Set Design Challenges

Peel and Reveal. From the vibrant hues of an apple to the intricate patterns on a mango, the skin of fruits tells a story of growth and ripening. Ever noticed the unique patterns and blemishes on a piece of fruit? From the speckled skin of a banana to the dimpled surface of an orange, nature's artwork is full of imperfections that add character and charm. Imagine if your packaging could capture that essence, mimicking the fruit's natural markings and aging process? That's exactly what designers are exploring with the innovative concept of packaging that mirrors fruit skins, complete with embossed brown spots. By mirroring these natural markings in packaging design, brands are celebrating the beauty of imperfection, challenging the notion of flawless aesthetics and embracing the authenticity of the natural world. And it's not just about aesthetics. In a society where a flawless appearance often reigns supreme, embracing the quirks and irregularities of fruit skin sends a powerful message—reminds us that beauty comes in all forms, including the unique patterns and variations found in the natural world. Secondly, it enhances the sensory experience. By incorporating texture into packaging design, brands can engage multiple senses, creating a more immersive and memorable interaction with their products. Moreover, it fosters a deeper connection to the source. When packaging mirrors the appearance of fresh produce, it reinforces the idea of authenticity and transparency. Consumers can visually connect the product to its origins, fostering trust and confidence in the brand's commitment to quality and sustainability. Consider Loukas Chondros' packaging for Bananostafido. Inspired by banana peels, it mimics their markings and aging process with embossed spots. Designed for easy opening, it even features a perforated area that mimics the act of peeling a banana. The inner surface of the box resembles the pale yellow of a banana peel, again a nod to the fruit. These small details, transform a simple act like opening a box into a delightful moment of discovery—it's packaging that invites you to engage with it, creating a connection between you and the product inside. From farm to table, the journey of the fruit is reflected in every detail of the packaging, creating a narrative that resonates with consumers. In stores inundated with mass-produced goods and cookie-cutter packaging, designs inspired by nature offer a breath of fresh air. They remind us of the beauty that surrounds us, celebrate the charm of imperfection, and invite us to slow down and appreciate the little things in life. So, the next time you grab that piece of fruit, take a moment to really look and feel its skin—and consider how that same sense of wonder can be captured in the packaging that surrounds it. Think this packaging is spot-on? #packagingdesign #design #productdesign #graphicdesign 📷Loukas Chondros

🌱 Set Up UX Office Hours To Scale Up Your UX Impact (https://lnkd.in/eevRpdng), a neat idea to scale up UX impact when PM and Engineering teams outnumber designers — to help product teams that might not have direct access to design expertise and spread the value of UX across the entire organization. Neatly put together by Raquel Piqueras Herrero from Microsoft. 🤔 Designers are often outnumbered by PMs and engineers. 🚫 Non-designers across teams have little to no exposure to UX. 🚫 The outcome: poor, fragile end-to-end UX of siloed products. ✅ With UX office hours, we make UX available to other teams. ✅ It’s consultations for products without dedicated UX support. ✅ Set up 1h weekly meetings: recurrent, time-protected slots. ✅ Allow teams to book 20 mins to get feedback and UX support. ✅ Schedule meetings mid-week to allow for issues to emerge. ✅ Send a “how-it-works” email with sample topics/questions. ↳ E.g. accessibility, checkbox vs. radio, design system, mobile. 🚫 Some requests are full-feature work → you’ll need to pre-approve. ✅ Ask for product name, feature, PM, desired feedback, docs, links. ✅ In Jira, delegate small consults to UX office hours with tags/flags. ✅ Keep an archive of requests and solutions in a single Figma file. ✅ Keep tabs on similar patterns or issues emerging across teams. As designers, we are often reluctant to invite engineers or PMs to design meetings because they don’t really “get” UX. But nobody wants to create a poor UX intentionally. It happens because UX never gets a chance to be a part of a conversation. And too often there is no established line of communication to early flag critical design mistakes before they reach production. But just like designers need technical feedback to avoid late implementation challenges, engineers need UX feedback to avoid complaints and regressions. They want to optimize user efficiency and customer satisfaction, just like they want to optimize code quality and team workflow. Instead of building walls, invite teams to build bridges. But what if you set up UX hours — and absolutely nothing happens? I would try to move the needle by sprinkling a bit of UX within the QA process. For consistency, efficiency and compliance. Embed accessibility and usability as a part of the testing suite to reduce maintenance work and drive efficiency. As Raquel Piqueras Herrero noted, “typically there is a clear need for clarity and a strong appetite for quality work.” I can only wholeheartedly agree with it. I’m yet to try out UX Office Hours, but you shouldn’t be surprised if, once set up, your UX office hours will be fully booked before you even blink. Useful resources: The Power Of Office Hours, by Alex Jones https://lnkd.in/eQCSdikV [continues in comments ↓]

