Scaling Design Beyond Designers

Key Insights

• •

  Over 90% of ExxonMobil's design community members are non-designers, emphasizing that design mindset can be scaled beyond traditional roles.

• •

  Creating a user-centered design 101 class was key to introducing non-designers at ExxonMobil to human-centered design principles.

• •

  Framing design distinctly from technical engineering helped clarify its value and purpose in a traditional enterprise.

• •

  Lona Moore views her role as a 'design tour guide,' enabling rather than directing, and guiding people through design journeys without formal authority.

• •

  Local design chapters across over 30 countries are largely self-sustaining and led by passionate non-designers who also become trainers and champions.

• •

  Playful activities like role-playing games foster psychological safety and creativity, linking fun directly to business value by sparking new thinking.

• •

  Leadership endorsement and quantifying design’s impact in business terms were critical to gaining enterprise-wide buy-in.

• •

  The community uses rituals and social experiences to reinforce shared values and create a human-centered culture across organizational boundaries.

• •

  Scaling design requires planting long-term goals alongside short-term wins and focusing on measurable progress and feedback.

• •

  Evolving the design community manager role to reflect growing responsibilities helped formalize design career paths and increase strategic impact.

Notable Quotes