For a profession rooted in human-centered thinking, problem-solving, systems thinking, and experience design, designers should have naturally evolved into product decision-makers. Yet, somehow, many find themselves outside the conversation when it comes to defining business strategy and product direction.

Meanwhile, product leaders, especially those focused on growth, are borrowing, repackaging, and monetizing the very principles that have been core to design for decades. (If you’ve ever watched someone “discover” user research, behavioral analytics, or the UX technique of gamification like it’s groundbreaking, you know the feeling.)

But here’s the truth: this is more on us than it is on them. Ok, it’s more nuanced than that, I know. We can say this is partly on academics and their design program structures and partly on corporate culture which favors MBAs… but still. We have to own our part here and that’s what this post is about.

Product is still having its moment, and understandably so. Businesses need to survive, and product managers have done a great job talking about driving product with outcomes. But that doesn’t mean designers should take a backseat. In fact, designers are uniquely positioned to be even more influential in product development if we step up and claim our space.

Designers Need to Own Metrics, Not Just User Experience

If you want a seat at the table, you can’t just advocate for users and beautiful intangibles; you have to speak the language of business and advocate for your product design ideas through the revenue lens. That means understanding and tracking basic metrics like:

Retention: How many users stick around?
Adoption: Are people actually using what you designed?
TTV (Time to Value): How quickly do users experience benefits?
C-SAT: How satisfied are they?
PMF (Product-Market Fit): Is the product solving a real problem at scale?

Designers have long been seen as creators of experiences but we should also be seen as co-owners of product performance and growth. And as uncomfortable as this level of accountability may feel for some, it’s how our voice gets heard. The ability to tie design decisions to measurable business outcomes is what separates good designers from product leaders.

How to Build Influence as a Designer

1. Get Comfortable With Data

Start asking for pre- and post-launch metrics on the features you design. Learn how to read analytics dashboards. Pair up with a data analyst and dig into behavioral insights. The best designers today aren’t just making things intuitive; they’re optimizing for real-world impact. They know the ROI of design.

2. Use Product and Business Language

If you’re in a meeting with leadership, don’t just talk about usability improvements; frame your work in terms of how it drives revenue, retention, or efficiency. Speak in terms that matter to executives and other decision-makers.

3. Don’t Stay in Your Lane

If you only focus on pixels and UX flows, you’ll always be seen as an executor rather than a strategist. Great designers challenge roadmaps, influence prioritization, and advocate for experimentation. Your job doesn’t stop at shipping designs; it extends to ensuring they perform well in the real world.

4. Embrace the Duality of Design & Business

You can be a user advocate and a business thinker at the same time. The best product decisions happen at this intersection. No middle man needed.

Time to Step Up!

The biggest mistake designers can make is letting product teams dictate the impact of their work. If you’re not tracking results, someone else is. If you’re not tying your work to business outcomes, someone else will. And if you’re only seen as a feature factory executor, you’ll be stuck on the sidelines while others steer the direction of the product.

Designers: Step up. Own the data. Shape the strategy. Help drive the business. Because if we don’t, someone else will.

Designers: Step Into Product Leadership