What is design worth? A lot, apparently, as it\u2019s become a critical component to business success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Design Management Institute<\/a>, design-led companies have \u201coutperformed the S&P 500 by 219 percent\u201d over 10 years. A sit-down interview<\/a> in 2013 with Microsoft founder Bill Gates is further proof of the trend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked what quality of Apple founder Steve Jobs\u2014who had just passed at the time\u2014Gates wished he had, the tech mogul said, \u201cHis sense of design. That everything had to fit a certain aesthetic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe fact that he, with as little engineering background as he had….show[ed] that design could lead you in a good direction and so phenomenal products came out of it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood design is good business.\u201d This was what then-IBM CEO Thomas Watson said in 1973. Decades later, the statement still rings true. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If in doubt, one needs to look no further than the successes of digital stalwarts like Apple, Pinterest, Airbnb, Google, and Nike. All five companies are known to have put design at the heart of how they engage and communicate with users and have received tremendous success since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s because of this that other companies have been hurriedly recruiting product designers who can bridge the gap between idea and execution, between strategy and results, and reconcile the needs of the users with the goals of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProduct design is holistic,\u201d said Bani Phul-Anand, the central lecturer for coding bootcamp Flatiron School\u2019s<\/a> Product Design immersive. \u201cIt isn\u2019t saying, \u2018I\u2019m just going to look at the user experience or the user interface.\u2019 It\u2019s also not saying, \u2018I\u2019m only going to look at it with a business lens.\u2019 It\u2019s kind of bringing all those together and looking at [the product design process] from every angle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Admittedly, because product design already touches many parts of a business, competency across the field can prove difficult to build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOftentimes, what happens is you apply for a UX job, but then the company will expect UI design. So, there is a lot of handholding [that follows],\u201d said Bani, \u201cbecause what companies want to hire is one person. If the company has one headcount, they want that headcount to do anything and everything.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Flatiron School comes into the picture by making sure that aspiring product designers have the range of knowledge and skills that they need to competently navigate the broad spectrum of design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, Flatiron School rolled out its Product Design immersive<\/a>, a 15-week bootcamp program that\u2019s accessible online and in-person and provides students a path to in-demand jobs as full-stack product designers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fifteen weeks may seem like a short time to learn the wide field of product design. Flatiron School would be the first to admit that. That said, this isn\u2019t the school\u2019s first rodeo offering a design-focused program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before there was a Product Design immersive, Flatiron School offered a UX\/UI Design immersive. The school\u2019s experience with the latter gave it a rich pool of insights to apply to the current program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere were some things [in the previous program] that are no longer relevant in the industry because the tech space moves so quickly. So, it made sense to start from the ground up and synthesize all those learnings into something more responsive to current market needs …We\u2019re practicing what we preach: to iterate everything, including the curriculum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor instance, in the previous program, we were like, \u2018Decide. Do you want to do UX? Or do you want to do UI?\u2019 Now we\u2019ll have them do a little bit of everything under the umbrella [of product design] which makes them more desirable for the hiring manager looking for more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ll highlight and understand what [the students\u2019] strengths are and play to those as they go along the program instead of requiring them to pick one over the other,\u201d said Bani. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Joshua Robinson, another instructor of Flatiron School\u2019s Product Design immersive, added: \u201cWe\u2019re giving you the set of skills that will offer more flexibility in the avenue or the route that you can take thereafter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Flatiron School Product Design immersive curriculum breaks down the end-to-end design process, starting from the user experience (UX) process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ll start with learning about the audience and problem discovery,\u201d said Joshua. \u201cThere are never-ending problems in the world, which means there are lots of opportunities to create solutions. So we\u2019ll spend a good amount of time teaching you how to collaborate with users\u2026 really talking to people and understanding what their needs and wants are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd then say, you have discovered the problem. Let\u2019s say you discovered an opportunity area. Then, we\u2019ll teach you a lot of creative brainstorming and ideation methods that will really draw out the creative part of your brain. But we won\u2019t just leave it there.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ll have to actually test your assumptions and find out whether these are good ideas. If not, what do we need to shift to? How can we change things around?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is followed by a module on the user interface (UI) design process. This phase will focus on the visual aspect of product design and will build the foundational skills you\u2019ll need to create impactful user interfaces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ll give you all these really great labs and opportunities to practice making color schemes, typography, and interaction design,\u201d said Joshua. \u201cWe will dive deep into [the UI process] quite a bit because it impacts everything that you do as a designer when you have those visual skills to complement your UX and research strategy skills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first half of the program offers four mini-projects and practical training in all aspects of product design. The second half tests your acquired skills by challenging you to complete three studio projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe projects give students a chance to do the same type of design work encountered today in small, medium, and large companies. So that when they get hired or even when they\u2019re still in the job interview level and someone says, \u2018Your day-to-day will be x, y, z,\u2019 they can say, \u2018I know what you mean.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, the program will wrap up with the portfolio phase where you\u2019ll author a fully-fleshed case study and create a job-ready portfolio. This study will underscore how you approach a given problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe idea,\u201d said Bani, \u201cis to come up with a hiring portfolio through which someone can see your thought process from start to finish on one given project.\u201d The studio projects will meanwhile serve as supplemental projects that will highlight your skillset, individuality, and style as a product designer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Delivering the curriculum are Flatiron School instructors<\/a> Bani and Joshua, both of whom have over 10 years of experience in product design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are two levels of instruction at play during the program,\u201d said Bani. \u201cOne is the central lecturer, which will be my role. I would come in daily and deliver lectures as a supplement to [the students\u2019] reading [material].