Signs that an organisation values interface design

An organisation may not meet all of these, but may still value interface design.

Company structure

1. Enough designers are employed
2. Design is represented directly at the top of the company
3. Designers are expected to work closely with other teams

Culture

1. Designers are seen to be experts
2. Developers are willing to spend time on the small details necessary for good design
3. The company has a strong design culture (e.g. celebration, understanding)
4. The company’s products are opinionated (i.e. they have strong opinions about how products should be, and they stick to them)

Responsibility

1. The company sees design as a source of significant commercial value
2. Designers are relied upon to affect outcomes, not produce outputs
3. Designers are empowered to work effectively and efficiently

Priority

1. The company spends significant amounts of time on design
2. Quality is prioritised over other things (e.g. scope and deadlines are lowered before quality)
3. The company believes it should prioritise good interaction and visual design, even if there’s not an obvious commercial case
4. The company believes accessibility is important

Understanding

1. Design work is informed by discovery work
2. Design work is validated (e.g. usability testing, analytics)

Quality

1. Iteration after release is normal
2. There are few to no paper cut bugs in the product

Professional development

1. Designers are paid well
2. Designers are helped to improve their skills
3. Designers can easily work with their preferred tools
4. The company has good retention rates for designers

Community

1. The company shares public knowledge about its design practices
2. The company’s products set design trends
3. The company has made a name for itself for “good design”
4. Designers want to work at the company

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