It’s about time
to highlight skills
designers bring to
their work at IBM.
It’s important to understand that design and designers are widely distributed across the IBM company, and the practice of design varies too. Designers bring a unique set of skills to their work, and these skills (or design specialties) impact how designers are recruited and hired. Learn more about design at IBM, and check out the profiles of some of our design leaders at ibm.com/design.
“There is no design without discipline. There is no discipline without intelligence.”
Massimo Vignelli
Content designers create and communicate meaning throughout product or service experiences for users and customers.
Common activities:
- Writing and editing content for accuracy, clarity, and usability
- Simplifying complex content for users
- Creating content that drives user actions
Design researchers uncover insights, inform design decisions, and identify new opportunities to improve business outcomes.
Common activities:
- Identify and communicate user research
- Conduct research methods and activities to capture data
- Analyze data to generate insights
Industrial designers design physical products, including its function, value, and appearance.
Common activities:
- Understand the user’s psychology to inform designs, including anthropometrics and ergonomics
- Communicate and test with physical and digital prototypes – Design with consistent brand philosophy
Service designers create end-to-end enterprise experiences for prospects, customers, business partners, and employees.
Common activities:
- Generate insights through user research and stakeholders to understand the total user experience
- Consolidate and communicate research findings to stakeholders
- Design concept journeys, blueprints, and roadmaps that communicate how the total user experience can be improved
User experience designers create human-centered experiences by designing the structural and informational foundation for products, services, and systems.
Common activities:
- Define user experience goals and design principles
- Design the interaction patterns between functions and users
- Establish pathways of navigation through and experience
Visual designers communicate intent and meaning through visual experiences to inform and promote action from users.
Common activities:
- Unify user research, market insights, and branding
- Communicate using color, composition, and typography
- Bring ideas to life through visual representations of concepts