CV
Project management

The value design brings to complex settings.

A final-year thesis at Gobelins, about ten interviews and two tools to help designers and decision-makers.

Type
Professional thesis
Programme
Gobelins · Digital Project Director / UX Manager
Method
Interviews, desk research, qualitative analysis
Deliverables
A card game and a decision tree
Thesis cover: the value design brings to complex settings

In 30 seconds, if you’re in a hurry

Context

At the end of my programme at Gobelins, I questioned my design practice from a new angle.

Goal

Explore the value design brings to complex projects, to create practical tools.

Outcome

A card game for decision-makers and a decision tree for designers, praised by a panel of professionals.

The context

After a year-long Digital Project Director / UX Manager programme at Gobelins, I questioned my design practice to approach it from a fresh, structured angle.

After months of observation within a design and consulting agency, my questions about the value of my work as a designer gave me my subject.

The goal

Through research, explore the value design brings to so-called complex projects or products, in order to create practical tools for designers and decision-makers.

My role & approach

Research, analysis, writing and layout, independently.

01

Explore

  • A subject with many angles
  • Two separate interview guides: designers and decision-makers
02

Interview

  • Recruitment through my personal and professional network
  • About ten interviews: agencies, consultancies, startups, scale-ups, founders, heads of design, design ops
03

Analyse

  • Interview analysis: recordings, notes, a Miro board
  • Desk research cross-checked with interviews to surface trends
04

Share

  • Concise, illustrated writing, laid out in InDesign
  • Two tools: a card game for decision-makers, a decision tree for designers
The different forms of complexity, which often add up around a project.
The different forms of complexity, which often add up around a project.
An agency designer’s journey: steps, emotions, needs and opportunities, drawn from interviews.
An agency designer’s journey: steps, emotions, needs and opportunities, drawn from interviews.
A design agency director’s journey, before, during and after the project.
A design agency director’s journey, before, during and after the project.
The so-called complex project: quotes and levers for action.
The so-called complex project: quotes and levers for action.
Quality or value: setting the definitions.
Quality or value: setting the definitions.
A spread from the thesis.
A spread from the thesis.
The deliverable

A card game to anticipate complexity.

Designed for decision-makers, it helps spot the forms of complexity in a project from the pre-sales stage, and answer them with the right design approach. Each card asks the key questions on the front and offers a reasoned solution on the back.

Hover or tap a card to flip it

Overall, UX research is a long-term strategic investment.

€2 to €100 returned for every euro invested in UX Forrester
30 to 50% faster delivery for companies that build UX in from the start McKinsey Design, 2018
+37% revenue for products with a good user experience Forrester
+32% revenue for the most design-mature companies McKinsey Design Index, 2018
×10 to ×100 the cost of fixing a problem after release Nielsen Norman Group

The decision tree: mapping complexity.

Scroll horizontally →

The second tool, for designers: for each form of complexity, a yes / no path leads to the right approach. It builds on the interview mapping.

Intellectual and governance complexityIntellectual and governance complexity Communication and client-vision complexityCommunication and client-vision complexity Business, technical and innovation complexityBusiness, technical and innovation complexity Interview mapping: designer posture and complexityInterview mapping: designer posture and complexity

The outcome

  • A card game helping decision-makers anticipate complexity, frame it and tailor how services are sold
  • A decision tree helping designers respond to each situation and make proposals quickly
  • Documented, illustrated, data-backed thinking
  • A topical subject that applies to any kind of organisation
  • Interviews grounded in the needs and practices of designers and decision-makers

What I took away

  • Design practice varies with the organisation (agency, company) and way of working (project, product), and depends on the economic and social context
  • Complexity takes many forms, often combined, and exists in every design project
  • Some key steps are essential, but you must be ready to move beyond well-worn methods and keep questioning them to grow
What came next?

Work praised by a panel of design professionals, sparking strong interest.

Peers want to continue and refine this research, and publishing the card game is being considered, to make it an everyday tool for design agency leaders.