This is not your typical book on design

• Do you wish you had more influence over the decisions that really matter?
• Are you tired of doing great work that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves?
• Have you been stuck at the same level with few growth opportunities while others around you keep climbing?
• Have you considered getting a mentor to help you unlock your next career move?

Are you feeling stuck in your career progression?

This book is for digital designers who are far enough into their careers that they’ve asked the critical question “What’s next?”. They are talented, experienced, and capable, but starting to feel that their career progression that used to be easy is now treading water. Maybe you’re hitting resistance from stakeholders, getting caught in unproductive debates, or feeling like your voice isn’t heard.

Maybe you’re sensing that being good at design isn’t enough to move forward any more.

It’s not just you.

Most of us will hit a ceiling in our careers, and to move forward we need to develop a new way to look at design.

We need to level up the skills they don’t teach in design school: the soft skills that unlock hard results.

This book is about value exchange that goes beyond face value: How to see the bigger picture of how organisations work, and how design fits into that picture. How to build influence, handle pushback, work with people (not against them), and shape your career with intention. It’s written for product designers, service designers, UXers: those of us working at the intersection of users, technology and business. Let’s get you unstuck, and into the next stage of your design journey.

 

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Why did I write a book on UX career advice?

I’ve been in the UX design industry since 2006 and have been documenting it in writing since 2020. You can read my articles here or on Medium.

If you enjoy my style of writing and the topics I cover, you’ll be glad to hear that my book on career progression in the UX and product design industry is finally close to launch.

September 2023. I’ve travelled to Guernsey, a small island in the English channel. I’m here with my dad for a few days of father-son bonding. After a day of back-to-back exploring of the beaches, the history of the island and the first-rate dining options I crash into my hotel bed to soon be fast asleep. Good ideas don’t present themselves to me often, but when they do I can quickly assess them by my level of enthusiasm. When I wake up the following morning, I’m not woken up by the alarm on my phone as per usual—I’m woken up by an idea that is screaming for my attention. And I’m happy to listen, because I can sense my enthusiasm brewing: I’m going to write a book that summarises what I’ve learnt so far in my career. New ideas are born out of combining existing, previously non-related things in novel ways. Apparently, mixing a father-son trip, a Channel island and a good night’s sleep was the recipe for this idea.

I don’t think we talk enough about the importance of soft skills in the design community. It’s a very strong focus on the craft. I don’t mean to downplay craft: it is the foundation of any great designer. But soft skills combined with a Systems Thinking mindset can elevate our status in the workplace from design-doers to business strategists. And this can be done without sacrificing your passion for craft or customer-centric outcomes.

Join the mail list to stay informed

If you’re interested in learning from my experience you should have a look at my existing articles, and then join the mail list to stay informed about the launch of the book.