Dear (none)Designer,

Welcome back to the fifty-eight Design at Scale™ Newsletter – where we explore innovation and how design sparks real change in large organisations and agencies.

The coaching session began with a gentleman in his late 30s introducing himself as a product designer with nearly 10 years of experience in the field. Based on his way of speaking, he showed a strong understanding of design and was clearly able to articulate the value proposition, problem statement, KPIs, KYC, and many other acronyms designers encounter. He maintained a professional demeanour and was nothing but open, collaborative, forthcoming, and knowledgeable in all design, business, and development matters.

You might ask: “What was the problem?”

He then presented his portfolio, which he had been sharing with recruiters and potential companies. To my surprise, all his work was laid out in Miro. As a professional designer, I found it challenging to navigate such a busy board, and it was difficult to find a clear story.

To some extent, it felt like a service design exercise with many explorations and potential outcomes. However, these still needed to be synthesised so that any decision-maker would have sufficient options and sufficient depth of information to make an informed decision.

Unfortunately, these overwhelming techniques worked against the candidate. His previously eloquent words began to falter, and his confidence waned as he jumped from screen to screen, struggling to articulate what his portfolio was trying to convey.

Recently, design work has often been judged based on business, recruitment, human resources, and analytical requirements. Very few designers still tell a compelling and engaging story of their work.

Ever since Mr. McKenzie in early 1920 stated that everything in the digital world can be measured, we have come to realise that not everything measurable is visually appealing or conveys the right message.

Through my practice, I have seen presentations with only nine slides move the entire audience to applause at the end, thanks to such an engaging experience. Regrettably, and often unknowingly, designers tend to fulfil all the requirements of our recruitment colleagues, forgetting the basics of showcasing their work.

And that is why we end up in a Figma jam, Miro, or Mural board, presenting our ideas in a never-ending maze. While focusing on the details, we often forget the big picture and the reason for our brief 10 minutes with the design director. Throughout our session, we referred to the word 'pitch.'

Pitch

This simple technique enables small businesses to reach big ones, and it allows designers to effectively present their work to potential employers, making their presentation equivalent to a pitch. With 10 to 15 slides, you should be able to communicate who you are, what you do, what you have accomplished, your impact, and what you want. For more design career advice, please visit Design at Scale™ on Instagram or reach out to our Academy.

For more information, please visit Designa at Scale™ – GRID Magazine, where you can find additional relevant articles that explore high-performing teams, self-organising teams of 001, teams of 010, and teams of 100 that deliver the value proposition within a product-led environment.