In this episode I sit down with Tregg Frank, Founder of Divinate and Designer at Stark. We cover a wide range of impact-related topics including...

• Using AI tools to create authentic design work
• How to position design as a revenue generator, not a cost centre
• Why Product Design might not be the best career choice for you (and what might be a better route)
• Why high quality research matters, and how to express it's value to businesses
• How to build the case for accessibility improvements through empathy with stakeholders
  
  

Connect with Tregg and his projects....

🐦 Twitter.com/treggify
🌐 tre.gg
🌐 degreeless.design (Free design resources and Tregg's Substack)
🌐 divinate.co (Discover user research insights without the tedious busywork)

Designers With Impact is the podcast and newsletter for designers who want more impact impact in business, as collaborators, and for people + planet.

🌐 designerswithimpact.com

Subscribe to the Designers With Impact - https://www.designerswithimpact.com

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with the wonderful Lou Downe for the Designers in Business Podcast. Lou is the founder of The School of Good Services, writer of the best-selling book Good Services (an absolute must-read), and former Design Director of the UK Government.

Our chat covered some fascinating ground, from finance geekery to the story of writing and publishing Good Services.

​As a dyslexic designer with ADHD, earlier in their career Lou had understandable hangups around numbers, money, and finance.

This imposter syndrome (and some critical career moments) contributed to Lou's decision to undertake an MA in Economics. This educational journey helped Lou better understand the organisational systems designers often need to negotiate, and how the movement of money affected key business decisions that could impact design.

​We also explored why it's okay to walk away from organisations where it doesn't feel possible to have a positive influence, and what a book about nursing can teach us about bringing a wider audience on our design journeys.

Through The School of Good Services, Lou now offers training to help designers build confidence in Writing Business Cases for Service Design and Stakeholder Leadership.

We discuss what to expect from these courses, the motivation behind their creation, and the practical skills that can be used immediately after completing these masterclasses.

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In this episode of the Designers in Business Podcast we explore the world of Venture Capital, startup funding and why designers should consider founding their own businesses with Andy Budd.

Andy demystifies a host of key concepts related to the startup ecosystem:

• What is Venture Capital?
• What are funding rounds?
• How does Venture Capital and Institutional Investment work?
• How do you approach investors with a business idea?

We also dive into why designers should consider founding their own business ideas, or look to be on-board early in the life of a startup as founding designers. The discussion also covers how equity works, and the potential upsides of having skin-in-the-game at a startup.

About Andy

Andy is a design leader, conference speaker, investor and coach. A designer at heart, Andy believes design has the power to transform companies, teams and customers' lives for the better.

A huge advocate for the design community, Andy is a regular speaker at international conferences like SXSW, Awwwards and The Next Web. He founded and curated the dConstruct, UX London and Leading Design conferences, as well as an online community of over 3,000 design leaders.

He's a founding member of the Adobe Design Circle and has appeared on both the Wired 100 and BIMA 100 lists, as well as winning agency of the year several times.

His recent talk called “Design's Midlife Crisis” is all about the intersection between business and design, so is something I highly recommend you checking out.

If you'd like to reach out to Andy, he can be found on Twitter, LinkedIn, and you can find out more about him at andybudd.com

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In this episode we learn about the Circular Economy with Elisabeth Graf, a service designer specialising in climate adaptation.

We explore how design is central to circular success, and the opportunity circular presents for businesses looking to adapt and thrive under the consequences of climate change.

Show notes and references:

Elisabeth Graf on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabeth-lilli-graf
Elisabeth Graf's website - https://lilligraf.com
Ellen MacArthur Foundation - https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
BMI Lab Report: Business Model Innovation for the circular economy - https://resources.bmilab.com/ce-whitepaper-download
The BMI Business Model Navigator - https://businessmodelnavigator.com
The components of a business model - https://d.mba/guides/7-things-designer-should-know-about-business#business-models=
Google's Circular Report - https://sustainability.google/commitments/circular-economy/
H&M Circular initiative - https://hmgroup.com/sustainability/circular-and-climate-positive/circularity/
Wear 2 Wear - https://www.wear2wear.org/en/
Loop reusable containers - https://exploreloop.com
Rent The Runway - https://www.renttherunway.com
TU Delft Circular courses - https://online-learning.tudelft.nl/courses/circular-economy-design-and-technology/
Organic Basics low impact website - https://lowimpact.organicbasics.com
Frog Sustainable Business Model Canvas - https://info2.frogdesign.com/sustainable-business-model-canvas
Consequence Scanning workshop - https://doteveryone.org.uk/project/consequence-scanning/
How to Save a Planet podcast - https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet
Sustainable Standup - https://www.sustainablestandup.com

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In this episode we sit down with Martyn Reding. Martyn is an experienced Design Leader and Founder of the Design Leaders Studio, an online course for designers transitioning into management roles.

We discuss why just a little business confidence can go a long way for designers, how to bridge the design and business culture gap, and explore how Martyn has scaled design teams in very different business context's.

You can connect with Martyn by following him on Twitter or checking out martyn.design

Designer Leaders Studio - https://www.designleaders.studio

Exclusive listener offer - Use the code DIB at checkout for 15% off (expires 30 April 2022)

Design leaders studio is an online course, created to support designers taking their first steps into leadership.

Design leaders studio was created for designers who are considering or have recently transitioned from a practising designer into a manager role.

The course content was created by Martyn Reding and includes processes, tips and tools he developed while building and running design teams at Virgin Atlantic, Zoopla, MORETH>N.

Subscribe to the Designers in Business Newsletter - https://www.designersinbusiness.com

The Designers in Business newsletter helps designers build business confidence, collaborate effectively with business peers, and improve the impact of design in their organisations.

Designers in Business is brought to you by Tom Prior, a Digital Product Designer and Design Strategist. He believes a better grasp of how business works can give us the confidence to design and collaborate more effectively.

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