What you need to know if you’re a designer thinking of getting into management

Design manager or design lead? 🤔 Here’s what it really looks like to take on a management role. From resourcing and stakeholder wrangling to the dreaded paperwork, this is a breakdown of the role and realities of the job. Is design management your next step?

I posted this video about next steps for Senior Designers where I gave you a quick overview of the difference in responsibilities of a Design Manager and a Lead Designer. But, you guys wanted a more detailed breakdown of what these roles entails

Having done both roles I’m more than happy to lay it all out 🫡

👉 Check out this article in video form

Quick disclaimer this breakdown mostly applies to larger tech companies. For smaller companies you will see more of a blend of responsibilities with these titles.

Ok let’s talk about what it REALLY looks like to be a design manager and then I’ll cover the Lead Designer role in a part 2. So, make sure to follow/subscribe if you want to see that 💌

Alright, buckle up…

These are the primary responsibilities for a design manager:

Team performance & stakeholder management