Sandra's Letter
Sandra's Letter Podcast
How to future-proof your UX skills in a world of AI. | Jon Deragon (Head of Design at
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How to future-proof your UX skills in a world of AI. | Jon Deragon (Head of Design at

Jon Deragon shares how you could learn to adapt your UX skills in an AI world, what young designers should focus on, how to managing high-profile clients, & the secret of FPT hype-growth to 1.4 B

Jon Deragon is the Head of Design at FPT Software, the biggest IT service company in Vietnam with a global footprint. Jon runs the largest design team in Vietnam with 140 talented UX, UI, Research, 3D and Graphic designers.

Starting as a consultant in Canada, Jon has become a respected design leadership in Asia-Pacific with a consistent track record of creating values for stakeholders.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

  1. How to learn and operate in the a AI-dominant world

  2. Which skill sets young designers should focus on right now

  3. His Product Greatness Pyramid to manage high-profile clients

  4. The impact of Public Speaking on a designer’s career and how to start

  5. How designers can work internationally

  6. The common diseases of design teams

  7. The role of a centralized leadership for design teams

  8. How designers can work with engineers

  9. The secret sauce of FPT Software’s hyper growth despite being a 30 year old company.

Some of my biggest takeaways:

  1. Use visual frameworks to engage with high-profile stakeholders. This makes you more persuasive and a better communicator overall.

  2. Avoid using complicated languages when engaging with clients and cross-functions team. Many young designers make this mistake. They use too many jargons that few understands. Keep it simple and stupid.

  3. You can talk clients into doing research by tying the research goals to their business outcomes. Keep your research stacks flexible and light-weight.

  4. The most common disease of design team is complacency. This can happen to many mid-level designers. You need diversity in your team to inspire a great design culture.

  5. You need to learn to work with AI now. Do not fear AI. Engage, learn and practice. This is a “ride or die” moment with many knowledge workers.

  6. Young designers need to commit to navigate the current hiring landscape. Spend more time on your portfolio. Make them visually engaging, make them responsive and accessible. Put effort into your career.

  7. In this world of distraction, meaningful attention is the key to get ahead of 99.99% people. Deep Work by Cal Newport is a powerful manual to train you to do deep work. Jon has read the book several times, and it transformed the way he works.

  8. To build strong relationship with your development team: engage them early and often in your design process. Do not wait until the end to show them your final solution.

  9. Public Speaking is critical to a designer’s career. Do not wait for the opportunities to find you. Pitch yourself to event organizers, community hosts. You should record yourself and rehearse as much as you can.

Where to find Jon Deragon:

  • His website: https://jonderagon.com/

  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonderagon/

Where to find Sandra Vu:

  • Newsletter: https://www.sandrasletter.com

  • X: https://x.com/sandra_letter

  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandravu-design/

In this episode, we cover:

00:00 Beginning

00:39 Introducing Jon Deragon

02:53 What does a UX career look like in a AI future?

14:54 How designers can learn about AI

18:32 Content recommendations

19:39 Researcher vs designer talent

21:01 UX researcher's versality and business value

23:29 Stakeholder alignment for Designers

25:09 Complexity, context and conviction

31:10 Simplicity of communication

31:56 How to convince clients to do user research

35:32 Product greatness pyramid

39:58 The success of FPT Software

43:26 Disease of a design team: Complacency

47:56 Design care, detail and how to deal with it

53:06 Relationships with the development team

53:27 The importance of detailed design annotation

56:33 Leadership in creative teams (centralised vs decentralised)

01:06:12 How can junior designers navigate today's hiring landscape?

01:12:53 Jon's journey into public speaking

01:18:32 Tips for public speaking

01:25:38 How to work internationally as a designer

01:34:05 Book recommendations for designers

01:34:38 Deep Work by Cal Newport

01:35:39 Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson

01:36:23 Navigating the politics of UX by John Scott Bowie

01:38:43 Leaders of awesomeness: Group by Jared Spool

01:39:59 Where to find Jon Deragon

References:

Recommended books:

Production and Marketing by Team Sandra. For sponsorship inquiries: please email ivan@koi-capital.com

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