Game development’s scaling problem: when teams grow, challenges multiply. As a seasoned game developer, I've observed that managing large teams in game development is exponentially more challenging than handling smaller groups. This often catches studio directors off guard, as the skills required for large-scale management are vastly different from those needed for smaller projects. 🎮 Communication breakdown: As teams grow, information flow fragments, leading to misunderstandings and conflicting directions across departments. 🕰️ Scheduling issues: Coordinating tasks and deadlines becomes complex, often causing bottlenecks and missed milestones. 💰 Increased costs: Large teams come with hefty price tags, not just in salaries but also in overhead, tools, and infrastructure, which often lead to budget overruns. 🧩 Feature creep: More team members can lead to unnecessary features, diluting the game's core vision and extending development time. 🔥 Burnout and turnover: Large-scale projects can cause exhaustion and high turnover, complicating continuity and knowledge retention. Managing large game dev teams is nuanced and requires dynamic scaling, with team size varying significantly from pre-production to live services. Effective communication involves a complex web of internal and external reports and meetings across departments, requiring skills that many directors may not develop with smaller teams. The Mythical Man-Month fallacy is another issue. It’s a misconception that adding people speeds up development; some aspects, like rapid iteration testing, require time regardless. Even in large-scope genres like MMORPGs, large teams aren't always necessary; modular development and agile methods can help manage complexity efficiently. For studios managing large-scale projects, recognizing these challenges is essential. It requires skills in strategic resource allocation, stakeholder management, and maintaining a cohesive vision across a large, diverse team—qualities that many directors may lack when transitioning from smaller productions. #GameDev #TeamManagement #ProjectScaling #CommunicationChallenges #ResourceAllocation #MythicalManMonth #ProductionTechniques #LeadershipSkills #ScopeManagement #AgileMethodologies

Data migration is often one of the most complex and underestimated aspects of large-scale cloud transformation programs—especially when transitioning from multiple legacy systems to a modern cloud-based ERP. Legacy landscapes, shaped by years of growth, mergers, and acquisitions, add layers of inconsistency and fragmentation. The challenges are compounded not only by technical intricacies such as data quality, mapping, and integration, but also by organizational constraints, including limited resources, competing priorities, and lack of specialized expertise.

One of the most important relationships at any tech company: engineering and design. When this partnership falters, brilliant ideas die on the vine. When it thrives, just about anything is possible. Since I joined in 2015, we've tested many ways to partner across disciplines. The traditional "designers create, then throw specs over the wall to engineers" approach? That’s long gone. Here's what works for us: 1. Erase the handoff mentality entirely Our strongest teams have designers and engineers working in parallel from day one. Engineers join design discussions early, providing technical guidance while concepts are still fluid. This prevents the scenario of a beautiful design proves technically impossible after weeks of work. 2. Create rapid feedback loops Julie Wang is an engineer on our team who has partnered really well with design. A tip she shared recently: "I send screen recordings at all milestones so designers can critique early." The earlier this partnership starts, the more time engineers have to fix bugs, too. 3. Value hybrid skills Our most successful products come from teams where engineers understand visual principles and designers grasp technical constraints. When team members can translate between these worlds, implementation remains true to the vision. 4. Communicate constantly – not just at milestones We've use dedicated Slack channels where work-in-progress is shared continuously. Questions are answered in minutes, not days. 5. V1s, not MVPs We've officially banned the term "MVP" at Duolingo – a policy that received spontaneous applause when I mentioned it at #Config2025 recently. Instead, we focus on shipping "V1s" that genuinely meet our quality standards. Your first version should be something you're proud of, not something you're apologizing for. Big picture: if the relationship between engineering and design is strong and fluid – and everyone has a sense of ownership – there is no ceiling to what you can build. 