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Students will also work with a cohort instructor on a daily basis. \u201cThey are responsible for the day-to-day [training] of the student, running them through design labs, workshops, practice [exercises], and project work throughout the rest of the day in the studio.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The program\u2019s teaching structure marries theory with practice, thus serving multiple purposes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One, it signals the relevance of the training. Immediately challenging students to create something out of what they learned lets them see why it had to be learned in the first place. Two, it leads to increased retention and engagement. Instead of being passive learners, students get to put their knowledge to the test and learn more actively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe want the students to understand by doing instead of having to connect the dots,\u201d said Bani. \u201cWe were [also] very intentional about providing students with the skills of presentation, problem-seeking and solving, engaging in stakeholder conversations, and working with different teams.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe program is career-focused,\u201d said Bani, adding that this is a powerful differentiator among the product design programs that exist in the coding bootcamp space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because the Flatiron School Product Design immersive is a newer design program, it succeeds at identifying and eliminating the background noise and focusing on the essential parts of design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are moving towards building projects [that] highlight [the] skills that hiring managers look for when filling a product design role,\u201d said Bani. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a hiring manager, I want to know that someone can come in and take something like a checkout flow or perhaps a signup flow and make it work…or insert one feature into an existing product and know the process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new program, she said, fulfills these criteria by walking you through the entire design process without glorifying or glamorizing the role of a product designer. \u201cWe made [the experience] very real so you can run a project and start seeing an impact in smaller increments rather than [simply] having a big idea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The practicality and relevance of the program are a result of a curriculum planning approach called backward design. The way it works is implicit in its name. Instead of working forward from high school, the curriculum works backward from the first job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe took a fresh look at the day-to-day experiences of junior and associate product designers,\u201d said Joshua. \u201cSo the curriculum planning was not theoretical. Rather, we developed a curriculum that reflects the type of work expected from [junior and associate product designers] while teaching students to engage critically with the methods and processes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen we asked ourselves, \u2018What do the students need to get there?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n This process allowed Flatiron School to craft a much more focused product design program that targets the skills that any product designer needs to function productively in the workplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur guiding light was making sure that the students feel confident enough to get a job and that the employers feel confident enough to hire them,\u201d said Bani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is not a pivoting moment. It\u2019s the beginning of a journey,\u201d said Bani. \u201cIf you leave the program knowing that your journey has not ended and that this is not the end of your learning but the beginning of, then that would be great\u2026This is a bootcamp so the expectation is that you\u2019ll need to put in the work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe will give you the tools. We will teach you. We\u2019ll put you in real-world scenarios. We\u2019ll give you feedback. We\u2019ll allow you to grow and graduate in a place where you understand that your growth has not met the end; it\u2019s the beginning.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s particularly important when you\u2019re in a compressed educational context like a bootcamp,\u201d said Joshua. \u201cYou need to be curious not just about what\u2019s going on in the design world, but curious about yourself as a person. How do you learn best? How do you retain and remember things?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to make sure that we\u2019re challenging you to be self-reflective as a person, not just as a student. Because in order to really retain information in such a quick-paced, condensed manner, you have to take care of your mind and you have to be self-reflective about what you want out of this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLearning how to learn has to be a part of this journey, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you find that you don\u2019t enjoy a particular part of [product design], you\u2019ll find space in another area. But if you hate all of it, don\u2019t waste your time,\u201d cautioned Bani. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to spend your life doing something that you dislike.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnce it\u2019s for you, apply yourself 100 percent. That\u2019s the only thing that\u2019s going to help you succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, are you ready to put the right side of your brain to work? Explore the Flatiron School Product Design immersive and, just as Bani said, apply yourself to the field 100 percent<\/a>. If you want to learn more about this school, check out our review, where we discuss key elements, including the Flatiron School costs<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What is design worth? A lot, apparently, as it\u2019s become a critical component to business success. According to the Design Management Institute, design-led companies have \u201coutperformed the S&P 500 by 219 percent\u201d over 10 years. A sit-down interview in 2013 with Microsoft founder Bill Gates is further proof of the trend. When asked what quality…","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":33104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28859],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-33103","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-partner-spotlight"},"acf":{"post_sub_title":"","sprint_id":"","query_class":"Partner Spotlight","school_sft":"","parent_sft":"","school_privacy_policy":"","has_review":null,"is_sponser_post":["yes"],"is_guest_post":""},"yoast_head":"\nThe Value of Good Design<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Flatiron School Product Design Immersive: Here\u2019s What to Expect<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Flatiron School Product Design Immersive Curriculum<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Flatiron School Product Design Immersive Classroom Experience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why Choose Flatiron School Product Design?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tips for the Aspiring Product Designer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnderstand the role of the Product Design immersive in your larger career.\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLearning how to learn has to be part of your mindset.\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cApply yourself 100 percent.\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Design Your Professional Growth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n