Suggestions
Barbara Natali-Sherman
Strategic design leader
Barbara Natali-Sherman is the Design Director at DesignMap, where she leads design initiatives and empowers teams to enhance user experience and product design. With over 14 years of experience in design and user experience, she has developed a strategic approach to design leadership, focusing on collaboration and innovation.34
Natali-Sherman is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design, which has equipped her with a strong foundation in design principles. At DesignMap, she has co-authored articles discussing effective strategies for product development, emphasizing the importance of identifying and challenging assumptions to improve outcomes for startups.1 Her work involves not only leading design projects but also mentoring and developing teams to foster a culture of growth and creativity.24
In addition to her role at DesignMap, she has a diverse background, having worked with various organizations, which contributes to her comprehensive understanding of the design landscape.5
Highlights
Yesterday Maya and I ran a workshop at EPIC People on leveraging assumptions to drive understanding, alignment, and data-based decisions in moments of friction. It was a huge success! We had a great time working with a fantastic group of participants and running Assumption Led Definition in real-time with Vetri and Catherine Bendebury--focusing on their exciting new venture!
Workshops can be a bit nerve-racking because so many things can potentially go wrong. So a big shoutout to everyone who helped us pressure test the ideas and activities! Thank you to the DesignMap team for being the initial participants of the workshop and providing invaluable feedback, Audrey and Chuck on ways to lean further into tension, and Catalina, Shima, and Katrina for all the insightful thoughts and ideas for refinement. Lastly, we couldn’t have done it without Vetri and Catherine. They’re fantastic founders (we had to ask participants to imagine friction-based scenarios because these two are so great to work with), and we are so appreciative of their time and contributions.
If anyone is interested in learning more about Assumption Led Definition it's something Maya and I are passionate about, and we'd love to continue the conversation!
In our experience at DesignMap, there is ambiguity around what strategic design is and where it fits in product. Curious, how do you define strategic design?
(The image is Midjourney's perspective of strategic design 😄)
#strategicdesign #strategy #productdesign
