Business Strategy Mapping for Designers workshop

This event was held on 14 May 2024.

The most effective design teams understand how their work can impact business strategy as well as user needs.

But business strategy can be an intimidating terrain for designers to navigate.

Vague strategy statements can leave teams directionless. Blindly following competitors can lead us up mountains we’ll never conquer. Poorly defined measures of success make it tricky to know if we’ve successfully reached our destination.

It can be hard to have our design and research work align with business strategy if we can’t grasp what it is… or if one even exists. 

Whatever your design discipline, a better understanding of how business strategy works could help you have more impact, influence decision making, and collaborate more effectively. 

Business Strategy Mapping for Designers will help bring clarity to the business strategy at your organisation, empowering you to have more business impact and influence.

Who should attend?

Whether you’re a UX, UI, Product, or Content Designer, a little business strategy knowledge can go a long way. You should consider joining this session if you want to…

  • Increase the value & influence of design at your organisation
  • Understand the business strategy at your organisation more clearly… or flag the absence of one
  • Articulate design opportunities in ways that resonate with non-designers
  • Position yourself as a designer who can balance user needs with business ones
  • Communicate the impact you had on strategic goals to potential employers and clients

What you’ll learn

You’ll gain confidence in the world of business strategy in an interactive and collaborative full-day workshop.

This workshop focuses on finding the sweet-spot of strategic confidence for designers, using well known industry companies and practical examples to explore…

  • Why business strategy matters and how it impacts design
  • The power of Differentiation Strategy for competitive advantage 
  • Why trade-offs (including design ones) are critical to business strategy success
  • How to map a businesses strategy against industry competitors
  • Uncovering design opportunities that enhance business strategy
  • Building a business case for strategically-aligned design investment

By the end of the day you’ll have greater confidence in how business strategy impacts your design work, and the tools to identify strategic strengths and opportunities at your organisation.

About Tom

Photo of Tom Prior

Tom is an independent Digital Product Designer and Design Strategist. He’s spent nearly 20 years working with organisations you’ve never heard of (like Cannes Lions and Kuoni), and a handful you probably have (like Virgin Holidays, Clearleft, and Save The Children).

Tom passionately believes that a little business acumen can go a long way for designers. In 2020 he started Designers in Business (now Designers With Impact), a newsletter and podcast aimed at helping fellow designers build more impact in business, as collaborators, and for people + planet. He’s also a graduate of the d.MBA business school for designers, and co-hosts the Business Design Teardown podcast.

What people have said about UX Brighton workshops

“Great workshop – it exceeded all my expectations!”
—Caroline Owen

“Helped me understand and share experiences with other UXers.”
—Paul Swain

“Sound, focused and practical advice about preparing for, facilitating and then following-up on workshops. Alison was a fun, enthusiastic and knowledgeable tutor. Recommended :-)”
—Patrick Sansom

“Really insightful workshop. It was useful to have practical examples rather than just an overview”
—Tracy Godding

Schedule

10:00-10:45 Welcome, introduction to business strategy and why it matters
10:45-11:30 The Business Strategy Canvas: what it is and how to use it
11:30-13:00 Activity: plotting competitors on a Business Strategy Canvas
13:00-14:00 Lunch break
14:00-15:00 Activity: analysing user journeys through a business strategy lens
15:00-15:30 Demystifying business ‘levers’
15:30-15:45 Afternoon break
15:45-16:30 Activity: business impact mapping
16:30-17:00 Reflections and bonus business tips

Enquiries

For enquiries and assistance, please contact [email protected].