Our recent in-person on The Future of Design Leadership on Thursday, August 8th 2024 at the Spencer Hotel in Dublin provided a platform to delve into the evolving landscape of Design and its expanding influence on business. James Hall, the director of PARK, inaugurated the event with a keynote that examined the shifting dynamics of Design Leadership. This was complemented by a panel discussion featuring distinguished graduates from Design Skillnet’s flagship programme ‘The Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management’: Ciara Ní Bhrolcháin, John Duggan, Karen Hanratty and David Wall.
A significant takeaway from the event was the transition from perceiving design as merely human-centered to adopting a humanity-centered approach that influences strategic decision-making. This evolution signifies a broader, more inclusive perspective, underscoring design’s role in addressing global, interconnected challenges. The discussion highlighted design’s escalating prominence within businesses, noting its representation at the C-suite level, where it is deeply integrated with corporate strategies.
As the design industry matures, business leaders increasingly expect a higher return on investment (RoI) from design, prompting a need for specialisation, collaboration with a diverse range of creatives and strategic integration. There’s also a responsibility to articulate the value of design for business, lead agendas and shift mindsets across teams and organisations. Instead of merely investing more in design, the focus has shifted to consolidation and optimisation—maximising existing resources while enhancing efficiency and impact.
Central to the discussion was the acknowledgment of problem-solving as a vital transferable skill, positioning design thinking as the “master key” to leadership roles across industries. James Hall emphasised that to thrive in the future, design leaders must balance three core intelligences: Creative, Emotional and Business. This triad model developed by PARK is crucial for navigating the complexities of modern leadership in a rapidly evolving world marked by emerging technologies, the proliferation of design disciplines and the democratisation of AI.
The discussion specifically addressed the importance of embracing and integrating AI in the early stages of design, while recognising the challenges new technologies pose, particularly in maintaining quality and humanity. Designers were envisioned as quality gatekeepers, ensuring that AI-driven solutions align with human values and needs and using them as tools to expedite processes, only when design thinking can’t prevail. Empathy was identified as the distinguishing trait for design leaders, setting them apart in an era where businesses are dominated by automation and algorithms. With sustainability, users’ accessibility, globalisation of teams and the future of our generation also at the forefront, designers—naturally equipped with problem-solving abilities—are uniquely positioned to tackle systemic societal challenges. Their capacity to care for humanity as a whole, rather than isolated segments, truly defines the future of design leaders as strategic partners.
James Hall concluded by redefining the role of design leaders as “problem owners” rather than merely problem solvers. He reminded the audience that the most celebrated design leaders will be those who can continuously evolve to serve as interpreters, investigators and solution providers.
Our four panelists also ended by sharing valuable nuggets of wisdom. Karen Hanratty encouraged us to stay curious and continue specialising in our field—but also to explore beyond it. She urged us to seek opportunities for design to add value to organisations and to educate clients at the C-suite level about global strategic goals, beyond the brief, that can align with their business objectives, right from the proposal stage.
David Wall emphasised the importance of trusting your team, advising team leads to give designers more freedom to focus on delivering high-quality, specialised work while facilitating them to have more accountability. John Duggan reminded us of our responsibility as leaders to be catalysts for change—especially in achieving green goals—and to prioritise developing our team’s capabilities and educational growth. Finally, Ciara NíBhrolcháin highlighted that as design leads are often asked to do more with less, it is crucial to keep your passion for design alive and leverage design thinking to strengthen business relationships and inform strategic decisions.
The overarching conclusion is that design leaders are progressively transitioning from purely producers of services/products or creatives bringing strategic visions to life for clients or stakeholders, to addressing more complex non-design strategic issues in the bigger picture, leveraging the intrinsic qualities of design (process, market research, prototyping, problem-solving, CX, etc) without losing their passion for the craft.
A huge thanks to James Hall, our panelists and attendees for taking part.
Find out how Design Skillnet can help you become more creative, human-centred, and impactful within your organisation.
