How to articulate your UX design impact and become an influential designer

Note: I had the privilege of speaking at the BeMore Festival, hosted by ADPList recently. I was delighted to see that my presentation was well-received, and I received many requests from fellow designers for the presentation deck and notes. This encouraged me to write this (long) article to summarize my presentation. All views are on my own.

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Introduction

Many UX and product designers encounter challenges when it comes to articulating their value in the workplace, job applications, or interviews.

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In today’s tech-centric world, UX designers play a pivotal role in shaping optimal user experiences for a global audience, so it should be not that hard for designers to effectively communicate their worth. 

We have a lot of studies, both academic and not, that have shown that design can guide how users act, keep them coming back, make them happier, bring in more money, and touch people’s emotions.

However, when asked what they bring to the table as product designers, many professionals respond with answers like “I can create beautiful user interfaces”, “I have a great sense of art.” or “I can lead the end-to-end design process.” 

These answers may suffice in casual conversations, but they fall short in more critical settings like job interviews, annual reviews, and work meetings. If you want to advance your product design career and drive change within your organization, it’s essential to go beyond and delve into the tangible impact of your work.

In fact, one of the most common hurdles faced by designers is the challenge of quantifying the impact of their design contributions to a product. Bridging the gap between design decisions and tangible business outcomes can feel like a daunting task. This challenge is exacerbated when design is often an afterthought during the product development process.

As designers, it is our mission to articulate the value of design, inform others that the business as a whole can achieve more with strategic design, and advocate for the design team to be involved earlier in the product and business development process.

How to measure design impact

Before discussing the impact of design, we actually need to take a step back to build the foundation. I am going to briefly touch on how we can measure design impact.

I will use a simple, imaginary project as an example.

Meet Joey, a product designer in charge of a navigation system redesign project for an e-commerce website.

1. Build a product mindset

A product mindset is a way of thinking that prioritizes creating solutions that deliver real user value — it’s the foundation of both product management and design. Great product designers recognize that keeping the customer at the forefront is the most sustainable way to create successful products. Initially, designers should understand not only the specific product they are working on but also the product ecosystem, especially if the business offers multiple products and services to their customers. It goes beyond just knowing the features that they design.

This alignment with the broader strategy helps designers create solutions that consider what’s best for both customers and the business. 

At this stage, Joey should have a clear understanding of the overall direction that the product team intends to take and the primary focuses of the product.

2. Defining the KPIs and the Factors Influencing User Behaviour

Having established a strong foundation, it is now time to define the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the factors influencing user behaviors. Ideally, tracking should begin before the design phase to facilitate comparison between the states before and after the design is implemented.

In this case, there are some potential business goals, such as:

• An increase in conversion rate (more purchases, sign-ups, or other desired actions)

• Improving product discoverability, leading to an increase in sales

• A reduction in customer support inquiries related to navigation issues

To identify these, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the company’s analytical tools and, ideally, to collaborate with the broader team, including Data Science, Customer Support and Marketing. Some of the findings will be derived from web or app analytics, while others will be sourced from user interviews or surveys.

3. Measuring Quantitative Design Results

After the design and implementation stages, it is time to start gathering qualitative design results. Design is often perceived as subjective, but data introduces an objective perspective that can validate design choices and their impact.

You don’t need to be an expert in data analysis, but analytical thinking is essential to ensure that you’re drawing the correct conclusions from the data and reports available to you, or working with someone who can do this for you.

In Joey’s design project, these are the types of data she might be collecting. Such data are strong indicators of the success of her design.

4. Gathering Qualitative Data

While metrics are important for measuring success, they are not the only thing we should be looking at. 

Direct feedback from users can provide insights into what works and what doesn’t in a design. In Joey’s design project, she could gather feedback from usability tests or user surveys and these are some possible feedback she might be getting.

5. Types of Design Outcomes 

Here, I have gathered a list of design outcomes that you can track for your next design projects. I’ve categorized them into three buckets — generating revenue, reducing costs, and helping users.

I want to specifically address the ‘reducing cost’ part, as it is often overlooked. Projects like improving the documentation of design work and building team templates and reusable components often fall into this category. 

Strategies to Articulate Impact

Now that we understand how we can measure design impact, let’s shift gears to discuss strategies to articulate this impact.

Show and Tell

One strategy that I always love to use is “Show and Tell.” As designers, we excel at visual design. Visual aids are powerful tools for communicating design changes and their impact. I like to screen-share my designs so that everyone can view them together. Then, I start connecting design work to business metrics and other relevant information.

The X by Y by Z Formula

There’s a useful formula we can employ when presenting our work to upper management or recruiters to discuss our design impact. This formula is suggested by Google recruiters for articulating our experience on resumes. This formula can also be applied in the workplace when we need to report our work to management or colleagues.

When presenting, we can use this formula as an opening sentence and then gradually unfold the process. Using Joey’s design project as an example, how can we summarize the design impact of this redesign project?

OK version: I redesigned the navigation. 

Better: I led the redesign of our navigation system, resulting in a 24% increase in sign-ups. 

Best: By spearheading the redesign of the navigation system and enhancing UI elements with tree-testing, I achieved a 24% uptick in sign-ups and reduced customer support inquiries related to navigation by 5%.

Making Design Relatable Through Storytelling

When unfolding our design, it is always a good idea to tell a story and describe what the users encounter. Stories are relatable, memorable, and emotionally engaging. They transform abstract concepts into tangible scenarios. You can also explain your design choices that cater to the users’ needs, emotions, or behaviors.

In Joey’s case study, we can discuss the user experience before and after the implementation. Before the new navigation was implemented, users found it hard to locate items on the website. However, after the redesign, the new navigation and the item categories aligned with users’ mental models, making it easier for them to find what they were looking for and sign up for the service.

Becoming an Influential Designer Within Your Team

Now that we understand how to measure and articulate our design impact, let’s consider how we can leverage this knowledge to be influential within our team.

Involving Stakeholders and Building Relationships Early and Often 

Having the ability to measure and explain your design impact is just the beginning. To truly be influential, it’s crucial to recognize that design doesn’t function in isolation. That’s why involving other stakeholders early is key. By engaging stakeholders in the early stages, designers can preemptively address concerns, ensuring smoother project progress.

Sharing Your Design Knowledge with Others 

Another way to amplify your influence is by demystifying design for others. This doesn’t just increase understanding; it bridges gaps. Consider holding workshops or shared sessions where teams can learn about each other’s processes and challenges. Designers might prepare a simple “Design 101” presentation for their non-design colleagues, helping them understand design terminologies and processes.

Fostering a Culture of Feedback and Growth

While sharing knowledge is powerful, growth comes from receiving feedback as well. Feedback loops are instrumental in this.

Setting Standards 

As we focus on growth, maintaining consistency becomes paramount. This is where setting standards comes into play. It’s important to highlight the significance of consistency in design and explain why having a set of standards/guidelines is crucial. Senior designers play a vital role in establishing and upholding these standards.

Becoming an Influential Designer Outside Your Team

While having a significant influence within our team is crucial, extending this influence beyond the team can truly be a game-changer.

Being a Design Advocate 

Championing the value of design in cross-functional teams is essential. Sharing design successes can have a considerable impact; when other departments see the tangible benefits of design, they are more likely to support and invest in it.

Bridging the Gap 

While advocacy is vital, facilitating understanding is equally crucial. How do we ensure everyone is on the same page? Organizing joint workshops or brainstorming sessions between the design team and other departments, such as marketing and engineering, is one approach. Additionally, translating design jargon into terms that resonate with other teams can be effective.