Practice map · Working draft
Craft, leadership,
and the space between.
Design careers do not move along one ladder. This page separates the depth expected of an individual contributor, the enabling work of a people leader, and the functional skills both paths draw on.
A map to curate—not a scorecard.
The descriptions combine external practice frameworks with evidence already present in this portfolio.
Grow craft into judgement and influence.
Senior individual contribution is not just greater execution speed. It is the ability to frame ambiguous work, raise quality across a system, and make other people’s decisions better.
Explore this skill area 02People leadershipBuild the conditions for good design.
Design leadership scales quality through people, direction, operating systems, and organisational trust. The work changes from personally solving every problem to making strong practice repeatable.
Explore this skill area 03Functional skillDesign the dialogue between people and products.
Interaction design gives structure to what people can do, what the system does in response, and how both sides understand what happens next.
Explore this skill areaThe new design work sits on both sides of generation.
A working note on workflow, hiring, tools, and why specifying intent and reconciling output are now first-class design responsibilities.
Skills both paths need.
The balance changes by role and context, but leadership without craft judgement becomes abstract—and craft without influence struggles to create change.