My Journey from Graphic Designer to Enterprise Designer (and What I Learned Along the Way)

When I started in graphic design, I was making logos, posters, books. Then the internet arrived. Web editing, interfaces, UX, team lead… a classic progression — not very funky, but solid.

And then one day, I discovered that you could run a Design Sprint: five days to create and test an idea. I was hooked. The methodology, the posture, the collaboration — it was more than a workshop: it was a shift in perspective.

At the same time, the company I worked for adopted EOS Traction, a management system meant to better structure strategy, vision, and execution. Something square. Organized. Linear.

So I read the five books (available at the time) from the series — the ones for leaders, for managers, and for employees. I discovered a completely new way of thinking about an organization.

In short, I learned what KPIs really were, how to manage metrics, how to understand HR and management issues, how to treat and prioritize business problems, how to build quarterly plans, how to articulate a long-term vision, and much more. I now understood what people say around that famous, highly-coveted table.

But it still wasn’t enterprise design… at least not the way I wanted to practice it.

I had gathered a lot of pieces — but the frame was missing.

Between user experience, facilitation, branding, strategy, production, and a pinch of agility, I had checked many boxes.

But I kept running into the same wall:

How do you move an entire organization forward when you’re not an executive?

As a UX designer or Sprint facilitator, you bring ideas, you move projects forward… but rarely the organization itself.

And then, in 2020, I had a conversation that changed everything.

I met Milan Guenther in Boulder, Colorado, at Google’s annual Design Sprint conference. He was convinced that you can design an organization the same way you design a product.

Welcome to the world of enterprise design.

So why not make it a discipline?

What if it became a role, a posture, a skill set?

And more importantly: I wasn’t the only one asking these questions.

Then, in 2023, EDGY arrived.

And that’s when the snowball effect began.

EDGY: Finally, a Common Language

There’s a difference between the discipline of enterprise design and the tool EDGY.

And EDGY is the tool that lets us talk about it simply.

EDGY is six facets to look at an organization in all its complexity:

• Identity — why we exist, our mission, our “why”
• Organization — how we work, roles, flows
• Architecture — how things connect, structures and systems
• Product — what we build and offer
• Experience — what people feel when they interact with us
• Brand — what the world perceives of us

It’s a simple model, yet powerful.

Because it creates bridges between disciplines.

Because it opens discussions instead of closing them.

Because it lets you design the organization as a whole — not just work in your own silo.

As a bonus, you can use EDGY and EOS Traction together to increase coherence… and traction. 😉

OK, but how does someone become an enterprise designer?

There’s no single path.

I come from graphic design.

Others come from enterprise architecture, change management, agile coaching, or product development. Some have MBAs, others come from finance. It doesn’t matter.

The common denominator?

An obsessive curiosity for how things work.

A desire to connect silos.

A drive to create meaning across disciplines.

You need to be humble, curious, and above all, people-centered. Not just customers — colleagues, partners, and your wider community.

In Conclusion

Does becoming an enterprise designer take twenty years of experience?

Today at &friends, we train designers, strategists, facilitators, and managers in this emerging discipline. It won’t take you three years, because you already bring skills, a profession, and experience. Becoming an enterprise designer today isn’t about knowing everything — it’s about connecting disciplines. It’s about helping people take all the complexity of an organization… and simplify it, together.

Because yes: you can design an organization.

And honestly — with everything happening in the world right now — having the skills and tools to transform an organization isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity.