Law 4: Verbalize less, craft designs that speak for you.

48LawsOfDesignPowerProduct Design
Written By Joshua Nard
Group of people in a room evaluating a white board with design layout flows.

Image Description: Group of people in a room evaluating a white board with design layout flows.

Laws of Design Power #6 of 48: Court the Essence of Design’s Value

The original law “Always say less than necessary,” has been personally profound as I work with executive leaders. It is important as design leaders to be concise in our communication, focusing on clarity and impact. Avoid overwhelming stakeholders with unnecessary details by minimizing elaborate discussions that create confusion. Create pockets of mystery that convey you have valuable knowledge. 

Instead, allow your design presentations to communicate for you and articulate the product or commerce goals. Embrace visual storytelling where key moments in the experience communicate a purpose valued by your customer. Just as brevity can leave a lasting impact, crafting designs that express ideas succinctly enables you to connect with audiences on a profound level. This can certainly be a challenge today in agile disciplines often misunderstood that rapid ideation is always better. The extra work of creating powerful presentations with your stakeholders will return in gratitude for how it reflects the power of design. Ensure your work resonates with its value as eloquent and powerful, creating a dialogue that transcends words.

Expanding:

As design leaders, recognize the potency of understated and crafted communication in discovery workshops, communicating quietly at times. Convey philosophies that design embodies the vision, value, and outcomes of the team. Cultivate a culture through visual literacy where stakeholders clearly understand your design choices, fostering a deeper level of their engagement and understanding.

Equally important, create quiet evaluations so that people can think - instead of speaking. Google conducts these weekly for large groups to quickly assess. As humans, we know we cannot evaluate correctly thought when we’re quick to speak. Use AI-generated storyboards alongside your design flows that solve a customer solution. This practice can help stakeholders think critically about how each element contributes to the overall customer outcomes. Just as a masterful speaker chooses words judiciously to convey intent, a skilled design leader curates every layout with intention. Spark curiosity and invite exploration with a culture where design is more than aesthetics; it's a vehicle for shared understanding, innovation, and strategic influence. Fostering an environment where verbose discussion is replaced with articulated design value, becomes a testament to your leadership.

This is law #4

CONTEXT: I recently gave myself a challenge while reading Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power. Since the author has even suggested we do not take them too literally, could we take inspiration as laws for creatives to convey the value of design among stakeholders?  How would you reframe and expand on this law? Follow for more and comment below.

#productdesign #productleadership #designleadership #48lawsofdesignspower #RobertGreene #48lawsofpower

 

Robert Greene’s book:

https://www.amazon.com/48-Laws-Power-Robert-Greene-ebook/dp/B0024CEZR6/

 
Joshua Nard
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Law 6: Court the Essence of Design’s Value