Master Class

Master Class: Design Leadership

Friday, November 13th
11:30 – 13:00
Master Classes

The integration of design in companies has undergone massive changes in the past years. We have seen the shift from design as an agency service towards huge inhouse design teams. We have seen companies investing massively in their design capability and setting up ambitious design programs. And we have seen design itself change from what John Maeda calls classic design – something that is finished and polished – to design as a process and computational design.

With this big change within just a couple of years, it is clear we need to update our tools to build the design capability and we need many capable design managers to lead this transformation. Newly appointed and well-established design leaders both sometimes struggle with identifying the right initiatives and measures to bring their team and the design work forward. Furthermore, design is still finding its way to integrate fully into corporate value chains and structures.

The Design Leadership Framework aims at tackling the above-mentioned challenges and changes. It gives a clear overview of the areas and aspects of the field of design leadership and design management. It can serve as a checklist for design leaders and their teams. To quote a design leader from an agency context: “The framework is giving me a landscape of where I can develop my mastery and help my clients develop theirs.”

In this masterclass you will
- Get an introduction to the latest, updated version of the Design Leadership Framework
- Understand the application of the framework for different contexts
- Will do a self-assessment where you as a design leader or your design team currently stand
- Deep dive into selected challenges in group work and discuss solutions and best practices
- Exchange with other design leaders