"But I promise you, my rants are merely neutral observations and opinions. I love talking to people, and over the last 2 months of unemployment (I am now employed), I called upon designer friends all in Asia and Europe to get their opinion on the current state of Design leadership and how it has impacted our careers. Spoiler alert: It ain't great."
"We seem to have found ourselves in an era where clout matters more than productivity, and when Design's productivity and impact is questioned, we somehow re-direct that discomfort and blame our Engineering and Product counterparts (or other happenings in the industry) for not enabling us to be more productive. "We're not the ones touching the code or deciding the business, so it's not our fault.""
Design leadership increasingly values clout over measurable productivity, undermining designers' impact and career stability. Conversations with designer peers across Asia and Europe revealed widespread frustration, unemployment, and career setbacks. Designers often redirect responsibility for stalled impact toward Engineering, Product, or external factors like AI, rather than examining leadership and process issues. Defensive narratives include claims about not touching code, AI replacing designers, and office politics. Such dynamics contribute to blame-shifting and reduce accountability for design outcomes. The environment pressures designers to prioritize visibility over real output, eroding professional trust and long-term career growth.
Read at Medium
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]