Luke Ball

Now that Config is over here's a good recap for design execs:

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I recently had a candid conversation with Kate Syuma on the Growthmates Podcast, recorded live at the Hatch Conference in Berlin. I was thrilled to share thoughts on some of the biggest misconceptions about user research — especially for teams with limited resources. Let’s break down the 3 major myths we discussed: - Research is too costly and time-consuming. Many believe that good research requires a lot of time and money, but that’s simply not true. 👉 Advice: You don’t need a large budget or a dedicated research team to make an impact, just get started with what you have! - Research doesn’t provide measurable ROI. One of the most frequent concerns I hear is that research can’t be tied to business results. 👉 Advice: It CAN be done … it just takes a little extra effort. Understand what metrics YOUR company cares about (eg. cost reduction, retention rates), then get creative on doing the math to map your research outcomes in those terms. - Democratizing research is too risky. Some worry that letting non-researchers contribute might lead to inconsistent or inaccurate findings. 👉 Advice: Encourage teams to take ownership of customer experience insights and ensure leadership supports a culture of curiosity and continuous learning. A big thank you to Kate Syuma and the Growthmates Podcast for inviting me to discuss these topics — it was a fantastic experience! 🙌 Catch the full conversation here (Youtube, Apple, Spotify inside): https://lnkd.in/es8Di63i

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🤝Designing Together: The Power of Trust in Cross-Functional Teams Let’s talk about something often overlooked in the hustle of deadlines, roadmaps, and launches: the human connections that hold our squads together. As product designers, we live at the intersection of user needs, business goals, and technical feasibility. In this space, our product managers and engineers aren’t just “other functions.” They are our partners—the people we rely on to bring ideas to life. Yet, the real challenge is less about tools, processes, or even skillsets, and more about building relationships rooted in honesty, transparency, and trust. Here’s the truth: without these values, even the most brilliant designs can falter. Why? Because product development isn’t a solo act. It’s a collaborative symphony, where alignment, constructive friction, and mutual respect drive success. Honesty: The Foundation Honesty starts with dropping the ego. Be real about what you know, what you don’t, and where you need help. For example, if a design direction feels risky, say so. Likewise, invite your PM and engineers to challenge your assumptions. The best ideas emerge when all perspectives are heard, not when we hold back to avoid discomfort. Transparency: The Glue Transparency isn’t just about sharing updates—it’s about inviting others into the process. Share your messy explorations, involve engineers in user research, and talk openly about constraints. A transparent team is a team that avoids surprises. And when everyone understands the “why” behind decisions, alignment comes naturally. Trust: The Multiplier Trust doesn’t happen overnight—it’s earned through actions. It’s being consistent in your delivery, showing empathy when conflicts arise, and treating criticism as an opportunity rather than an attack. When trust is solid, something powerful happens: debates shift from “proving a point” to “solving a problem.” The Role of Feedback Feedback is where these values are put to the test. Constructive criticism isn’t just about improving a design—it’s about building a better partnership. When a PM critiques your work, they’re helping align it with the strategy. When an engineer pushes back on feasibility, they’re ensuring it’s buildable. Embrace these moments. They’re not threats; they’re gifts. The Big Picture In a squad, the lines between roles blur. Success isn’t about who “owns” the best idea—it’s about delivering the best solution together. When honesty, transparency, and trust become your defaults, your team stops being just a collection of functions. You become a unit, operating with shared purpose and collective accountability. So, product designers: How are you fostering these values in your squads? What’s one thing you’ll do differently this week to strengthen your partnerships? Let’s commit to designing not just great products, but great relationships. That’s where the real magic happens. #Collaboration #ProductDesign #TrustMatters #Teamwork #productdesign

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Diversity in design isn't just a buzzword—it's a business imperative. 🌈 As a hiring manager, I've seen firsthand how diverse teams boost creativity, product quality, and profitability. I believe in building teams that reflect our users and bring fresh perspectives to every project. How do you ensure fairness during the hiring process when you have to look at portfolios? Here is my perspective on the challenges of inclusive hiring. #DiversityInDesign #InclusiveHiring #TeamBuilding

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I have worked with Karyn in the past and have seen the impact she can make through her thoughtful facilitation. Are you interested in how you could leverage systems thinking to scale innovation in complex product development organizations? Worth the read!