The link between audio quality and acoustics is often overlooked in Microsoft Teams Rooms and hybrid workspaces. Why is it so important? DSP (digital signal processing) is a wonderful thing. It can improve audio quality when acoustics are bad.  But it cannot sidestep the laws of physics. The scope for improvements using DSP are limited by what the input captures in the first place. It’s like taking an old postcard and putting it in an expensive gold frame - when you’d be better off with an original, beautiful painting hung informally on the wall. This thought struck me recently when witnessing a sequence of microphone tests. The good old gooseneck mics, positioned around 30cm from the mouth, were head and shoulders above the quality of the ceiling-mounted beamforming mics. (It was also interesting that the ceiling beamformers gave radically different performance characteristics, and their selection was down to subjective choice.) These tests were in a space with good acoustics. The delta (difference) between DSP and ‘natural’ performance would have been even more radical if, say, there was a glass wall down one side of the room. The principle here is simple. Optimise the room’s acoustics, lighting and surface finishes before relying on DSP. It can’t add what’s not there, it’s more a case of simulating what a good result will be. Design the room so the technology can sparkle and impress - not just improve on an inadequate room. At Greg Jeffreys Consulting Ltd, we work with end users, AV consultants and integrators, using the latest AV and environmental standards to produce exceptional user experiences - for in-room and remote participants. Please see link in Comments section below. #avtweeps #microsoftteamsrooms #hybridmeetings #avusergroup  #ltsmg #schoms  #avixa #avmag

As your team grows, your leadership style must evolve.    Julie Zhuo, Facebook's Vice President of Design, shares her insights on adapting to team growth.    When managing a small team, you're hands-on, directly overseeing projects and providing feedback. As your team expands, you shift to indirect management, delegating tasks and trusting your team to execute.    The way people perceive you changes too. You transition from being seen as a colleague or mentor to being viewed as a leader.    This shift requires navigating new relationship dynamics while maintaining open communication. With growth comes the need to constantly shift contexts. You'll find yourself juggling multiple projects and priorities simultaneously, a stark contrast to focusing on a few projects at a time with a smaller team.   Learning to pick your battles becomes crucial. More team members mean more potential disagreements. Knowing which issues to address and which to let go is key to maintaining productivity and focus.   Perhaps most importantly, people-centric skills become paramount. Effective communication, empathy, and relationship-building are essential for managing a successful, high-performing team. While core management principles remain constant, the day-to-day realities change significantly as your team grows.    Understanding these shifts helps you prepare for the challenges and rewards of leading a larger team, ensuring you can adapt and thrive in your evolving leadership role.   #Leadership #Growth #Team #Management #Adaptive

