#1 Trent Huon @IDEO: Not thinking about business is bad design

 
Source: ideo.com

Source: ideo.com

Trent Huon is a business design director at IDEO Munich. After finishing his MBA, he first worked as a management consultant.

As he never went through official design training, he had to learn design on the job when he joined IDEO. We talk about his transformation into designer and about the relevance of business in design.

Some of the topics we covered in this episode are:

  • how to show non-designers the value of design,

  • why spending some time thinking about business is super valuable and,

  • how you can start thinking about the business side of design even if you know nothing about it.

Listen to the episode


If you haven’t thought about the business then you haven’t designed the idea properly.
— Trent Huon

Show notes:

  • 3:20 Things Trent did before getting into design

  • 9:10 Is understanding business valuable for designers?

  • 12:35 How Trent became a designer?

  • 19:55 What is business design, its role in projects at IDEO

  • 32:20 How can designers help non-designers understand design work and how can we better understand business people?

  • 40:35 Five categories of business benefits that the design can have

  • 44:40 How do you communicate or present the business side of design?

  • 50:40 Why is thinking about organisational implications important?

  • 54:40 What is one thing about design Trent has changed his mind about?

  • 58:00 What advice would Trent give to a young designer who is just starting out?

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