ÜBER DIESE EPISODE
What does it mean to be a design leader in 2026, and what can the experiences of today’s leaders tell us about where the profession is headed next?
In this episode, I’m joined by six students from my Design Leadership seminar at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis: Matt Grossman, Andrew Pandji, Ashley Xiang, Jude Licea, Tejas Garg, and Jillian Jackson.
During the spring 2026 semester, our class conducted a research study examining the emerging persona of the designer as leader. Nearly 120 design leaders from around the world participated in our survey, and the students conducted 11 in-depth interviews. The result is a new report, Emerging Patterns: Design Leadership in 2026.
In our conversation, the students reflect on what surprised them and what they’re carrying forward from the research. We explore the many paths into design leadership; gaps in leadership training and mentorship; the emergence of more fluid, portfolio-based careers; and the growing importance of cross-functional fluency.
We also look ahead to how AI and emerging technologies may reshape design roles, teams, tools, and career paths. Through it all, our conversation returns to the enduring human qualities of leadership: adaptability, resilience, empathy, curiosity, and continuous learning.
Explore the Emerging Patterns: Design Leadership in 2026 report
Learn more about the MDes program at Washington University in St. Louis
Doug Powell is an award-winning designer and executive design leader with more than 30 years of experience in a wide range of design disciplines. Learn more about Doug's practice as a consultant, educator, and coach at his website dougpowell.design.
In this episode, I’m joined by six students from my Design Leadership seminar at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis: Matt Grossman, Andrew Pandji, Ashley Xiang, Jude Licea, Tejas Garg, and Jillian Jackson.
During the spring 2026 semester, our class conducted a research study examining the emerging persona of the designer as leader. Nearly 120 design leaders from around the world participated in our survey, and the students conducted 11 in-depth interviews. The result is a new report, Emerging Patterns: Design Leadership in 2026.
In our conversation, the students reflect on what surprised them and what they’re carrying forward from the research. We explore the many paths into design leadership; gaps in leadership training and mentorship; the emergence of more fluid, portfolio-based careers; and the growing importance of cross-functional fluency.
We also look ahead to how AI and emerging technologies may reshape design roles, teams, tools, and career paths. Through it all, our conversation returns to the enduring human qualities of leadership: adaptability, resilience, empathy, curiosity, and continuous learning.
Explore the Emerging Patterns: Design Leadership in 2026 report
Learn more about the MDes program at Washington University in St. Louis
Doug Powell is an award-winning designer and executive design leader with more than 30 years of experience in a wide range of design disciplines. Learn more about Doug's practice as a consultant, educator, and coach at his website dougpowell.design.
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WEITERE EPISODEN IN DIESEM PODCAST
“We keep thinking that things are supposed to be static, but it’s always changing. It’s about reinvention and seeing the beauty in that.” As we’ve discussed throughout Season 2 of this series, we’re in the midst of a challenging time for the global design industry that is causing many established d…
“I think that this idea of cross-functionality may be a legacy framework.”Throughout this season of the series I’ve been looking at the impact of AI and other emerging technology on the future of design and design leadership, and I’ve been particularly interested in examining this through the lens …
I caught up with my guest for this episode, Daniela Marzavan, in the middle of an 8 week design road trip she is taking through Europe with her partner and 2 children—she’s calling it the Traveling School of Design Thinking.Based in Portugal, Daniela, is a self-described “pracademic”, fluidly strad…
In this episode—the finale of Season 2 of the series—I speak with renowned design leader and author Kevin Bethune.Kevin’s remarkably divergent career spans engineering, business and design over more than 25 years. He’s worked as a nuclear engineer at Westinghouse Nuclear, designed sneakers at Nike,…
Throughout this season of the series I’ve been speaking with leaders who have used their design superpowers in community and civic leadership roles, and in this episode I continue that thread in my conversation with Richard Hollant.In 1988 Richard founded CO:LAB as a design consultancy with a focus…
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