Five to inspire with Jean-Marc Denis
Design Manager @ Facebook
Who are you?
My name is Jean-Marc, I am a design manager for Messenger at Facebook. Before that, I worked for “Sparrow,” a French startup which got acquired by Google in 2012. I joined the Gmail team where I worked on Inbox by Gmail from the ground up as UX Mobile Lead. After the product launch, I felt the need to challenge myself and feed my curiosity by starting fresh again. I had the opportunity to join the Google Daydream Virtual Reality team where I helped to design some of the experiences.
What’s a typical day on Jean-Marc life like?
Waking up around 7, browsing through social medias, getting ready to take the shuttle to work. While in there, triaging work emails then wrapping up the commute by doing a Headspace session. Then it’s very likely I’ll have meetings back to back until around 6. My time is split between building product vision, design critiques, products review, 1:1, recruiting. Helping designers to grow has been a very rewarding part of my job. The days never look the same which is great. Commuting back, I usually check what’s up in the VR/AR/3D world, watch tutorials, read articles. My evening varies a lot but always start with a dinner with my wife then watch TV-Shows, learn and create something in 3D, play video games or go out with friends.
How would you define good design?
Defining “good” and “design” is not easy. I’ll “Dieter Rams” that question. Good design is universal, honest and purposeful. Great design is innovative, long-lasting, unobtrusive. The best design is thorough and as little design as possible.
Share something you’d really like to do — but haven’t done yet. What’s keeping you from doing it?
While learning 3D, I wish I had some basics into drawing and clay sculpting. It’s a huge plus in 3D because the movement of drawing and sculpting is something that will bring your creations to the next level. Why haven’t I done that yet? I think it’s a common excuse “I need to make time”. Thanks for reminding me that, I’ll make sure to learn this year!
How do you imagine your life as a designer 10 years from now will be?
Hopefully, the design will be more immersive, using new mediums such as AR/VR. The next coming years will be a key moment for designers. We will have to adapt quickly. I was lucky enough to be part of Daydream which was one of the biggest initiatives to democratize the technology to the market. I hope I’ll have the chance to work on theses new mediums and be there when it comes to designing new interactions for new mediums.
People and/or designers that inspire you? (personally and professionally)
The people I work with, my team inspire me every day. It’s awesome to work that close with all theses talented people. Any designer I work with surprise me every day, and it’s very rewarding to see them grow.
In a more general sense, people who can influence big projects, create and rally big teams behind a vision. People who have a goal to empower other people toward a common purpose and not their own interest or agenda.
Where can we find Jean-Marc Denis?
http://jmd.im
https://www.instagram.com/jeanmarc/
https://twitter.com/jmdenisme
https://dribbble.com/jmd
