DX Perspective: Career Update, The Craft of Creating, and Rebalancing of Design Management
Hi all!
Here’s your weekly dose of DX Perspective, a list of what I’m exploring and thinking about. Feel free to forward this along to friends.
Updates
I have a bit of news this week. I’ve joined PayPal as Chief Design Officer.
As a futurist, I always have one foot in the future and one in the present. I’m drawn to industries pioneering to define what’s next or ripe for reinvention. It’s not often that you have both at the same time.
I’m joining PayPal at a pivotal moment where the macro environment, industry, and company are evolving. I’m excited to be part of that transformation and help drive PayPal’s next stage of growth. I believe that design is a powerful competitive advantage.
kw picks
The Rebalancing of Design Management
The balance is off. And the problem is that if managers aren't actively driving business outcomes using all their knowledge and expertise, and if designers aren't creating work that not only solves user problems, but meaningfully differentiates your product from a competitor's, then all the people-focused work we all care about doing isn't going to matter because the product won't exist for long.
New retreats to reset body, mind and spirit
Four places to shift energy, sleep better, and reconnect, from Umbria to Morocco.
Apple Quietly Made a Big Change to Its Website. It Says a Lot About Its Future
Apple is starting to 'think different' about its future.
What I’m listening to
Emerging Tech
The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma
An urgent warning of the unprecedented risks that AI and other fast-developing technologies pose to global order, and how we might contain them while we have the chance—from a co-founder of the pioneering artificial intelligence company DeepMind
What I’m reading
Journeys before features; how to nurture fragile ideas; when to document; and absolutely unambiguous outcomes
Tools and Resources
This series of interactive workshops from LifeLabs Learning will train you on the small changes that make the biggest impact for your team and organization as we embrace the future of work.
🔉 Recruiting
I’m building a world-class design organization to drive PayPal’s next generation of experience-led products and services. We focus on a high bar for craft, quality, strategy, and innovation, and I’m actively seeking talented individuals to join our team. Let’s chat if you are considering a change or know someone who would be a good fit.
Experience Architecture / Design Strategy / Experience Design / Motion/3D Design / Sound Design / Illustration / Service Design / Brand Design / Design Systems / Design Ops
Current openings: https://lnkd.in/ggZr8VMx
Design Leadership at Scale – Beta cohort
We had such an incredible response from the community on the course, and stellar feedback for the alpha cohort experience. We’re currently working though timing for the beta cohort. Stay tuned.
→ To learn more, visit https://maven.com/rachel-kobetz/design-leadership-at-scale
And please give me feedback. Which bullet above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Respond in substack or tweet to @kobewan and put #DefiningExperience at the end so I can find it.
Have a wonderful weekend.
— Rachel