These are my notes from a conversation with the gentle brazilian designer Felipe Luize, currently working at YouTube in San Francisco, CA.

Depth

Depth in design and strategy comes from a robust discovery process led by the designer, not just executing well at the tactical level. By the time you’re in tactics, those tasks should be doable with one hand. Most of the energy should be spent understanding what’s behind that request or KPI.

In the beginning, the designer can be in the room while executives discuss strategy, but the designer doesn’t make decisions. As she gains autonomy, confidence, and experience, in a space that feels safe, the designer can take on more important decisions.

The designer has to think broadly about the problem. Instead of jumping straight to solutions for the problem at hand, she needs to dive deep to understand whether there are other, more interesting problems to solve, then go even deeper until it’s clear what the main problem or opportunity really is, and how it can be solved.

At this stage, everything can be a problem, and also an interesting thing to work on, if approached with the right angle and attitude.

The deeper the dive, the easier it becomes to connect to the main idea or purpose, and then understand what can be done. Then, equipped with the right UX tools, the designer starts addressing the challenge and solving the problem. This tactical level is where most design courses and content begin, but look at how many important things an experienced designer must do before that.

The designer should choose the tools she will use, never the other way around.

I understand design as a method of thinking and vision, and I use its tools to reach the best possible outcome. I am the one who masters design. (Felipe Luize)

If we have a chair and need to design another chair, we’re only at the tactical level. If we don’t go deeper into the issue, we’re just designing another chair.

But if we do, we might discover that we need a different way to sit comfortably… Or that we actually need rest, and lying down could be an option, so we design a bed… Or even that the real problem is wear and tear from standing for too long, and we need a better way to withstand standing, which would change the entire execution of the project…

There’s a feature to be developed, ok, but what’s behind it? What else does it affect?

Process

What is my design process, my actual, unique process? I need to own my process, not just adopt whatever my current company or context has.

Then I need to understand the business case where it will be received, and bring the user case into the discussion: what are their problems and needs? I need to empathize with their situation and understand how it connects to the business problem itself. There will be discomfort, and I need to be ready for arguments, but it’s the designer’s role to bring these questions. That’s what the business asks of them.

We elevate the product through in-depth discussions with business stakeholders, using perspectives that only designers can bring. It will be hard, you’re going to get beaten up a bit until you get the hang of it and feel comfortable at that level of conversation.

Opportunity: go deep into this process and improve the things no one else wants to touch.

Own the scope

The real designer owns the scope of the project.

For example: one designer at Apple guides ~20 marketing designers who create those stunning product landing pages. She is the conductor, translating and clarifying the macro idea down to the tactical levels.

Who are the conductors, the masters, doing this today? Who are the ones I admire and can use as inspiration?

Like a form of shaping.