What is a Strategy Designer?

A strategy designer is a professional focused on shaping the future direction of an organization, product, or service by integrating strategic thinking with design methodologies.

Based on common practice, the strategic designer is often found at the intersection of organizational and customer needs, guiding the strategic process of research & co-creation while lending their innovative making skills where needed.

Understanding the Role of a Strategy Designer

The strategy designer plays a crucial role in translating high-level organizational goals and deep customer insights into actionable plans and tangible outcomes. They don't just create visual designs; they design the very approach, process, and systems that lead to strategic innovation and effective solutions.

Key Aspects of the Strategy Designer Role

• Intersection of Needs: Strategy designers operate at the critical point where an organization's business objectives meet the real-world needs, desires, and behaviors of its customers or users. They bridge the gap between internal capabilities and external demands.
• Guiding Strategic Process: They facilitate and lead key activities in the strategic journey. This includes:
  • Research: Conducting deep dives into market trends, competitive landscapes, organizational capabilities, and user behavior to uncover insights.
  • Co-creation: Involving stakeholders from different parts of the organization and potentially customers in collaborative workshops and sessions to build shared understanding and generate diverse ideas.
• Innovative Making Skills: While strategic in focus, they often possess practical "making" skills – this could involve prototyping, visualization, service blueprinting, journey mapping, or even developing initial concepts to make abstract strategies concrete and testable. They use these skills to explore possibilities, communicate ideas effectively, and build momentum.

Strategy designers help organizations navigate complexity, identify opportunities, and develop innovative strategies that are not only viable from a business perspective but also desirable from a user perspective and feasible to implement.

Where Strategy Designers Work

Strategy designers can be found in various settings, including:

• Consulting firms specializing in strategy or design.
• In-house innovation labs or strategy teams within large corporations.
• Design agencies expanding their services beyond traditional visual or product design.
• Technology companies focusing on user-centered strategy.

They often work in cross-functional teams, collaborating with business leaders, researchers, product managers, engineers, and other designers.

In essence, a strategy designer uses a human-centered approach to tackle complex strategic challenges, ensuring that organizational strategies are grounded in reality, informed by insights, and designed for impact.