How Design Leaders Shape Direction and Create Lasting Impact
Five dimensions, 30 aspects, and proven concepts and practices for each: the Design Leadership Framework describes what the role of a design leader actually entails.
The Design Leadership Framework
The essential guide to design leadership.
Explore the Framework
Design leadership covers a wide range of responsibilities. The Design Leadership Framework brings structure to this complexity. It organizes the work into five dimensions and 30 aspects, so you can see the big picture of your role and decide where to focus.
Use it as a sense-making guide to understand what design leadership involves, spot blind spots, and make intentional choices about how you lead your team and move your organization forward.
Available on Amazon
Ready to Lead with More Clarity?
The Design Leadership Framework is a book for design leaders at any stage. It goes beyond the craft and outlines the leadership part of the role in 30 topics.
It covers everything from leading and developing a team to setting direction, improving design operations, and strengthening design’s influence at the executive table. It serves as a guide to the role, as well as a practical tool to assess your organization and sharpen your strategy.
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What Others Say
“I’ve been using the Design Leadership Framework for over a year, so I was very happy to see it brought together in the book. Its value has extended across different aspects of my leadership practice, from supporting individual growth to shaping my team strategy and navigating real organizational challenges.”
“The framework once again helped me find my feet and structure my approach to design leadership and leading a team. The principles you shared helped shape how I approach my work across so many of the environments I’ve worked in over the years.”
“As an IC transitioning to a leadership role one can find a lot of information, so much that it can all sound like noise. Your talks and frameworks make things more intelligible and applicable. That turns theory into something to practice.”
About the Author
Katharina Koberdamm
Katharina Koberdamm is a design leadership consultant with nearly two decades of experience. As a user experience designer and design strategist, she has worked in a variety of industries. Her work spans digital products and services, cross-functional team leadership, and broader strategic initiatives. She coaches design leaders individually, teaches at universities, and hosts her own annual leadership retreat.
20 Years
at the intersection of business and experience design.
17.000+ Views
of the Design Leadership Framework Keynote
200+ Designers
trained personally in workshops and classes
Frequently asked questions
Short answers about the framework and the book.
The Framework maps the focus areas and topics design leaders need to address to build and lead a design team and organization.
It organizes them into 30 aspects across five dimensions: Strategy, Experience, Operations, Team, and Enterprise.
The DLF aims to make sense of a complex job. It serves as both a guide and a tool for self-assessment, strategic planning, and role clarification.
The book is valuable for design leaders at any level: people who lead a design team, a design function, or design across an organization.
For designers stepping into their first leadership role it can be a comprehensive guide to the overall range of responsibilities.
For more experienced design leaders it can offer insights for specific leadership challenges and topics they did not have on their radar yet.
The book offers both an approach and a tool to lead design with more clarity and intent.
The book walks through all 30 aspects of the Framework. For each aspect, it explains what the topic is about, what the Key Focus Areas are, and who to collaborate with across the wider organization.
It also shows various ways to work with the Framework as a tool and offers templates for team assessment, professional development, and strategy work.
In my coaching sessions, I help Design Leaders to navigate their individual challenges. We can discuss your current topics or assess your current situation. I can give feedback to something you work on, or we can develop a strategy for developing your team. To learn more contact me.