Justin Roberts 💡Justin Roberts 💡 • 2nd2ndDesign-Led Product Strategy: Build the right thing, the right way at the right time.Design-Led Product Strategy: Build the right thing, the right way at the right time.4d • 4 days ago • Visible to anyone on or off LinkedIn
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I’ve been a designer for more than 20 years, and I have a confession to make: I’m still confused by all the titles.
Product Designer. Product Manager. UX Designer. Experience Designer. Strategy Designer.
I’ve worked across most of them… and still, the lines feel blurry.
Design, to me, isn’t a role - it’s a way of thinking. A way of approaching uncertainty. A framework for exploring problems and shaping solutions that actually matter.
Some designers are more visual, others more strategic. Some are drawn to research and insight, others to flows and systems - even writing code. But the value of design isn’t in the tools we use - it’s in the thinking that happens before the tool even opens.
So when I see job descriptions that list Figma as the first requirement, or suggest that seeing hi-fidelity pictures of screens is the make-or-break skill… I can’t help but feel we’ve lost the plot.
If you’re hiring a designer, don’t ask what they can do in a tool. Ask what problems they’ve solved, how they think, how they’ve helped an organisation move closer to the outcomes it cares about.
Design is about outcomes, not outputs. So maybe instead of asking “Do they know Figma?” we should start asking “Can they help us solve the right problem?”
And while we’re at it… is product management really that different?
Both disciplines are about solving problems. Both aim to create things people want, need, and will use. Product might lean into feasibility and go-to-market, while design leans into usability and desirability - but they’re two sides of the same coin. One shapes the vision, the other gives it traction.
In the real world, outcomes aren’t owned by roles - they’re created by collaboration. Maybe we should spend less time drawing lines between titles… and more time aligning on what we’re actually trying to achieve.
Product Designer. Product Manager. UX Designer. Experience Designer. Strategy Designer.
I’ve worked across most of them… and still, the lines feel blurry.
Design, to me, isn’t a role - it’s a way of thinking. A way of approaching uncertainty. A framework for exploring problems and shaping solutions that actually matter.
Some designers are more visual, others more strategic. Some are drawn to research and insight, others to flows and systems - even writing code. But the value of design isn’t in the tools we use - it’s in the thinking that happens before the tool even opens.
So when I see job descriptions that list Figma as the first requirement, or suggest that seeing hi-fidelity pictures of screens is the make-or-break skill… I can’t help but feel we’ve lost the plot.
If you’re hiring a designer, don’t ask what they can do in a tool. Ask what problems they’ve solved, how they think, how they’ve helped an organisation move closer to the outcomes it cares about.
Design is about outcomes, not outputs. So maybe instead of asking “Do they know Figma?” we should start asking “Can they help us solve the right problem?”
And while we’re at it… is product management really that different?
Both disciplines are about solving problems. Both aim to create things people want, need, and will use. Product might lean into feasibility and go-to-market, while design leans into usability and desirability - but they’re two sides of the same coin. One shapes the vision, the other gives it traction.
In the real world, outcomes aren’t owned by roles - they’re created by collaboration. Maybe we should spend less time drawing lines between titles… and more time aligning on what we’re actually trying to achieve.
Strategy for the Real World
Contending that the contemporary business environment can be turbulent and chaotic, Kevin McCullagh asserts that design strategy is not about grand conceptual ideas but is instead a pragmatic blend of thinking ahead and en-route adaptation…
… strategy is grounded in facts and analysis, synthesizes disparate thinking, provides a framework for decisions and includes an implementation plan.
Contending that the contemporary business environment can be turbulent and chaotic, Kevin McCullagh asserts that design strategy is not about grand conceptual ideas but is instead a pragmatic blend of thinking ahead and en-route adaptation…
… strategy is grounded in facts and analysis, synthesizes disparate thinking, provides a framework for decisions and includes an implementation plan.
Building Design Strategy | Lockwood Walton
Building Design Strategy : Using Design to Achieve Key Business Objectives (Paperback) - Walmart.com
Product Development Methodology
Head of UX and Research - MSN
Mission - Take over UX Leadership for a recently centralized UX Team
Core US UX Team - 35 resources,
Product Areas - Money, CarPoint, Travel, Real Estate, Entertainment, Wonderwall, Soapbox (Video)
SAFe Lean-Agile Principles - Scaled Agile Framework
Building Design Strategy : Using Design to Achieve Key Business Objectives (Paperback) - Walmart.com
Product Development Methodology
Head of UX and Research - MSN
Mission - Take over UX Leadership for a recently centralized UX Team
Core US UX Team - 35 resources,
Product Areas - Money, CarPoint, Travel, Real Estate, Entertainment, Wonderwall, Soapbox (Video)
SAFe Lean-Agile Principles - Scaled Agile Framework
High Performance Teams
Approached by my original manager from the ... because I'm good with people.
Known for being cross org collaboration with the standard header project and advertising strategy. A handful of Snr Program and Product Managers had transitioned from the Kids Group and were familiar with my get things done in a collaborative way.
Philosophies Principles ?
Respect the Dev
UX and Business
 little rudderless and didn't get as much attention as the big revenue players such as Office and Windows which were still boxed and OEM products at the time. While my initial focus had to be operational, I did see potential market opportunity in search (which Google captured) and video (which Youtube captured. MSN also had email in the form of Hotmail (which Google captured). Windows picked mail as part of their push into the online services space. Windows Live mail.
Low fidelity design is higher up the value chain | by Pavel Samsonov | UX Collective
Friction in the right places is OK
Have to work for it
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/stanford-professors-on-the-counterintuitive-strategy-that-helps-google-hire-top-talent/ar-BB1lgYmS?ocid=socialshare&pc=LCTS&cvid=e8520aba147f4334a632af0233ba7940&ei=27
Approached by my original manager from the ... because I'm good with people.
Known for being cross org collaboration with the standard header project and advertising strategy. A handful of Snr Program and Product Managers had transitioned from the Kids Group and were familiar with my get things done in a collaborative way.
Philosophies Principles ?
Respect the Dev
UX and Business
 little rudderless and didn't get as much attention as the big revenue players such as Office and Windows which were still boxed and OEM products at the time. While my initial focus had to be operational, I did see potential market opportunity in search (which Google captured) and video (which Youtube captured. MSN also had email in the form of Hotmail (which Google captured). Windows picked mail as part of their push into the online services space. Windows Live mail.
Low fidelity design is higher up the value chain | by Pavel Samsonov | UX Collective
Friction in the right places is OK
Have to work for it
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/stanford-professors-on-the-counterintuitive-strategy-that-helps-google-hire-top-talent/ar-BB1lgYmS?ocid=socialshare&pc=LCTS&cvid=e8520aba147f4334a632af0233ba7940&ei=27
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