Is Design Management the Right Career for You?

Most designers love their job because they get to go to work and do what they love all day. Unfortunately (at least for most people), if you want to advance your career and earn a lot more money, at some point you’re going to have to consider a job in management. For designers, this career progression often means stepping up into a design management role.

Designers by their nature love working on tangible products and solving problems. For many, the idea of becoming a Design Manager fills them with loathing and dread because they feel like all the fun aspects of being a designer will instantly evaporate.

And unfortunately, this is partly true.

In this article we’re going to look at 8 harsh truths that all designers who make the move into design management will need to face. This all sounds very doom and gloom but we promise it’s not all bad. Becoming a manager isn’t the right career path for everyone, but change can be a positive thing and many designers quickly learn to love the challenge, responsibility and potential to effect change that design management brings.

1. Say goodbye to doing any actual design work

If the thought of doing very little actual design work (or none at all) really makes you sweat then you should think very carefully before applying for that high paying design management role.

The reality is you’ll be doing a lot more managing than designing (it’s in the name). The days of rolling into the studio, putting your headphones on and spending 8 hours making awesomeness happen are gone.

As a manager, even though you’re much less in the weeds producing the actual deliverables, you’ll still be very much involved in the design process and the problem solving aspects of the projects your team is working on. Many designers find this high level interaction very rewarding.

Some companies recognize that not every talented designer is cut out for management and they create promotion tracks for employees to have more influence (and earn more) without managing a team. ‘Chief designer’ or ‘design fellow’ are examples of these types of very senior non-managerial roles.

2. It takes a lot of skill and practise to become a good manager

If you’re new to design management then you’re probably not very good at it and have a lot to learn. This sounds harsh, but being a good leader is a skill that needs to be studied and practised over time.

Although pretty much anyone has the potential be a successful manager, if you have the right type of personality you’re going to find the transition a lot easier. Good managers are excellent communicators, decisive and firm but also caring and protective of their team and great at delegating (not micro managing).

Being a good manager is not just about managing down to your team. An equally vital skill is the ability to manage up. This is not for selfish reasons (like your next promotion or covering your arse when things go wrong) but to protect your team and help them succeed. Influencing stakeholders to move in the direction you want, pushing back on unreasonable demands from clients or the business are all subtle arts that need to be mastered. Don’t be the manager who says yes knowing full well your team has zero chance of delivering.

How to be an effective manger is way beyond the scope of this post, but a few quick observations:

• Always give credit where it’s due. You’re already the boss and you have nothing to prove.

• Support your team and shield them from negativity and distractions.

• Push your team to do great work and call it out if they aren’t delivering.

• Give your team members variety in their work to keep them interested and help them get noticed by senior management.

• Encourage ideas from everyone and be a great listener.

• Support and guide them in their career ambitions.

3. Everything is now your fault and there’s no-one else to blame

When you were a lowly designer and things went pear shaped you could hide under your desk and wait for it all to blow over. Now you’re the boss and the buck stops with you. Your managers don’t care that Jane was sick or Jack was on vacation, they want what you promised on time and on budget.

A big part of your job as a manager is to take the heat for your team. Another equally important part of your job is to put processes in place so things don’t go wrong and manage expectations early when they inevitably do.

4. You’ll deal with many business people who don’t respect design

Your design management role probably involves a lot more interaction with non designers than you’re used to. In some businesses (often tech related start-ups) design is highly respected and at the core of what they do. Unfortunately this is often not the case and the design function can sit pretty low down the pecking order.

The tenth time some random business person says ‘I’m a bit of a designer myself’, or ‘you guys just draw pretty pictures’ you’ll want to get violent but try and keep it together. You now have a seat at the table and can use the opportunity to educate the business on the value of design. Always be data driven and wherever possible show how the contribution of your team lead to the success of the project or product.

Having access to people in other business functions is also a great opportunity to learn how the business works at a deep level and understand the needs of the customer. For example, the sales team is an awesome resource you can use to understand what customers love and hate about the product your team is designing.

If you work on a cross functional team and all this sounds suspiciously like the role of a Product Owner, that’s because it is. A Design Manager should care about a lot of the same issues as the Product Owner.

5. Your team will expect you to be their surrogate parent and solve all their problems

Remember that manager you worked under that you used to talk smack about with the rest of the team? Yeah that manager is you now. In fact your team are probably at lunch right now talking crap about you behind your back.

If you’re half decent at your job, don’t take it personally. Work can be frustrating at the best of times and people just want to vent and someone to blame.

As much as your role is to protect your team, they’ll also take the opportunity to make every minor grievance your problem (and expect you to deal with it). This may seem annoying and a waste of your time, but it’s important take all your direct reports issues seriously. Set up processes that encourage a supportive environment and honest communication.

6. Your increased power to make design decisions is mostly an illusion

It’s reasonable to think that a design manager has much more control and influence over high level design decisions. Unfortunately this is often not the case.

Your design team, the client (if there is one) and the business often have competing interests that don’t align. This is especially true in larger companies. Many businesses see their interests (financial) as different from those of their customers (buying a great product) and rushed, cheap or low quality design is an easy way to save time or money.

The best thing you can do as a manager in an organization like this is to be an advocate for high quality design and make the business see that what’s good for the customer is also good for them.

You can also be effective in structuring your own design team to maximize their potential. Pair designers together that have complementary skills and think about the skills of each team member when assigning tasks.

7. You’ll be forced to care more about the commercial realities of business

All designers are used to time pressure, but once you’re a manager and more exposed to the larger workings of a business you really get to see how the sausage is made.

You’ll quickly learn that everyone in the organization is dealing with the pressures and constraints of time, money and resources. It might even make you slightly more sympathetic the next time someone wants 3 weeks work done in 1 week (definitely don’t agree to that).

8. Your existing relationships with co-workers will change

This is mainly a problem if you’re promoted internally and find yourself managing co-workers that used to be at your level. It can be a hard adjustment to make, especially considering you’re now responsible for their performance reviews and career advancement.

The best advice we can give new design managers is to use the management techniques discussed above and keep the lines of communication open. Given time, everyone should adjust to the shift in power dynamics.

The most ideal situation is to move companies and come in as a new manager. This is a much harder path to take because most companies prefer not to take a chance on someone who’s never had proven success in a role before.