Framework, Design hiring
The 4 design sensibilities of a competent product design team
How to hire product designers wisely. (a cheat sheet for understanding the contrasting competency areas within the field)
It is common to find job posts asking for a single designer to wear too many hats as a product designer. While product design is truly an interdisciplinary field, when it comes to a competent team, it cannot be complete with few generalists; at least not anymore in the current times. The domain has matured over time and it will be a mistake if you are still hiring only generalists in this highly competitive environment, and even more so if you are filling the team heavily with just visual design skills.
One of the key steps in building a competent team is to identify the skill gaps. It would then help in bringing diverse people to multiple levels of the team with the right complementary competencies. It is the leader of the pack, who should become a true catalyst in enabling a melting point for these talents within the team. If done well, it can create an unstoppable creative force for the organisation. However, it will rarely be a perfect jigsaw puzzle, yet building a winning team is a mindset the leaders should always carry whether they are hiring or not.
A dynamic design department will have multiple projects in various stages at any point in time. These typical projects could be understood using this 2x2 quadrant structure of ‘Short-to-Long, and New-to-Old’. This combination provides us with interesting insights into different and contrasting areas of competencies within a product design team.
There are different broad sub-specialities (competencies/skillsets) under the larger product design domain- like User-Research, User-Interface, User- Experience, Motion, Prototype, UI-Copywriting, Business sense, Content Strategy, Interaction, Visual aesthetics, Iconography, Typography, Gamification, so on and so forth. Not every competency is used every time, and not everyone in the team should try to master everything. Some of the competencies may be found in more than one quadrant but with different intensities.
Let me briefly explain the four quadrants derived from four quintessential design project types in a typical digital product design and development journey.
Disclaimer: There are many influential factors that together contribute towards creating a winning team. Information in this article alone cannot magically transform teams. It only an attempt to share knowledge that has worked for me.
The four-quadrant model for product design projects & related competencies
Quadrant 1: New & Long Projects | Problem diagnosis and investigations
Projects in this quadrant primarily investigate the problem and opportunity space and are often driven by inductive reasoning. It demands a great understanding of social status, interactions, experiences, thoughts, intentional actions, attitudes, humour, phobias, etc; It uses rational, systematic approaches and validates through both objective (via sensory experiences) and subjective(via psychological experiences) impartial yet empathetic observations.
It is easily one of the most important inevitable steps in problem-solving as key directional insights usually come from this quadrant. Research-driven design projects, and zero-to-one product development efforts are some of the examples that will fit the description of the quadrant very well. The better the skills and abilities you have in this quadrant, the higher the chances of the project’s long-term success.
Designers and Researchers trained in a human-centred approach to design and user research methodologies can own this space. Essentially people who enjoy human sciences can excel in this quadrant. Subjects like Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Linguistics, History, and Economics just a few examples. However, developing a sharp human-centred design sense is essential to connect the dots for making it useful in the product design context.
Quadrant 2: New & Short Projects | Experiment-focused problem-solving
Projects in this quadrant exclusively deal with creating appropriate digital micro-experiences and interface-based solutions for products and services within the constraints of technology and business. Most likely there won’t be any obvious solutions or may have several variables to the problems/opportunities identified. Hence, many projects in this quadrant would be hypothesis-driven experiments and it should spark a lot of innovations within agile environments.
Design activities in Q2 often take a deductive reasoning approach in order to understand complex situations and to create hypotheses. It surely demands good analytical skillsets to review data from different sources, integrate new information, and make a decision based on the limitations and leverages in order to bring the solutions in a timely, and efficient manner. People who work in this quadrant are also expected to conduct brainstorming sessions, interact with a diverse set of people, conduct industry/competitor/data analyses, various audits, and troubleshooting to name a few under the larger umbrella of experiment-based problem-solving.