A few months ago, one of my clients found herself leading a much larger team after a round of layoffs. The number of her direct reports had almost doubled, and her calendar was busting at the seams with meetings. As she shared her feelings of overwhelm, I asked her what seemed most daunting and most permanent. She thought of her one-on-ones with her team as a permanent feature and also the most strenuous ones. She considered them a necessary evil so she could do justice to the other parts of her role. In our conversations, she realized that it was time to reset her approach to work and create new ways of working with her team, establishing clarity, RACI matrices, approval processes for decisions, meeting protocols, and approaches to convey risk. If you are in a similar situation, you may also need to co-create the ways of working with your team and start implementing them, so they become an integral part of the team’s everyday functioning. Your team members will look to you for clarity. When everything is important, nothing is important. You need to empower your team with categorical prioritization and clear communication. As my client defined what mattered the most for her role in the next 3 months, it became clear to her that she would need to focus her attention on her priorities, strategically delegate, and let go of what is no longer essential. As we speak, she is managing her attention with great zeal. Here are some steps she took to reengineer her meetings- ➡️Clubbing operational discussions with teams that work across a value chain to accelerate coordination and reinforce shared execution responsibilities. ➡️Clubbing discussions that are around the same challenge or decision, e.g., hybrid working, peak season delivery planning, etc., to ensure common understanding, alignment, and consistency of action. ➡️Her one-on-ones now focus on driving strategic outcomes, removing roadblocks for her team, and developing her next-level leaders. My client has adapted, performed, and grown through this journey, which initially seemed like a change forced on her. She has moved from being overwhelmed about managing a large team to intentional leadership and developing a team of trusted colleagues ready to take on more challenges. What are you currently feeling challenged by? What practices and mindsets do you need to reset?

Safety training and compliance are so important in the construction industry due to the inherently hazardous nature of construction work. Here are key aspects of safety training and compliance in construction: 🛑 Safety Training Programs: Develop comprehensive safety training programs for all construction personnel, including workers, supervisors, and managers. Training should cover topics such as hazard identification, proper equipment use, emergency procedures, and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). 🛑 Regular Safety Meetings: Conduct regular safety meetings and toolbox talks to address specific safety issues and reinforce best practices. These meetings can be brief, focused sessions that help keep safety a top priority on the construction site. 🛑 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Ensure that all workers have access to and use the appropriate PPE, including hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, hearing protection, and high-visibility clothing. 🛑 Safety Equipment and Procedures: Provide and maintain safety equipment, such as guardrails, fall protection systems, and fire extinguishers. Ensure that workers are trained in the proper use of this equipment and follow established safety procedures. 🛑 Emergency Response Plans: Develop and communicate clear emergency response plans, including evacuation procedures, first aid stations, and the availability of medical personnel or equipment on-site. 🛑 Hazard Identification: Train workers to identify and report potential hazards and unsafe conditions. Regularly inspect the construction site for safety hazards and take prompt corrective actions. 🛑 Regulatory Compliance: Stay up-to-date with relevant safety and health regulations. Ensure full compliance with these regulations. 🛑 Contractor and Subcontractor Compliance: Ensure that contractors and subcontractors working on the construction site are also compliant with safety regulations and that their workers receive appropriate safety training. 🛑 Incident Reporting and Investigation: Establish a clear process for reporting and investigating incidents and near-misses. Learn from these events to prevent similar accidents in the future. 🛑 Documentation and Records: Maintain detailed records of safety training, inspections, incident reports, and compliance efforts. These records can be essential for regulatory compliance and continuous improvement. Construction safety training and compliance require ongoing dedication and resources. Prioritising safety not only protects the well-being of workers but also contributes to the successful and efficient completion of construction projects. #compliancelab #construction #safety #iso45001

"The room where million-dollar decisions are made shouldn't echo like a fast food kitchen." That's what Burger King's executive team told us when we walked into their war room last week. The brief was simple. Create a space where strategy isn't interrupted by sound. When decisions worth millions happen in that room, even the smallest distraction can be costly. We approached it differently than most would: - First, we listened (ironic for an acoustics company, I know) - We measured the unique acoustic profile of their space - We identified exactly where sound was becoming a liability - Then we implemented tailored solutions that preserved their aesthetic A room where ideas land clearly. Where international video calls sound like everyone's in the same room. Where the only thing that reverberates is good strategy. The Burger King team's reaction when they first experienced the finished space said everything - that moment of surprised silence when people realize they're hearing... nothing. Sound is invisible, but its impact on decision-making isn't. What space in your organization is being undermined by poor acoustics? Most companies don't realize how much it's costing them until they fix it.