Articulating Design Decisions: Communicate with Stakeholders, Keep Your Sanity, and Deliver the Best User

Talking to people about your designs might seem like a basic skill, but it can be difficult to do well. In many cases, how you communicate with stakeholders, clients, and other nondesigners may be more important than the designs themselves. Because if you can’t get their support, your work will never see the light of day—no matter how good it is.

This practical guide focuses on principles, tactics, and actionable methods for presenting your designs. Whether you design apps, websites, or products, you’ll learn how to get support from people who have influence over the project with the goal of creating the best user experience.

• Walk through the process of preparing and presenting your designs
• Understand stakeholder perspectives and learn how to empathize with them
• Cultivate both implicit and explicit listening skills
• Learn tactics and strategies for expressing the most effective response to feedback
• Create the right documentation for your decisions to avoid repeated conversations
• Discover why the way you follow through is just as important as the meeting itself