From Industrial Designer to Storyteller
Lessons from my design career on understanding problems, collaborating with teams, and telling clearer portfolio stories.
- Event
- CCS Morning Boost 2024
- Series
- Toyota Lecture Series
- Venue
- College for Creative Studies
- Location
- Detroit, Michigan
- Date
- March 29, 2024
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The full deck, one slide at a time. Use the arrows, your keyboard, or the thumbnails below. Nothing advances on its own.
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The Transformation Journey from Industrial Designer to Storyteller
Insights gained from the successes and failures I encountered throughout the years
Frances Sun (MFA, Interdisciplinary Design' 11 )
You are currently thinking…
Detroit, MI
MFA student
About me
UI Designer
Taipei, Taiwan
Raleigh, NC
Advisory UX designer
Round Rock, TX
Principal Product Designer
Lead Designer- Enterprise
Remote
Detroit, MI
MFA student
I am one of the graduates from the very first MFA class.
I experienced what you had been through
UI Designer
Taipei, Taiwan
Raleigh, NC
Advisory UX designer
Round Rock, TX
Principal Product Designer
Lead Designer- Enterprise
Remote
Ah, the thrill of showing your work to your professor!
Spring,2010
I really listened to what my professor said. However, it didn't look like I was listening.
Laptop just gave away my age
Frances ! Be Smart !
I fully understood the 'simple joy' of thesis writing.
These pics proves it:
I've got stripes to share out unsolicited advice.
I hope it will help your job interview and career.
Make It Work!
Speak The Language
Break It Down
Don’t Forget Yourself
A couple of things I've learned over the years
Start with problems
Start with problems
A couple of things I've learned over the years
Make It Work!
Speak The Language
Break It Down
Don’t Forget Yourself
“Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works.”
— Steve Jobs
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5
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My first sponsor project (Winter, 2009)
This concept was hard for me to understand too!
Laptops might help you finish your work faster, but without a clear idea, a laptop can become a barrier.
How do we solve the problem?
Use 5Ws as a checklist
Who is the user?
(It might be more than one user group)
Where user will find this app/software?
Why the user need to use this?
What is this app/software need to do?
When you need to deliver the first release?
Sketch the flow to solve the problem, then see if it works.
After you understand the context, you can proceed..
Start with problems
A couple of things I've learned over the years
Make It Work!
Speak The Language
Break It Down
Don’t Forget Yourself
“Make it work!”— Tim Gunn
Tools change constantly.
Use them to make your idea work!
Over the last 15 years,
I have transitioned to using different tools for prototyping.
PowerPoint
Illustrator
InDesign
XD
Proto.io
Figma
Everyone can have an idea;
designers turn ideas into reality.
Project Managers’ favorite line
I learned this quote at CCS
Remember, design isn't linear.
Don't stick strictly to the book.
Treat what you've learned like a tool in your toolbox.
Start with problems
Make It Work!
Speak The Language
Break It Down
Don’t Forget Yourself
A couple of things I've learned over the years
Nah, I'm not referring to your English skills.
I would not be qualified to say this anyway.
A small software product team looks like this:
Product Manager
UX
Designer
Developer(s)
Quality Assurance(s)
Over the years, I heard from designers…
I present my wireframe in a meeting. Someone ask me:.
Can you draw something for us?
There are a lot of boxes here.
Your team's perception of you differs from your own.
Think about your team’s perspective and speak the language
Product managers expect you to align user needs with business goals.
Think about your team’s perspective and speak the language
Developers expect you to deliver everything they need for the product.
Include screens all the use cases, end to end prototype and assets.
Think about your team’s perspective and speak the language
QA expects clear documentation for design idea and use cases for testing.
At the end of the day,
launching a product requires many people.
Cheesy but true
Start with problems
Make It Work!
Speak The Language
Break It Down
Don’t Forget Yourself
A couple of things I've learned over the years
Break it down part 1.
Visually explain EVERYTHING
Designer
Product
Success isn't solely about design; consider your product holistically.
As a designer, you will need to design something new all the time
Never assume that everyone has a better understanding than you
Educate yourself thoroughly, then share with your team.
Always think about breaking down the process visually.
Sometimes even a simple screenshot can create a large impact
Finally, you start to do the works
Break it down part 2
Focus on storytelling (especially for your portfolio)
Just like any movie
Start with background
Just like any movie
Present an issue
Just like any movie
Show the solution
Just like any movie
Have an ending
a situation
5W and explain everything visually.
a struggle
a solution
Your design!
an ending
Nice to have
Feedback for your design.
At a minimum, a story must have these three elements:
Struggle? Show what went wrong
With so many tools available, how can you prove ownership of your project?
Start with problems
Make It Work!
Speak The Language
Break It Down
Don’t Forget Yourself
A couple of things I've learned over the years
Yes, I mean who are you?
Always add title slide
Even for your prototype.
You want people to see your work and know that you did this.
Always prepare an interesting or memorable answer about who you are.
Detroit, MI
MFA student
This is how I introduce myself, how about you?
UI Designer
Taipei, Taiwan
Raleigh, NC
Advisory UX designer
Round Rock, TX
Principal Product Designer
Lead Designer- Enterprise
Remote
Make It Work!
Speak The Language
Break It Down
Don’t Forget Yourself
I hope these ideas can help you in your future.
Start with problems
Thank you for your time
Frances Sun (MFA, Interdisciplinary Design' 11 )