We had this discussion a lot at the CMU School of Design. And many design authors, Bryan Lawson, Erick Stolterman, for example, do say that everyone is a designer. The distinction is that not everyone is a professional designer. This is important for designers who might feel like saying everyone is a designer devalues their skills. By saying everyone is a designer, it’s an acknowledgment that everyone is capable of contributing to the design process and likely already practices some aspects of design in their lives, as design is a fundamental human skill. Again, not everyone is a professional, and bringing different stakeholders into the design process will not suddenly mean that professional designers are designing themselves out of a job. The stakeholders will still need to focus on their area of expertise, but may walk away with a better appreciation of design. The role of designers is thus both as facilitator and educator.

What the interactive world is missing is what we used to call Art Directors. As a design manager, I’ve done this in the interactive space. Its a different skill set from designing, and /it’s/ the one where you are a facilitator. I always said my job back then was being a bridge between marketing and development; sure I employed designers, but /my job/ was the relationship management.