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Here are three UX principles that I've used successfully in the past, particularly with teams that may not understand where UX fits into the process.

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Portfolio tip for design leaders: Unless your values/leadership style/‘how I lead’ slides are unique or clearly showing why they make you a good fit for this specific role, skip all that in your portfolio presentation. It’s a waste of time and if it sounds like what all the other candidates are also doing(which is true 90% of the time), it will make you blend in. Not good: Generic words like empathy, team building, servant leadership etc Good: Super specific values that apply to this role Better: Super specific values that are actually then evidenced in the work you will shortly present

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Great advice for both sides of the equation.

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I enjoy reading through the results of the annual UX Tools Design Tools Survey every year. Product Designers, it’s that time of the year again to share what tools you used this past year, and which tools you are curious to check out in 2025: https://uxtools.co/survey

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Empathy in Application Design: Why Great Leaders Foster Great Teams As leaders in product design, empathy isn’t just a tool; it’s a necessity. Empathy fuels the connection between design vision and human need, but it also creates an environment where designers can bring their full selves and creativity to the table. In my experience, fostering a culture of empathy has fundamentally improved team dynamics and the quality of our work. Here’s how I see it in action: ↳ Open Communication: Empathy encourages active listening, where team members feel truly heard. This creates space for honest feedback and innovation because designers feel safe to express ideas and iterate openly. ↳ User-Centric Vision: When we prioritize empathy, we keep our users front and center. Our product decisions are made with their experiences in mind, ensuring we’re solving real problems in meaningful ways. ↳ Empowered Teams: By showing empathy toward our teams, we support their growth and confidence, which in turn fuels their passion and productivity. A team that feels valued is a team that strives for excellence. → True Story... sharing insights from what it's like to be on a great team: In a project designing a web app for elderly users, our team faced a common challenge: most of us were young and didn’t fully understand the tech limitations older adults might face. To bridge this empathy gap, we held “empathy workshops” where each team member simulated age-related challenges—using gloves to limit dexterity, applying screen filters to mimic vision impairments, and adjusting text sizes to the maximum. A few product team members quickly realized the frustration of navigating with shaky hands and commented, “We had no idea how challenging even simple actions could be.” This experience reshaped our design & development process: we made buttons larger, simplified navigation, and enhanced contrast. By stepping into our users’ shoes, our deliverables went beyond meeting requirements—they genuinely addressed user needs, making the app truly intuitive. With empathy as a foundation, we didn’t just deliver a product; we delivered a meaningful, user-centered experience. Empathy-driven leadership isn’t a buzzword; it’s a pathway to building cohesive, high-performing teams. Leaders who prioritize empathy create an environment where collaboration thrives, communication flows, and great design flourishes. #Leadership #ProductDesign #Empathy #Teamwork #UXDesign #LeadershipInAction

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For years, I thought the only way to find usability issues was by running full-scale user tests. We’d spend countless hours bringing users through our products, and while we gained valuable insights, we also wasted time and money on usability issues our team could have spotted much earlier. That’s when I discovered expert reviews like heuristic evaluations. With a clear checklist and a trained eye, you can catch those obvious usability issues upfront — saving time and resources. This frees up user testing to focus on the deeper, nuanced feedback you need to make sure your product works in the real world for your user. If you want to streamline your process and make better use of your team's valuable research time, this class will show you exactly how to do it. Sign up today and share your rockstar 🎸 knowledge with your entire department or sign up as a team and enjoy a 20% discount! Have a great week and I can't wait to see you in the class! Sign Up Here 👇 https://lnkd.in/ecxsNhqA

