Core values to grow a healthy, happy design team
As someone who has worked in various roles in the design industry for over 19 years - including as a solo designer, team member, and leader - I've learned the value of core values in creating a healthy and happy design team. The foundation of a strong team culture rests on three core values:
People, Design Community, and Innovation
People
People are at the heart of design. They are not just users or audiences but human beings with unique needs, desires, passions, and struggles. Therefore, when we create products, design experiences, write code, or publish content, we should do so to serve their needs.
Human-centric design is crucial to driving success, and empathy is one of its most powerful tools. By focusing on people's needs and understanding their feelings, we can create experiences that truly resonate with them. However, it's important to remember that feelings are unique to individuals and cannot be generalized. To deliver real value to customers, organizations must map their understanding of a problem space against the knowledge of those who want to gain from that value proposition and those who deliver it.
To achieve this, organizations should observe people in context, ask them questions, and work with them to understand their challenges and opportunities. Then, by validating proposals with them in an inclusive and participatory manner, organizations can achieve different levels of empathy and create better products and experiences that meet people's needs.
Design Community
A strong design team collaborates effectively, leveraging the strengths and skills of each individual toward common goals.
Connecting people on your team for personal and business reasons is essential to create a strong design culture. This makes sense of belonging and increases inclusion, reducing redundancy of effort and allowing team members to share tips and learnings from previous projects.
To prioritize personal growth and development, involve your team members in the design culture and understand each person's career goals. Then, creating coal to create opportunities to help them achieve those goals within and outside the company's promotion processes.
As a team, view the growth of each team member as the collective growth of the entire team. Allowing team members to make mistakes and try new things, even if it goes against the team culture, ultimately leads to team growth and success.
Innovation
Innovation is vital to success, especially in the ever-evolving world of design. It's about constantly challenging the status quo and pushing boundaries to develop innovative solutions to complex problems.
To foster a culture of innovation, create an environment where creativity is encouraged, and ideas are welcomed. This means giving your team the time and space to think outside the box, experiment with different solutions, and take calculated risks.
Innovation is not a one-time event; it's a continuous process of exploration, experimentation, and iteration. It's about constantly seeking new ways to improve existing solutions and create new ones that address unmet needs.
As a designer, staying open-minded and curious is essential. Constantly seek inspiration and learn from other industries and fields, exploring new tools, techniques, and approaches that expand your thinking and develop fresh ideas that drive innovation.
Ultimately, innovation is about solving problems in a way that positively impacts people's lives. We can create innovative solutions that make a difference by staying focused on this goal and embracing a continuous improvement mindset.
If you want to create a healthy and happy design team, it's crucial to prioritize core values such as People, Design Community, and Innovation. By focusing on people's needs, connecting team members, and fostering a culture of innovation, you can create a team empowered to solve complex problems and positively impact people's lives.
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If you have any questions or feedback, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'd love to hear your thoughts and continue the conversation. Thank you for reading!
