How designers can use their skills to get a seat at the strategy table

Luke Wroblewski, 2006, Defining the Problem: Q&A with Jamie Hoover (emphasis mine):

Q: From my experience, defining problems has been a doorway for designers into the world of product and corporate strategy. Have you experienced similar results

A: By having success at bringing an awareness and clear description of actual problems to others through visual narrative, I became viewed as able to analyze what was really the problem and communicate it. Communicators are who get invited back to the table when its time to shape direction. I think this worked for me because I was invited to be a part of many crucial projects at eBay after this point.

Good design goes hand in hand with good communication. Whether it’s fine art or interface design, a design artifact is always trying communicate something visually. The Luke Wroblewski‘s interview with Jamie Hoover presents a real example of how designers can use their visual communication & storytellings skills to make them valuable at the business table, where they get to influence strategy & direction, rather than be confined to a production role and just “making things pretty.”