#1: Airbnb’s Director of Experience, Katie Dill, tells us why Airbnb uses “stories” to design

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2 min readFeb 13, 2017

In our world premiere, Katie Dill, Director of Experience Design at Airbnb, channels her inner “Steve Jobs” to explain how design at Airbnb is not just how it looks, but how it works, both in the workplace and on the screen.

Some of the major themes

Rebranding Airbnb — Launching rebrands is hard. So what was it like the morning after Airbnb launched theirs? Katie walks us through the process used and how the design team was prepared for the world’s reception.

Value of storytelling — Storytelling is a vital piece of the puzzle, according to Dill. It not only helps designers paint a more visual image of the real-world problems faced by end-users, it can also be used as way to help non-designers better understand features.

Tools of design — We all know the tools of design: intentionality, research, iteration, and implementation. What we often fail to recognize is how important these tools can be when used on the business side of things. From shaping the internal structure of a team, to explaining the importance of iteration — “lower risk, faster” — these tools can be used to fuel more efficient collaboration.

Thanks to our partners

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Searle Video

Searle Video is a creative studio based out of Portland, Oregon. They’ve helped the creative community tell stories for over 10 years. They’ve done advertisements, behind the scenes stories, and documentaries for companies like Slack, Intel, Adobe, Google and the XOXO festival.