The leap to a larger organization was a significant step in my career, but the initial excitement quickly met a complex reality. In my previous roles, design approval was straightforward. But here it was a negotiation between a host of powerful stakeholders. The Head of Engineering focused on feasibility, the VP of Products on market fit, and the Head of Design on system consistency.
Every time I present my work, and the room would erupt into a never ending conversation, with each stakeholder pulling the solution in their direction. We never reached a conclusion. After a year of struggling, I had a revelation:
My job wasn’t just to design the solution, but to design the conversation itself.
It all changed when I stopped focusing on my design’s features and started focusing on my stakeholders’ mindsets.
Visual, Visual and Visual – Show don’t tell!
“What’s the point of being a designer if you still verbally communicate like others?” This was feedback I received from one of my CEOs.
People in a meeting can grasp a topic 2x faster when the concept is presented visually. Setting the context visually reduces the time to understand, prevents misunderstandings, and saves a lot of time for final discussions.
The image shows a product with a column reordering challenge: columns are grouped. Dragging a column out of its group duplicates group names in the table, creating a messy display.
For example, under ‘Performance to Forecast (LC)’ group, there are multiple columns. To re-order user has to go to it’s configurations panel.
I had to explain this issue to my audience, which would normally take at least 5–7 minutes. I preferred to go with the visual representation of the problem below:
If we allow users to drag and drop the column “MA1” out of its group, it will have to show the group name again. This was represented in two slides, which took 1–2 minutes to explain the problem.
Showing this using an actual instance would be overwhelming, but a representational design made it easier. As designers, we might have to spend more time creating these visuals, but it’s worth the effort. It will not only reduce confusion in meetings but also make you look more professional.
Particularly if you’re a senior designer, these are the distinctions that set you apart from the rest of the team. Your reputation will grow, and people will trust that you understand the problem well before solving it.
Think of these as quick insights, not a full-blown lecture, planning to write more such quick bytes!
Thanks, cheers!
Your Design Isn’t Done Until It’s Effectively Presented was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
