Andrew - UX Design Lead

UK | July

Why is a regulated environment good for design?

Designers need and thrive on constraints. Constraints help frame the puzzle. Regulatory bodies, and the guidelines they put in place, are simply an additional set of constraints. Often seen as evil lists of beurocracy there to kill all creativity, they are in fact what all good designers do by default anyway. And if used well they are your ultimate design weapon. Every designer has experienced the moment when the right thing to do is replaced with the tactical quick win, often at the expense of the customer. But when a designer stands firm with a regulatory body standing behind them like a bloody great bear, that moment of pain becomes a time of triumph.

It's all about how you frame and use the regulations.

That's part one.

Part two is this – the regulations help clarify your teams purpose. You wont often find regulatory bodies getting involved in industries that don't have a critical and regular impact on the lives of real people. Our designs can and do impact millions of people every day. Our designs can help keep somebody out of debt, or if we fail let them fall deeply into it. Our desgns have a very real, very important set of side effects, and the regulations are a reminder of that.

Which again, designers need and thrive on. That reminder that what we are doing isn't flippant, isn't ulitmately pointless, isn't just there to make sombody else rich. But that our work and our process exists alongisde our friends the regulators, to ensure that we do what is best for our customers.

It's all about the lens you choose to view the regulations through.

"You've got to be a team player - everybody helps each other."

"

"There's lots of opportunities for growing your role and expanding your skill set."

"