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Reposted by Erika Hall

Guy Segal @guysegal.com · 10m

At a consultancy, you enter an engagement with a fairly clear understanding of what's expected of you. In house, there's usually a gap between what you assume they hired you for and what they actually expect. That's when your "they don't understand design" and "seat at the table" issues start.

Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

It's the fault of a lot of educational programs and some consultancies that design is misunderstood as a magic substance. The dominant lore contributes to designers being less well prepared to engage in these environments and see the true limits of their scope of decision-making and influence.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 43m

That said the most important design work in these times is figuring out more ethical operating models for businesses.

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Reposted by Erika Hall

Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

It's the fault of a lot of educational programs and some consultancies that design is misunderstood as a magic substance. The dominant lore contributes to designers being less well prepared to engage in these environments and see the true limits of their scope of decision-making and influence.

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Reposted by Erika Hall

Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

Here's another way to phrase my essential position…

If you embrace that your role as a designer is no more inherently virtuous than any other role in the organization, including sales, you will have the best chance of influencing that organization for the better.

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Reposted by Erika Hall

Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

It's not that designers who work in an external agency are superior, it's that they *potentially* have a better informed perspective by virtue of their position.

What they do with this perspective is a whole other matter.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 57m

bsky.app/profile/erik...

Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

In my experience, designers who work in-house often get stuck because they have an inaccurate understanding of the relationship of their work to business value. And this gets chalked up to the business not understanding the value of "design".

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 58m

two blue and white penguins are standing next to each other and the word pengu is on the bottom

Alt: cartoon penguins high fiving

media.tenor.com

Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

It's not that designers who work in an external agency are superior, it's that they *potentially* have a better informed perspective by virtue of their position.

What they do with this perspective is a whole other matter.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

It's the fault of a lot of educational programs and some consultancies that design is misunderstood as a magic substance. The dominant lore contributes to designers being less well prepared to engage in these environments and see the true limits of their scope of decision-making and influence.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

Design isn't a thing that adds the same value in every business. But it gets talked about as a universal process, rather than making a set of more intentional choices.

And organizations often withhold critical information from their employees.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

In my experience, designers who work in-house often get stuck because they have an inaccurate understanding of the relationship of their work to business value. And this gets chalked up to the business not understanding the value of "design".

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

It was a very weird way to put it. I mean, I appreciated it, and we were surprised we didn't get the work because we got on so well with everyone we'd met, but it was a very weird call because the dude at the top was just like "nope" and the person delivering the news was very sad.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

The weirdest way we ever lost a job was for a major NGO (which I still think is on balance a good organization) where the executive director (who never met with us) didn't care for the impression we wouldn't just go along with all his ideas.

The assoc director said "you just have so much integrity"

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

Not at all.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

Here's another way to phrase my essential position…

If you embrace that your role as a designer is no more inherently virtuous than any other role in the organization, including sales, you will have the best chance of influencing that organization for the better.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

oh totally. I didn't say it was.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

Facebook's gonna Facebook.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

I absolutely agree none of these decisions happen at the designer level. They happen at the business model level.

I think everyone would be better off if they were clear eyed about the levers of power. And designers could better contribute to the conditions that lead to more ethical business.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

"B corps exist" doesn't change the reality of where any given person actually works.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

You can bring your ethics to your work, but if your work is for an oil company, your work is for an oil company.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

Yeah, that's exactly it.

I didn't say doing business is wrong, or that making money is bad.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 1h

Those are your words, not mine.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 2h

Yeah that's a good way of putting it.

Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 2h

I think you want to find a way to make this not true.

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 2h

If the whole point of being a designer is to make intentional improvements to [whatever], you have to start from reality, not wishful thinking.

If you accept that, then you can better assess how much power you have in a dynamic, where you can realistically intervene.

I'm not saying "give up."

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