So you’re looking for a designer with my profile. That’s great! But, I though I’d save us both some time by describing the kind of companies, environments, teams, and ventures I am looking to join.
If you represent an agency, these statements should describe your clients.
If you have been sent to this website by me, I apparently believe that you fit this profile, and if you also feel that you do, I think we will be friends.
You do not want me to work on your project, you want me to work in your team.
You have not imagined a project with a start and an end. You understand that software development is never finished, only abandoned, and that those who do not evolve become extinct. I did not mean for that phrase to come out so catchy, sorry.
You, and all stakeholders, understand the costs of both technical and conceptual design and implementation, as well as maintenance and continuous refinement.
You understand how, and have already begun, to build an organisation around continuous development and refinement of your service.
If you have a challenge with a limited scope I would be happy to help you if you can define, or allow me to help you define, how it ties in to the larger goals for your service.
You want to hold me accountable for my work, not others.
I want to be considered a resource in your team, available to all, and be responsible or partly responsible for the concept of a service.
I have no problem with giving critique or feedback on other peoples work in regards to how well it satisfies the design concept, I just do not want to have managerial responsibilities and tell people what to do, and answer questions about overall progress on behalf of others. I have done this enough times in my career to know that it is not the role I want to have.
I want to be held accountable for and evaluated for my work and my deliverables, not others. Likewise I want to earn and take credit for my own design decisions and deliverables, and not for other peoples accomplishments.
You understand that user centric design of the service goes beyond the scope of the software.
The user experience of your service is likely tied to the customer experience of your brand. And as with branding we must look at more than the product.
When creating or refining a service, it common that the design of the service dictates how you conduct your business and how you accommodate your users outside your service; in delivery expedience, in customer service channels, in branding and advertising, in communication aimed at customer retention etc.
A user journey map should not only encompass contact with your service, but also with your brand in all channels.
You have made sure that the relevant stakeholders are prepared for this, and that we have the mandate to look beyond the product and occasionally venture into business development and involve the entire organisation.
You do not require full time onsite attendance.
If it wasn’t clear before the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly should be clear now: Remote work in tech environments is viable and sometimes preferable.
There will always be times when I want a whiteboard, a stack of post-its, a dussin colored pencils and a room full of confused but excited people. Likewise I like to present concepts with storytelling, and give critique and feedback on work aimed to satisfy the concepts I design in person.
But no matter how much I like to work with people most of my time is spent writing, thinking, sketching, drawing, experimenting, and processing on my own, and I may very well want to do this outside of your office.
If you expect me to work regularly at your office, then your office is within commuting distance of Kolsva, Sweden where I live. Stockholm, Västerås, Örebro and Eskilstuna are all within range.
You intend to pay me for my work.
Okay, this sounds obvious but let me be clear:
Your service, your idea, your startup would have to be phenomenal and have even more phenomenal potential for me to be interested in working in exchange for equity or any other form of reward that is conditional on the success of your idea.
And I would make outrageous demands on the way we should work, the team we would need, and the resources allocated at my disposal.