Q&A with David Wall – Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management graduate

Kettle on for a chat with David Wall, Creative Director at Tines, Former Head of Design at McCann Dublin and 2021 Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management graduate, to learn about his career, his take on running your own design studio versus leading a in-house Design Team and his experience on the programme.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.

   I come from a graphic design background and that’s still the core of my work. I’m Creative Director at Tines, with experience in agency and independent studio practice. I sit on the board of the IDI (I’m IDI President-elect) and I co-founded the 100 Archive. I’ve known that I wanted to work in design since I was quite young and I feel lucky and happy to do a job I love.

2. What was your day-to-day flow at Tines?

   Beyond the cliché ‘everyday is different’… my day-to-day flow depends on the projects I’m working on, but I’ve a pretty structured communication with colleagues across the week. Tines is remote-first with many of my colleagues are in the USA, so having that structure helps. I try to include some focussed time in for solo design work alongside working with others.

3. You used to run your own design studio and then moved to a large agency, and now you’re in-house. What are the differences and perhaps challenges?

   All of my working experiences have been different but with one big crossover – in each I’ve enjoyed being a hands-on designer. In my own studio (with my then partner Conor) I had the experience of being the owner of a business and that was a challenging and rewarding perspective. In an ad agency I had the chance to be part of a broader team with bigger clients. Being in-house at Tines gives me great proximity to the product’s development. Moving away from the transactional aspects of agency or studio relationships is freeing and enables the work to keep up with the relentless pace of the tech industry.

   

4. What solutions were you looking to find in the Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management programme?

   In considering the Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management, I was hoping to put a more formal shape on the design management experience I had built up over time. I was concerned that my knowledge was limited by the shape of my personal experience and that there were more ways to approach that side of my practice. 

5. What were your key takeaways from the Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management programme and how have you implemented them into your practice?

   I got that more formal approach to design management and much more. Having a group of accomplished peers together in such a supportive environment was one part of the course that I had not foreseen and which I enjoyed a lot. My fellow students were from a broad range of backgrounds and I learned a lot from their experience and insights. It was also affirming to see so many shared challenges for those in similar positions and to have a forum where approaches to those issues could be discussed and critiqued in an open dialogue.

6. Why would you recommend the Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management to others?

   I think that making space for this kind of personal and professional development can be a real challenge in the context of our busy lives and the Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management was set out in a way that responded to that. It was a great space for that kind of development and learning and I’ll be feeling the value of it for years to come.

   

7. How do you nurture and cultivate a culture of innovation among your teams to drive the business forward?

   A culture of autonomy and trust is the best environment for creative work — simply trusting your peers to do
   a great job is really impactful. I’ve found that this is the prevailing culture at Tines and it creates a positive
   atmosphere which rewards creativity and ownership.

8. Design heroes, dead or alive – who would you cite as key influences or mentors in your career?

   I don’t have a good answer for this one! I am a rabid fan of graphic design and enjoy the work of all the usual suspects. The people who truly inspire me are those with the confidence to support those around them and who celebrate and foreground the work of others. I’ve seen this in colleagues, clients, in life and in our shared culture and discourse. I look to those people to influence my practice and myself.

You can get in touch with David Wall via Linkedin and Mastodon.

Find out more about the Professional Diploma in Design Leadership and Management.