Learning is a crucial part of working in a company. It builds not just the company itself but it enriches the self – providing a lasting knowledge to the designer that she can carry over from project to project and even to different endeavors.

It is important to identify roles that are crucial in a design team. These roles are divided into two: core and tangent roles.

Core Roles belong to the Discipline of Product Design. Tangent Roles are portrayed prominently across the stages of the Design Journey.

Roles
Core	Interaction Designer	User Interface Designer	Visual Designer	User Experience Designer	Design Manager	Design Head
Tangent	User Researcher	Project Manager	Product Developer	Front-End Developer

Contribution-Management Framework

The non-variable that is the basis of this framework is the Level of employment (Associate, Lead, Manager, Head). It comprises the different roles of designers in a team.

The Contribution-Management Framework divides the Level into two: direct contribution and management responsibilities.

Track	Level	Professional Responsibilities	Personal Responsibilities
Contribution	Associate	Design Tasks, Design Activities	Self-learning
	Lead	Design Process, Design System	Training, Mentoring
Management	Manager	Career Development, Team Management, Company and Industry Activities
	Head	Business Development

In Contribution, the Associate and Lead Designers team-up to work on Projects. On the other hand, in Management, the Manager and Head manages the entire department – ensuring that Design is empowered in the People and Business level of the company.

Employment Levels

Level		Role	Responsibilities
Associate	Level 1	Interaction Designer, User Interface Designer, Visual Designer	Design Tasks
	Level 2		Design Activities
Lead	Level 3	UX Designer	Design Process
	Level 4		Design System
Manager	Level 5	Design Manager	Career Development and Team Management
	Level 6		Company and Industry Activities
Head	Level 7	Design Head	Business Development

Learning Pathways – Technical Skills

Associate Level

Levels		Interaction Designer	User Interface Designer	Visual Designer
Level 1	Role-specific	IxD Basic	UID Basic	VisD Basic
Level 2	Role-specific	IxD Advanced	UID Advanced	VisD Advanced
	Discipline-wide	UID Basic	IxD Basic	IxD Basic
		VisD Basic	VisD Basic	UID Basic
	UX Design-focused	Design Process Basic
	User Research-focused	User Research Basic
	Project Management-focused	Project Management Basic
	Product Development-focused	Product Development Basic
	Front-end Design-focused	Front-End Design Basic

Lead Level

Levels		User Experience Designer
Level 3	Discipline-wide	IxD Advanced
		UID Advanced
		VisD Advanced
	UX Design-focused	Design Process Advanced
		Organizational Management Basic
	User Research-focused	User Research Advanced (Optional)
	Project Management-focused	Project Management Advanced(Optional)
	Product Development-focused	Product Development Advanced(Optional)
	Front-end Design-focused	Front-End Design Advanced(Optional)
Level 4	UX Design-focused	Organizational Management Advanced
	User Research-focused	User Research Main
	Project Management-focused	Project Management Main(Optional)
	Product Development-focused	Product Development Main(Optional)
	Front-end Development-focused	Front-End Development Main(Optional)
	Management-focused	Career Development Basic
		Team Management Basic
		Events Management Basic

Discipline Crossroads

The role of an Associate focuses on specific Core Discipline (Interaction Design, User Interface Design, and Visual Design). As the designer goes along the learning path, she will move on to a role with wider scope – UX Designer which is in the Lead level.

At Associate Level 2, the designer begins to have opportunities to gain more knowledge on Tangent Disciplines (User Research, Project Management, Product Development, and Front-End Development).

At Lead Level 4, the designer delves deeper into the different Tangent Disciplines – moving on from introductory topics. At this point that the Designer already has the confidence either to trudge onto the Management Track or shift her focus onto Tangent Disciplines.

Learning Pathways – Soft Skills

• Presenting
• Facilitating
• Interviewing
• Collaborating
• Writing
• Communicating
• Sharing

Course Levels

Courses are divided into two:

• Introductory
• Deep Dive

Course Levels	Core Courses	Tangent Courses
Introductory	Basic	Basic
		Advanced
Deep Dive	Advanced	Main

Related

Product Design Roles and Responsibilities