THE STAFF DESIGNER

Product designer Small offers a handbook for navigating jobs crafting user experience (UX) systems.

This guide looks at the focus areas, responsibilities, and challenges of being a staff designer at all levels of experience in companies of all sizes. She aims her discussion at UX designers at every stage of their career, from newcomers learning the importance of such outward factors as one’s demeanor and bearing to senior practitioners who may be wondering if it’s time to make the transition to project manager. The world of the UX specialty is laid bare in these pages as Small takes readers through the various aspects of the job, from building what she refers to as executive presence (noting that all staff designers are “expected to make a huge impact”) to the vital skill of smart delegation: “Being overwhelmed by your workload isn't a moral failing,” she writes in a sentiment that every harried manager will embrace. “Every designer reaches a point where they have more work than time.” In a series of fast-paced chapters illustrated with charts and tables, the author breaks down such aspects as how to manage one’s time; wrangle the most out of meetings; build a network of “Contributors,” “Observers,” “Approvers,” and “Supporters” (the latter being “Cool folks who don’t directly impact a project but are fun to speak with”); and navigate the intricacies of transitioning from staff design jobs to product management positions. Chapters feature interviews with successful designers, blank workspaces for readers to fill in, sidebar “tips,” and “Catt’s Corner” insets to discuss more specific points. These added bits are often reductive, as when one “tip” informs readers that “most businesses may be small, but they are all unique,” and although “Catt’s Corner” can be engaging, some of her advice may not endear readers to co-workers (such as scheduling meetings according to mood or “energy patterns,” for instance). That said, much of the book’s advice on personal elements is welcome, and its peppy, interactive nature will doubtless help UX practitioners at all stages of their career.

A knowledgeable and visually appealing guide to the world of corporate UX intricacies.