Summary
Scaling design is hard. Scaling design across an established enterprise with more than a century of history and a global workforce of over 70,000 non-designers is even harder. To scale design at that level, you need to anchor people’s identity in design: that’s the power of community. Communities bring people together around a shared vision and purpose. By embracing community, you can create more scalable, human-centered experiences regardless of your industry, location, or design expertise. I’m excited to share what I’ve learned building and scaling ExxonMobil’s Design Community and share how you can do the same.
Key Insights
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ExxonMobil built a design community with over 90% non-designers to scale human-centered design across 70,000 employees.
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User-centered design was framed distinctly from technical design to clarify its purpose in a traditional engineering environment.
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Community social experiences, anchored in shared values and identity, are critical for widespread design adoption.
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Starting with small, short-term goals aligned to a greater company vision fuels sustainable long-term design culture change.
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Lona acts as a 'design tour guide', enabling and advocating for design rather than directing hierarchically.
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Local chapter leads and champions, many non-designers, maintain and grow community engagement globally.
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Rituals and playful activities like role-playing games build psychological safety and spark creativity in enterprise teams.
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Virtual events like ExxonMobil Design Week and recurring webinars extend learning opportunities across geographies.
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Quantifying design’s business value and involving leadership are key to overcoming skepticism and securing support.
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Iterative feedback and continuous improvement maintain community vitality and relevance at scale.
Notable Quotes
"Design at ExxonMobil isn’t just what designers do — it’s a mindset to change how people think and solve problems."
"I like to think of myself as a DJ at a party, amplifying the power of design to get people on board."
"Our goal wasn’t necessarily to convert them to designers, but to help them apply design to solve wicked problems."
"We wondered, what if we created a social experience around shared values that anchored both identity and user-centered design?"
"Starting small with short-term goals and dreaming big for long-term change helped us scale design across 30+ countries."
"Most of our classes aren’t taught in English even though that’s the language most were created in."
"Whatever the scale, setting an example by embracing human-centered habits encourages broader participation."
"Rituals symbolize community identity and create intentional space for people to learn, share, and grow."
"We treat internal trainings like external productions to create robust and engaging learning experiences."
"Design champions hate people on journeys with them—they guide and sustain the momentum across local communities."
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