What’s in the book
Introducing DesignOps
Dave Malouf explains how DesignOps keep design aligned with the business and give designers more focus.
DesignOps scenarios and models
Collin Whitehead shares signs it’s time to operationalize and covers models to use when assembling a team.
Putting DesignOps into play
Meredith Black guides you through getting buy-in, starting, staffing, and hiring a DesignOps team.
Team coordination
Kate Battles explores how to socialize DesignOps and establish strong cross-functional partnerships.
ResearchOps
Dave Malouf walks through the people, business, and workflow considerations that make up ResearchOps.
Plus—multiple video interviews and audio clips from design teams at LinkedIn and Atlassian, and DesignOps expert Maria Giudice.
Operations are basically responsible for all of the overhead that makes design happen.
Josh Ulm
Oracle
About the authors
Dave Malouf
Independent
Dave Malouf is a 25yr veteran digital design leader. He is a consultant specializing in design operations and a design leadership coach helping design leaders amplify the value of your design team’s efforts both to the organizations they design with and to the end-users they design for. He is a sought after speaker and trainer and author of a book on design leadership. Dave is a founder of the Interaction Design Association, one of it’s first global conference co-chairs, and creator of other IxDA initiatives. He is also the founder of and program co-lead for Enterprise UX conference.
- Currently listening to: Bruce Springsteen on Broadway (fave music and incredible storytelling)
- Currently inspired by: U2 and more specifically Bono. Personal truth to power all time. Pixar. No one! No one! tells a story like Pixar.
- Cultural thing I’m lovin’: Spiderverse — Redefining cinema animation quality.; “Love+Death+Robots (Netflix)” was also really neat (NSFW), Cursed Child on Broadway
Meredith Black
formerly Pinterest
Meredith Black has become a DesignOps pioneer over the past several years within the design/tech industry. She is the co-author of “The DesignOps Handbook” as well as co-founded the West Coast DesignOps group. After championing the DesignOps role at Pinterest for almost five years, Meredith is going back to her consultancy roots to help design organizations grow worldwide. Her prior experience includes working within design at Facebook, IDEO and Hot Studio. Meredith and her husband recently moved to Carmel Valley, CA where she plans to adopt as many animals as possible.
- Currently listening to: I love my 90’s hip hop playlist on Spotify.
- Currently inspired by: Charles and Rae Eames hands down. They never stopped discovering and always tried new things.
- Cultural things I’m lovin’: Educated by Tara Westover AND Shoe Dog by Phil Knight.
Collin Whitehead
Head of Brand Studio, Dropbox
Collin Whitehead is the Head of Brand at Dropbox. His team defines, guides, makes, and manages creative for the Dropbox brand. Since joining Dropbox he has led the creative process for the recent overhaul of the visual identity system, voice and tone, brand campaign, and new company mission.
Prior to Dropbox he was an Executive Producer at West Studios working with startups to build and launch their brands. Collin’s roots are in advertising where he got his start at Goodby Silverstein & Partners.
- Currently listening to: My team actually has a side hustle making playlists for creative flow at work
- Currently inspired by: Masako Miki
- Cultural things I’m lovin’: I am in love with the Hurry Slowly Podcast , it’s got a great perspective on better ways of working
Kate Battles
Senior Manager, Design Operations, Fitbit
Kate Battles joined Fitbit 2015 as a Design Operations Manager, and over the past 3+ years has managed a number of large scale design programs and process initiatives, as well as started and led the Design Operations team. Kate believes in the power of user-centered design to help solve complex problems for users and for businesses and is passionate about helping people live healthier lives. Kate lives in San Francisco and spends her free time chasing her toddler and French Bulldog Bruce, and if she has any extra energy you can find her in spin class or urban hiking with her husband.
- Currently listening to: James Blake – Assume Form
- Currently inspired by: Roy Lichtenstein
- Cultural things I’m lovin’: Greta Thunberg