the skill set of a strategic designer

strategic designers:

• always put the user first - are empathic, but also have the business goals in mind
• build a bridge to the users by design, discover their unarticulated needs and wants
• start with the brand, with analysis, differentiation and positioning, not with symbols and color
• conduct research, make sense of things, be aware of trends, 'connect the dots' and understand complexity
• bridge research, insights, business strategy and design
• are great communicators, prepare concise presentations and milestones for stakeholders
• understand and speak the language of business and are able to communicate upwards, downwards and sideways
• need endurance; change does not happen overnight
• recognize that strategic design always has an impact on existing systems: the designer needs to be able to understand and manage the change that he sets in motion
• build consensus in teams using visualization skills
• generate, illustrate and share strategies using design methods
• need to be 'T-shaped' team players
• translate insights into tangible design attributes