Design, Power, and Impact.
What History Teaches Designers About the Future of Work
As designers, we often focus on mastering new tools, techniques, and trends. But the real challenge and opportunity, lies beyond craft: it’s about business fluency, communication, and strategic influence.
On Linkedin I've been exploring how some of history’s greatest creators combined skill with commercial savvy and what that means for designers navigating an AI-powered future.
Here on Substack, I’m pulling it all together into one article to give you the full picture, plus practical lessons and tips you can start applying today.
1. Ancient Rome: The Engineer-Statesman
In ancient Rome, engineers weren’t just builders, they were political influencers shaping the empire’s future.
Take Vitruvius, the renowned Roman architect and engineer. His treatise De Architectura wasn’t just a manual on building it was a persuasive document addressed to Emperor Augustus, outlining how architecture could strengthen Rome’s power, dignity, and public life.
Vitruvius understood something crucial: technical expertise was respected, but influence came from translating design into societal and political impact.
Today, AI tools democratise technical skills like design and prototyping. Yet, the power to define the right problem, frame its value, and influence decision makers remains uniquely human.
The Lesson?
The future belongs to designers who speak the language of business outcomes, not just design tools.
What can you do today?
Learn the basics of business metrics. Start with key performance indicators (KPIs) your company cares about revenue growth, retention rates, customer acquisition cost.
Frame your solutions in business terms. For example, instead of “I improved the experience,” say “This change improved conversion rates by X%.”
Seek conversations with stakeholders outside design. Ask questions to understand their goals and pain points.
2. The Renaissance: Leonardo da Vinci’s Commercial Fluency
Leonardo da Vinci is celebrated as a genius artist and inventor, but his lasting power came from blending art, science, and commerce with strategic patronage.
He worked for powerful patrons like Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, designing everything from murals to war machines that projected Milanese military dominance. Later, he served Francis I of France, contributing architectural and engineering visions that elevated the king’s court as a hub of Renaissance innovation.
Leonardo understood that mastery of craft was not enough. To thrive, he framed his work in ways that served the ambitions of those funding him.
Similarly, today’s designers must move beyond producing polished visuals. We need to translate ideas into business impact. Whether that’s reducing churn, increasing conversion, or driving innovation.
The Lesson?
Craft plus commercial fluency equals success. Bottom line.
What can you start today?
Build your stakeholder storytelling skills. Practice telling concise stories about how your designs impact users and business goals.
Study your product’s business model. How does your company make money? Where does your design fit into that flow?
Collaborate cross-functionally. Attend meetings with marketing, sales, or product teams to hear their language and priorities.
3. Industrial Revolution: Designers as Systems Thinkers
During the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel epitomised systems thinking in design.
Brunel didn’t just build bridges like the Clifton Suspension Bridge; he designed the Great Western Railway, a fully integrated transport system connecting London to the southwest coast, along with pioneering steamships like the SS Great Britain to expand trade routes globally.
He understood that infrastructure was more than steel and stone, it was an economic and social connector that reshaped entire industries and nations.
Modern design demands the same mindset: seeing beyond individual interfaces to the entire ecosystem of users, operations, and business goals.
The Lesson?
Designers who think in systems and learn to leverage this mindset, will shape the future of impactful design.
What can you do today?
Map the user journey end-to-end. Look beyond the screen to the entire customer experience, upper funnel lead generation, onboarding, support, and renewal.
Understand operational and technical constraints. Talk to engineers and operations teams about how design decisions affect delivery and cost.
Practice systems thinking exercises. Use frameworks like service blueprints (or often under utilised) ecosystem maps in your projects.
4. The Digital Age: Human-Centred Design as Business Strategy
The Digital Age shifted design from for people to with people.
Apple under Steve Jobs didn’t just build products: they designed seamless experiences by deeply understanding human desires, creating an ecosystem that tied hardware, software, and services into a unified, sticky business strategy.
Similarly, Airbnb transformed travel by centring design on human trust and connection, while ensuring commercial viability through scalable service design and operational models.
But empathy alone didn’t guarantee success. It was empathy embedded in strategy, aligning user needs with market growth and business models, that created category-defining companies.
The Lesson?
Combining strategy and empathy turns design into competitive advantage.
What can you do today?
Conduct user research with business outcomes in mind. Focus your questions on pain points that affect retention, satisfaction, or revenue.
Translate user insights into business recommendations. Don’t just share findings, suggest next steps that impact key metrics.
Work closely with product and business owners to align on goals. Share your learnings and co-create measurable success criteria.
5. The AI Future: Designers as Impact Translators
AI will automate many technical tasks faster than any human ever could. Tools like Midjourney, Figma AI, and ChatGPT plugins can generate flows, screens, and even entire UX variants in seconds.
But AI can’t replace what designers do best: defining the right problems, aligning teams, and orchestrating solutions that deliver business value.
The designer of the future is an impact translator, someone who amplifies AI’s power through strategic insight, communication, and business fluency.
The Lesson?
Communication and commercial fluency will outpace technical mastery.
What can you do today?
Learn AI basics. Understand what AI tools can and cannot do to better integrate them into your workflow.
Focus on problem framing. Spend more time defining “why” before “how” and “what.”
Develop cross-disciplinary collaboration skills. Be the bridge between design, business, and technology teams.
Final Thoughts: Invest in Business Fluency to Future-Proof Your Design Career
Across centuries, the greatest creators combined craft mastery with commercial savvy and influence.
In today’s AI-driven world, your career will grow at the pace of your business fluency and strategic communication.
Are you ready to level up? Start small, invest in learning business fundamentals, and practice translating design into impact every day.
Where will you invest your growth this year: mastering new tools, or mastering the language of business?
If you found this useful, follow me on LinkedIn for the full historical series dropping this week — or subscribe here for more insights on design leadership, future skills, and creating business impact through design.