Founders

i've been many flavors of designer in startups—full-time, part-time, freelancer, agency, and at all levels of the totem pole.

i've learned the only way to truly create a design-driven product is to design the org chart. 

design is culture, not a job.

Agree, with the proviso that design=product in my orgs.

The essence is that the group responsible for delivering value to the user is driving the process.

When you work in product-run orgs versus biz-run orgs, you realize only the former can create something truly novel.