Business Thinking for Designers

In the spring of 2011, I accepted an opportunity to shape a new organization and lead a team of UX designers, program managers, and front-end developers. It was my dream job and I was highly motivated for the challenge. I expected to excel from day one, but within the first week, I was overwhelmed. At three months, I was really struggling. After six months, I doubted my abilities to fill the role.

As a designer, I was confident in my work when I could anticipate what users do, and I had methods and tools to familiarize myself with patterns of user behavior. But when business leaders first began inviting me to meetings, I couldn’t anticipate what they would do. As a result, I was intimidated by the people in the room and their conversations. I assumed it was all very important, complex stuff, and my confidence was shot.

Bring a business mind to design, and transform your career and company, with this free book by Apple and Electronic Arts design veteran Ryan Rumsey. Inside, he shares the essential vocabulary and strategies to effectively communicate with your business partners, plus tools, tips, and frameworks that you can put right to work.

• Why you need to know business
• Explore business concepts
• Develop your business perspective
• Create conditions for design maturity
• Communicate the options
• Put it all together