Your stakeholders tell you to skip research and just ship it. We'll test later is what they say, but later never comes. The design misses the mark. And now you're doing twice the work to fix what could have been done right the first time. That's the cycle we're discussing in this episode of the Design Table Podcast.

In this episode, we talk about what designers are really hired to do and why your job is closer to being an insurance policy than a pixel pusher.

We dig into how to handle stakeholders who think UX slows things down, why "ship it and learn" almost never leads to actual learning, and how to reframe your design process in a language executives actually respond to.

In this episode you'll learn:
🔸 Why designers are an insurance policy between ideas and production
🔸 How to handle stakeholders who think UX slows teams down
🔸 Why "ship it and learn" usually means "ship it and forget"
🔸 How to reframe research as risk reduction, not extra work
🔸 Why designers need to stop apologizing for their process
🔸 When you should and shouldn't do research on a feature

⏱ Chapters
00:00 Stakeholders who say "just ship it"
03:14 Designers are salespeople and therapists
06:12 Design as an insurance policy
07:05 The myth of "ship and iterate"
10:15 Getting faster to make room for research
12:31 Why designers need to stop being too nice
17:05 Selling design through company goals and KPIs
22:41 When should you actually do research?
27:06 Quick summary and takeaways

Subscribe to The Design Table Podcast
https://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe

More about Tyler and Nick
Tyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-white
Nick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

Everyone tells you design is about making things look good. But it is not. Design is about saving time, reducing risk, and creating leverage inside a business. That's what we're talking about in this episode of the Design Table Podcast.

This is part 2 and we cover the overlooked reasons designers get hired and how to turn your work into measurable impact.

We go beyond revenue and look into time savings, operational efficiency, risk reduction, compliance, and long-term brand impact. We share real examples from different industries (construction, pharma, SaaS, and product design) to show you how designers create impact that goes far beyond visuals.

In this episode you’ll learn:
🔸 How design saves time across teams and operations
🔸 Why time saved often turns into revenue and scale
🔸 How UX work can reduce business risk including compliance, errors, and lawsuits
🔸 Real-world examples from construction workflows and pharma packaging
🔸 Why brand, differentiation, and ownership still matter
🔸 The hidden trait that makes designers stand out

⏱ Chapters
00:00 Intro to Part 2
02:00 Reason 3 Designers save time
08:00 Construction workflow example
14:00 Translating time saved into money
18:00 Reason 4 Designers reduce risk
23:00 Pharma compliance example
27:00 Brand, differentiation, and ownership
32:00 Final thoughts

Subscribe to The Design Table Podcast
https://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe

More about Tyler and Nick
Tyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-white
Nick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

While most designers talk about “crafting delightful experiences", companies hire designers for something else entirely. And that's a problem... for designers looking to get hired.

In this episode, Tyler and Nick share the real business reasons designers get hired and how to position your case studies to prove your value.

This episode introduces a framework from business thinking applied to UX and product design careers. They discuss why companies hire designers to make money and save money, and how most portfolios completely miss this. You’ll learn how to connect UX work to revenue, conversion, adoption, and cost reduction so your case studies speak the language of business.

In this episode you’ll learn:
🔸 Why "delightful UX" is not a strong business argument
🔸 How designers help companies make money through conversion, MRR, and adoption
🔸 How design reduces support costs and operational waste
🔸 How to quantify business impact in your case studies
🔸 What to do if you do not have access to metrics

Subscribe to The Design Table Podcast
https://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe

More about Tyler and Nick
Tyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-white
Nick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld