Everyone Is A Designer

Okay, thank you very much. Let's do a quick hands-up—who thinks the two days have been great so far? This is my first time in Prague, and I think it's been fantastic.

I'd like to start with a story, if that's okay. Back in 2003, there was a gentleman called Steve Wynn who was on his way to a business trip in Singapore. On his way, he dropped his wife, Gillian, and daughter, Elaine, off at a hotel in Paris—the Four Seasons.

The Croissant Story

The next morning, Elaine and Gillian woke up and ordered breakfast to their room. Gillian ordered a croissant—one so rich and delicious that she could only eat half of it that morning, but she didn’t want to waste it. So, she wrapped it back up and left it on the side, planning to enjoy it later after a day of wandering the streets of Paris.

However, when Gillian returned to the room, the croissant was gone. They assumed housekeeping must have thrown it away. But then Elaine noticed a flashing light on the hotel room phone. She rang reception.

"Mrs. Wynn, thank you for calling. We wanted you to know that the housekeeper has kept the fresh croissant in the kitchen for you. The one you left out would have gone stale."

It turned out the housekeeper had noticed it was left there intentionally but knew it would have gone stale. So instead of throwing it away, they set a fresh one aside and asked, "Would you like us to bring that fresh croissant up to your room?"

This is what I call a delightful customer experience.

Designing for Delight

We measure design on a scale from frustration to delight. In the middle of that scale is what we call basic expectation. If you're familiar with Jared Spool, he talks about this in his discussions around the Kano model.

Delight happens when we exceed basic expectations—not just in digital products, not just in hotels, but in any product or service. The key is that delight gives us a competitive advantage over those who merely meet expectations.

But delight differs based on context. Some argue that a funeral service provider should not be delightful. But of course, it should be. Delight doesn’t mean dancing, screaming, or throwing in bells and whistles. It’s about exceeding expectations in a way that fits the moment.

If you're booking a funeral service, which is already an emotional experience, the process should be empathetic, straightforward, and clear about costs—no surprises. That’s delightful. If I’m using Slack, and it gives me a friendly message when I’ve completed a task, that’s delightful in a different way.

What is Design?

People argue all the time about what design is. There are various definitions. But design is ultimately the output of hundreds, if not thousands, of decisions we make.

For example, I travel a lot for work. Here’s my American Express dashboard. Many decisions have been made here:

• There’s an API connected to show how much I owe.
• A calculation determines what part of my total balance I need to pay based on my payment cycle.
• There’s a hierarchy of buttons—one saying “Use Your Points” and another saying “Use Your Points for Purchases.”

Every element—the button styles, text links, colors, even how my account number is displayed—is a design decision. When we recognize that, design becomes much clearer.

Who Makes Design Decisions?

Let’s talk about website performance as an example.

Here are some factors that impact performance. I’ll ask you to raise your hand if you think each decision is made by a developer:

• Integration with third parties
• Structure of the code
• Calling of APIs for data
• Front-end animations

Most people assume that developers make these decisions. But in reality, design is influenced by developers, analysts, product managers, and designers. Many performance issues that impact the customer experience are not made by designers alone.

Design in Customer Experience

Going back to the croissant story—creating that delightful customer experience at the Four Seasons required several steps:

• A housekeeper noticed the croissant had been left intentionally.
• The kitchen staff had to be informed to keep a fresh one aside.
• The fresh croissant had to be stored properly.
• The receptionist had to be informed.
• A message had to be left on the hotel room phone.
• Elaine and Gillian had to be notified upon their return.
• Someone had to bake and prepare a fresh croissant.
• Finally, someone had to deliver it to the room.

Not one person did all of this. Different roles played different parts—housekeeping, reception, kitchen staff, room service. But where was the designer?

Design is the Rendering of Intent

Jared Spool has the best definition of design: Design is the rendering of intent. It is the act of having an intention and making it real.

The housekeeper at the Four Seasons didn’t have the job title of "designer," but they impacted the experience in a meaningful way. That means you don’t need the title of designer to be one. Anyone making decisions that affect customer experience is, in some way, a designer.

Creating Shared Understanding

The best way to improve design is through **exposure**. I once worked for a media company and met Barry, a blind man testing our accessibility features. Watching Barry struggle with our app was a wake-up call. I realized that accessibility wasn’t just my problem—it was the whole team’s problem.

Instead of just writing JIRA tickets or demanding the product manager prioritize accessibility, I invited the whole team to watch Barry use the app. Within minutes, developers were in tears—realizing their decisions had made the app unusable for some people. The impact was immediate:

• The team asked Barry to return for more testing.
• Accessibility training was prioritized.
• Our executive team supported making accessibility a core priority.

Exposure changed everything. The team didn't just hear about accessibility; they *felt* its importance.

Final Thoughts

Delightful customer experiences don’t come from one person. They come from shared understanding, built over time, through exposure and collaboration.

Steve Wynn, after hearing about the croissant story, called a board meeting and made it his company's vision: Treat people as people, not as customers.

As designers, we must lead great design—not by controlling it, but by enabling shared understanding across teams. And organizations must remove constraints that block collaboration and innovation.

At the end of the day, **everyone is a designer**. It's not about titles—it's about the impact of decisions on the customer experience. The more we recognize that, the better our products, services, and businesses will be.

Thank you very much!