Summary
We're always looking to create a high level of design literacy across our organizations, but how do this in a way that creates its own momentum? Wendy Johansson, global product experience leader at Amazon, will share her tried and true methods in scaling design education within orgs of all sizes as a means of scaling design.
Key Insights
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Scaling design starts with educating internal design teams deeply in human-centered design principles.
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Cross-functional design fluency is critical because different teams have distinct mental models and goals.
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Executives and stakeholders require tailored education to understand design’s lifecycle and value.
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Service design blueprints help visualize organizational touchpoints and reveal gaps in design influence.
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Design education maturity progresses through survival, defense (ROI proof), and operationalization phases.
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Cohort-based design communities enable collective momentum, peer support, and continuous learning.
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Integrating design education into existing org learning channels boosts reach and sustainability.
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Supporting non-designers’ creative confidence requires opportunities to practice and celebration of wins.
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Helping generalists specialize requires understanding their skills, interests, and learning preferences.
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Design education is a tool for ungatekeeping design and fostering inclusion across all roles.
Notable Quotes
"If you’re human, you’re creative, and everyone in proximity of design has a creative opinion."
"One-by-one design education doesn’t scale, you have to think about the whole organizational journey."
"Service design blueprints visualize organizational processes to optimize how businesses deliver UX and CX."
"Design education is ungatekeeping design — it’s inclusion and bringing everyone along the journey."
"Design teams often have impact, but not influence, until they map their organizational touchpoints."
"Proof that we matter is the first phase where designers fight to be recognized and included early."
"Showing the ROI of design helps defend design’s value and unlocks growth but is not always secure."
"Cohort-based communities let people level up together instead of learning in isolation."
"Generalists in early startups get to test all skills, then leaders should help them find a specialization they enjoy."
"Treat everyone like a designer and invite them to make things; design is not a siloed, unquantifiable skill."
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