What they’re not teaching in design class—and what you can do about it

“Design without business is just decoration,” says Steve Johnson, Vice President of Design at Netflix. That’s why, he argues, designers need to understand business goals and develop a strong product sense to make an impact.

Despite this reality, early-career product design programs rarely teach students how to connect design to tangible business outcomes. We know this firsthand. While our schools taught us the fundamentals of design as a craft, it wasn’t until we landed roles as Figma Campus Leaders and early-career product designers that we truly realized the importance of business fluency. With our interest in management, we’ve taken graduate-level or continuing education courses to understand how design impacts business, and vice versa. Speaking to other Campus Leaders across the country, we realized that this wasn’t a problem unique to us. So we consulted the team at Figma and the wider community to learn why this gap exists, and how to bridge it.

How business and design intersect

While design is a user-centered craft, focusing solely on the user experience can make it harder to see how your work affects business goals and stakeholder needs. “I know so many designers, old and young, who just want to design cool stuff,” says Steve Gustavson, Corporate Vice President of Design and Research at Microsoft. “But whether it’s for marketing or product, you can’t design useful things without an understanding of the user and the business.”

Taryn Cowart, Brand Studio Design Manager at Figma, says part of that disconnect is “a stigma where creative people feel that they don’t want craft, design quality, and delight to always be tied to business goals. But I feel it’s a true superpower when people can talk about those things together.” After all, creative decisions and customer love are directly tied to business impact. Thoughtful, user-centered design can foster engagement and growth, while poor design choices can frustrate users and drive them away. Ryan Reid, Head of UX Writing at Figma, explains, “So many [design] problems ultimately make people churn or stop using the product altogether.”

Ultimately, collaboration between both worlds is required for a successful team. “Designers coming in with not just a visual arsenal but also product sense ultimately enables them to be more impactful—it enables them to speak the language of their collaborators,” says Mihika Kapoor, former Product Manager at Figma. Siddhi Sundar, Head of Product Innovation Research at Netflix, agrees: “Business acumen is 100% the X factor that distinguishes good from great in any design organization—for any function within the product development arm at a company.” That means understanding how design decisions impact revenue, costs, and profitability; how to prioritize features based on the competitive market; and how to plan for product roadmaps at large.

How early-career designers can bridge the gap

While it’s clear that a grounding in business goals is essential to design, the path to building that instinct is less defined. Here are some strategies from product and design leaders that go beyond the usual design curriculum.

Take classes outside of design coursework

Expand your skill set by seeking out courses in other fields—for instance, a marketing class that focuses on case studies. “Sometimes there is a user experience component,” Ryan says, “but it’s often just helping you understand how these people approach a market and product problem.” Exposure to case studies and business coursework helps designers understand different approaches and deepen their understanding of the bigger picture.

Set up coffee chats with industry professionals

Informal meetups are an amazing way to hear a firsthand perspective and seek personal advice. But don’t just talk to product designers—reach out to everyone who has a stake in the product workflow. “Content designers, UX researchers, business researchers—all of those folks have a sharp business acumen and an intricate understanding of the economics of the industry,” says Siddhi. Build your knowledge base to understand all the different stakeholders who come together to ship a product—and determine the story of how the company succeeds.

Subscribe to newsletters and podcasts

Hearing what industry professionals have to say about the world of product building will help you connect the dots between design and businesses of all scales and sizes. Here are some resources we recommend:

• Lenny’s Newsletter: This “weekly advice column about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career” also has an accompanying podcast.
• Masters of Scale: Hosted by LinkedIn Co-founder Reid Hoffman, this podcast features advice and insights from business leaders.
• Dive Club: This podcast spotlights advice from top design executives like Mig Reyes, Vice President of Product Experience at Duolingo, who shares why Duolingo replaced “UX” with “Product Experience” to better reflect how product and business drive design.

Get hands-on experience

“I really think it comes down to just building and shipping,” says Mihika. Learn by doing. Working in the industry—whether for a student startup or big tech—drives hands-on learning in a way that’s hard to gain from just coursework. With many ways to gain practical experience, it’s important to find the best fit for you. “In my mind, building things was a far more influential and impactful education than sitting in the classroom,” says Mihika. Take every opportunity to expand your learning in the real world.

Understand what makes the business tick

If you work at a company that has open Slack channels, don’t be afraid to learn about how other teams work. One of the best ways to get insight into the broader product development process is to follow along in those channels as teams share updates—don’t limit yourself to just designer workflows. “Read the strategy, understand the way that business leaders speak and talk,” advises Siddhi. “Look at the way that they’re talking about impact, look at the margins of the memos, and watch how they’re debating and pushing each other.” Engage with key decision-makers at every level of your organization to build intuition on how successful business decisions are made.

Design craft and business are not opposing forces—they fuel each other toward product growth. At Config 2025, Adam Morris, Head of Product Design and UX at The Economist, predicted, “With new prototyping and visualization tools, we’ll see designers stepping up their business acumen.” Let’s make that happen.