Making Sense of Enterprise UX
Summary
Is there such a thing as enterprise UX? If so, is it a new challenge? Is it different than consumer-facing UX? And where might enterprise UX be heading? Interesting questions for interesting times. John Maeda has been around the block a bit. Long enough to have almost forgotten that he started off, many years ago, in… enterprise UX. Since then, he’s bounced around many corners of the design world, from higher education to venture-backed startups. In his closing keynote, John will view enterprise UX through the lens of his varied career to help us make sense of where it’s been–and where it might go.
Key Insights
-
•
Enterprise UX requires aligning diverse stakeholder perspectives, especially when leadership might not initially value design.
-
•
Design can sometimes create desire for unneeded products, a concern raised by a startup VP's CFO.
-
•
Listening to what is unsaid in research can unlock more profound innovation, as Amal insightfully noted.
-
•
Leaders like eBay’s John Donahoe show that CEO care for design is key to truly integrating it in organizations.
-
•
Followership holds enormous untapped power, enabling leaders to amplify impact by those who choose to follow.
-
•
Designers are often 'mutants' who straddle engineering and artistic mindsets, a unique hybrid not taught in traditional schools.
-
•
Creative professionals benefit by letting go of the stigma around money and embracing financial literacy and business education.
-
•
The history of computing and design often overlooks women pioneers who shaped today’s technology landscape.
-
•
Change management in creative institutions often involves brutal mistakes but rewards persistence and listening to key constituencies.
-
•
Future design leadership means more designers founding companies, joining boards, and speaking the language of business and tech.
Notable Quotes
"I really don’t like when we design our systems so well, because it makes the consumer think they might want it, and so they take too long to decide they actually didn’t want it."
"It’s the innovators who can listen to what is unsaid where research has the biggest impact."
"Followers believe they don’t have power, but actually hold enormous power to enable leadership."
"Design is a poorly designed word. It’s tough because it’s noun and verb and everything in between."
"Money is not an evil thing. Creative people should accept that money is okay."
"The best leaders lead so quietly they barely exist. When their work is done people say we did it ourselves."
"You’re all mutants, straddling engineering and design schools and feeling like the island of misfit toys."
"If you could tell students: you can do the thing your parents want and do what you want, that’s powerful."
"When Jack Dorsey launched Square, people hated it at RISD. Two years later, it was everywhere on campus."
"Graphic design profession wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for laws requiring public companies to publish annual reports."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Storytelling drives outcomes. Build your good story."
Patrizia BertiniThe (r)evolution of designOps: It’s Time to Think (really) BIG
September 11, 2025
"We are beginning to see cycles of history repeat themselves in accessibility, especially in gaming and AR/VR."
Sam ProulxTo Boldly Go: The New Frontiers of Accessibility
March 11, 2022
"Design needs to balance business strategy and technology limitations but always keep users centered."
Product and Design at Bloomberg: A 15-year Evolution
December 6, 2022
"Governance is not policing; we're here to help you create the best experience and save time."
Charles Lee Jennie YipBuilding a New Home for the Atlassian Design System
October 22, 2020
"Getting engineers to join usability testing builds empathy and turns skeptics into champions."
JJ KercherA Roadmap for Maturing Design in the Enterprise
June 15, 2018
"A good two-factor system offers multiple methods, like authenticator apps, calls, and texts, with generous timeouts."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
October 3, 2023
"Some war games, like modeling a thermonuclear war, are no-win scenarios, which is why we spend so much time trying to prevent that."
Terry BuckmanWargaming (An Introduction)
August 10, 2023
"Data is power; find your eigen metric, the one or two things that prove your hypothesis."
Aletheia DelivreNew Shapes and Emerging Identities for Design Ops
September 11, 2025
"When organizations have regime change, shifting high leverage points can cause catastrophic effects, sometimes destructive and unintended."
Erin Hoffman-JohnThis Game is Never Done: Design Leadership Techniques from the Video Game World
November 6, 2017