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I had the privilege of joining Joe Woodham on his podcast All Things Design, where we talked about some of the interesting and challenging aspects of design leadership. In this episode (linked below in the comments) we explored: • How to align customer-obsessed designers to business outcomes. • The contrasts between working in big organisations versus smaller teams • The evolving role of design metrics and how they can drive meaningful alignment across teams. As a Product Design Director at Xero, I’ve seen many of the opportunities and hurdles that come with scaling design in a large organisation. Joe and I unpacked a few strategies for navigating these challenges while keeping the team focused on delivering value. If you’re interested in design and business impact, or are looking to move up into design leadership, this episode might be of interest to you. Would love to hear a few thoughts too – what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in aligning design with business goals?

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Design without reason is like building without a foundation. In my latest newsletter explain what design rationale is.

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If you're doing continuous discovery and your product is pretty defined or narrow, then I suppose you could forgo strategic planning. However, I don't see how it hurts (as long as you're willing to pivot as needed) to do it. You have to take it for what it is. It's not going to give you a precise roadmap for the year. It's giving you something to guide, and that guidance gets fuzzier the further out it goes. I recommend that if you're doing strategic planning, that it needs to be revisited at least quarterly for it to retain value throughout the year. If you're sitting down now to plan 2025, and you don't plan on doing this for another year, good luck.

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#Config24. There's nothing quite like it when designers and makers gather to share, learn, and nerd out about our craft. Thank you Amperity for supporting our design team to take on this experience together at Figma's annual conference. There is so much to soak in, both from the presentations and chats across the community. Here are a few first takeaways: • Go faster with AI. From reducing tedium (auto-naming layers) to the emergent ability to turn flat UI into interactive prototypes with a click of a button. This philosophy is shaping the experience of designing in Figma. • There is a healthy and important debate in the design community about the implications of this AI-powered future. I love that it will lower the barrier for entry however agree with Jenny Arden: AI can get to good but as it can only remix what's been done before, it takes humans to get it to great. • Intentionality, creativity and craft matter even more. This theme came up throughout the two days. Tools should augment your process, not automate your favourite parts. • Shake the idea that difficult equals important. Simone Giertz overcame her performance anxiety by choosing enthusiasm as a driver for her work, resulting in a lot of fun and unexpected outcomes. • Aspire to be the team that sets the bar for quality. Peter Yang challenges PMs and people who care about product craft to choose quality and speed over scope. Cut features not quality corners to deliver beautiful products to customers, and quickly so you can learn. • How you structure your EPD teams will be reflected in your product. Resist symmetry. Nan Yu makes a great case for "heirloom tomato" teams that vary in size and shape in order to create an org chart you want to ship. • Figma redesign incoming. Figma's UI3 has been built on the core belief that way we design has evolved, requiring more immersion in the canvas. Minimizing UI aims to keep designers in flow, then make it easier to show and present work. On that... • Hello, Figma Slides. It just makes sense to show the work from the tool you built it in — and Slides (or Flides) will streamline this with speaker notes and quick layout features. • Does your design leave fingerprints? How might you weave traces of people, stories, acknowledge what you bring as a designer with a story of your own. Thank you Karla Mickens Cole and Nashilu Mouen from The Browser Company for this people-centered prompt.

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My pal Vitaly Friedman is second-to-none when it comes to delivering thorough, thoughtful, and actionable design advice. He's released a few courses that are really valuable for practicing designers and design leads: 🧠 Smart Interface Design Patterns: https://lnkd.in/e-v-jsCG 📏 How to Measure UX Impact: https://measure-ux.com/ #design #ux

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Learn how Nearform_Commerce can customize your CMS experience with Sanity

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Some really good nuggets in here about how designers can differentiate themselves in this new AI-flavored world. I really love this part and intend on making it the mantra for my team going forward. This is pure gold here, friends: ".... be strategic in your design thinking, more purposeful in your design decisions, and assertive in imprinting your perspective onto the work you produce." https://trends.uxdesign.cc

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