As organisations mature, the projects in this quadrant would also start focussing on making more sustainable, responsible, and purpose-driven product decisions. At that level, design interventions may become more radical and inspirational in nature and may set new benchmarks for others to follow.
UX Designers and Technologists with great communion & storytelling skills, business intelligence, strategic/Creative/Critical thinking capabilities can excel in this quadrant. One must have the ability to think on your feet and make quick decisions. It certainly demands various interdisciplinary competencies, understanding of systems, processes, metrics, etc. People with formal training in engineering or design can shine bright in this quadrant. At a fundamental level, engineering and many design courses are highly analytical.
Quadrant 3: Old & Short Projects | Delight and Emotional design
Ideal projects in Q3 are the ones that have seen some success in Q2. This means the team may have more confidence in the solution from a functional value standpoint, and/or for its business relevance. The design activities in this quadrant push the standards of digital interface-based product/service communication and it enhances the emotional design experiences that are delightful, yet meaningful to the end-user.
In many ways, the professionals in this quadrant are artists who combine one or more human senses to create the desired output. It demands a unique command and a high degree of artistry in one or more areas of art and design like Illustration, Graphic design, Animation, Sound Design, Copywriting, etc. Although it is largely subjective and hypothetical in nature, some of it could be measured in the post-release retrospective data analysis. The approach here still remains iterative with clear pre-defined constraints. The game is to go beyond the obvious alternatives that are already been done to death. This is where you can finally see the intended outcome of all the efforts made in the previous quadrants in their full glory; something that is less ambiguous.
Visual Designers and Artists who are natural collaborators or individual contributions with a strong fundamental understanding of elements of art, design and communication (visual perception, colour, composition, motion, rhythm, balance, harmony, music, creative-writing, etc.) can excel in this quadrant. However, the agile environment and strict constraints can throw challenges to the projects, but that can also become a point of leverage to be even more creative under such limitations.
Quadrant 4: Old & Long Projects | Revamps and Design ops.
The projects in this quadrant do not contribute so much towards the core and innovative product-related problem-solving. It has projects like an overall revamping of the old product for giving a new look and Design-ops projects that are intended to optimise existing practices and processes. The success of these projects would help in setting the bar high for the quality of projects in the other quadrants.
It demands a deep understanding of the entire product design and development cycle, various processes, tools, people skills, latest updates, industry trends, etc. On the strong foundation of past experiences and learnings, designers in this quadrant should be capable enough to execute projects like how one may seamlessly replace the old tyre of a running car with the new one. Projects in Q4 have an important role in maintaining the relevance of the product and practices in an organisation. Early-stage organisations do not prioritise many projects that belong to this quadrant for obvious reasons like budget, time, resources, etc.
‘Been there, done that’ kind of design-savvy leaders and mentors are the best for this category. It demands the wisdom of having gone through the grind of various small and big design projects and an appetite for meticulous planning. With interventions in the team(people), or the processes, these long term projects come with high stakes for any organisation. So, not many would bet on a newbie by giving such accountabilities. I would not.
Conclusion
In 2021, Product Design is no more a single-person job than it used to be a few years ago. It has matured fast over the last few years to become a truly interdisciplinary department that demands a team of specialists than generalists to be truly competent in this new era. This article primarily aims at providing non-design leaders and hiring managers a better understanding of what goes behind creating a competent team of designers. Hopefully, this would further help product design leaders to diagnose where the problems are and fix them in the next hiring. As a matter of fact, designers can use this basic understanding to reimagine their unique places in a team and focus their energy on improving the areas that matter for building a stronger career.
Cheers,
Dhaneesh Jameson | LinkedIn | Twitter
(Product Design Leader, Filmmaker)
P.S.
I am very thankful to my fellow designers, product managers, and numerous online content for constantly shaping up my thoughts on what a design team should be and should not be. This may be far from perfect, and I would continue working on this to improve the model and update it here for those who find it useful. Would love to hear from you, especially if there is something you think I may have missed.
