Summary
Of South Africa’s total population, 92% are people of color. In Design however, it’s less than 9%. As a Cape Colored Designer, this made having an identity that my fellow designers could relate to extremely difficult as I am neither Black nor White. In order to navigate a post-apartheid country, I had to realize that belonging nowhere could mean that I, in fact, could belong everywhere. This talk is about the “Cultural Edge Effect” of my heritage and how that has helped me build Enterprise Design teams and attract and build the diverse design skills of South Africa’s future.
Key Insights
-
•
South Africa's legacy of segregation still echoes psychologically and structurally today.
-
•
Dean's identity as 'not fitting in' granted him a unique, inclusive perspective across cultures.
-
•
The 'edu effect' describes how cultural and genetic diversity at boundaries creates greater resilience.
-
•
Early career exclusion experiences helped Dean develop empathy for marginalized designers.
-
•
Design industry hiring biases stem from availability bias and lack of pipeline, requiring long-term efforts.
-
•
Leadership should prioritize being effective over being certain, embracing discomfort and uncertainty.
-
•
Metaphor of crabs shedding shells illustrates that growth involves vulnerability, discomfort, and community support.
-
•
Pot plants symbolize dependency on external factors, while crabs embody proactive self-directed growth.
-
•
The 'end of history illusion' biases individuals to underestimate future personal change.
-
•
Building inclusive teams needs ongoing cultural effort, mentorship, and openness to challenging conversations.
Notable Quotes
"Not belonging anywhere meant that I had access everywhere."
"Availability bias means hiring managers often pick fruit from a tree they haven't planted."
"Care less about being certain and more about being effective."
"Society grows great when old people plant trees they know they shall never sit in."
"Don't be a pot plant, be a crab."
"Crabs grow by shedding their shells, which is uncomfortable but necessary."
"When crabs shed their shells, they're vulnerable, so they gather in safe groups for protection."
"The end of history illusion is that we think we're done evolving, but we vastly underestimate future change."
"Constraints can channel focus, but being stuck in them limits potential."
"If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"During roadmapping time, let's bring our roadmaps together and discover synergies."
Brad Peters Anne MamaghaniShort Take #1: UX/Product Lessons from Your Industry Peers
December 6, 2022
"Design at ExxonMobil isn’t just what designers do; it’s about changing the way people think and solve problems through a human-centered lens."
Lona MooreScaling Design Beyond Designers
June 11, 2021
"Machine intelligence can elevate experiences by easing frictions and amplifying human judgment and agency."
Josh Clark Veronika KindredSentient Design, AI, and the Radically Adaptive Experience (1st of 3 seminars)
January 15, 2025
"Two researchers can’t come close to digging into the customer problems for 17 product teams."
Erin May Roberta Dombrowski Laura Oxenfeld Brooke HintonDistributed, Democratized, Decentralized: Finding a Research Model to Support Your Org
March 10, 2022
"AI moderation, in short, is a large language model that runs a moderated interview session without a human researcher present."
Tara TresselInvestigating qualitative depth of AI-moderated interviews
March 10, 2026
"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
"We are not replacing teachers; we are enhancing their ability to teach effectively."
Kristin SkinnerFive Years of DesignOps
September 29, 2021
"Establish yourself as a trusted expert advisor whose work drives meaningful positive change."
Megan BlockerGetting to the “So What?”: How Management Consulting Practices Can Transform Your Approach to Research
March 26, 2024
"A standard framework for collecting and responding to family feedback at the organizational level can increase their voice’s impact."
Shanti Mathew Natalie Sims Natalia RadywylCivic Design at Scale: Introducing the Public Policy Layer Cake
December 9, 2021
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
What are best practices for onboarding and operationalizing UX research tools post-procurement to ensure adoption?
What challenges arise when trying to present UX research insights solely in PM-friendly metrics?
How can AI agents maintain context and prevent delivering misleading answers when searching research data?