiry, one is that things are a lot better than they were in the past, the second that these things take time, the third that some of the design managers in N-2/3/4 are in fact important design leaders, managing often […]
What were your research objectives and hypothesis?
Objective 1: Discover existing research specifically dedicated to reasons why trained designers do not occupy high level positions in large corporations; Objective 2: Establish via engagement with designers and executives, insights that might be impeding designers from assuming high level positions in large corporations; Objective 3: Generate a number of hypothesis that could be researched […]
Why US F50, and not F500, or Global 500?
The focused sample of this research was the top 50 Fortune 500 US corporations, and apart from a moment where we extrapolated the potential number of designers impacted by F500 corporations, we kept away from extrapolating any of the insights and data from the top 50 to the remaining 450 or even other universe of […]