James Helms shares his personal and professional journey of the people, roles and events that shaped his career and his philosophy as a Design Leader and as a human.

1. INSIDE THE
DESIGNER’S STUDIO

2. Hi. My name’s James and I’m a

3. Some tremendous highlights

4. Some tremendous stumbles

5. I have learned a ton.

7. My early years were both
promising and troubling.

8. Finding a Direction: Work Hard Play Hard
University of Delaware
B.S. Visual Communication,
Advertising Design
(+ blueprinter, barista, & printing press operator)

11. Live a life full of stories.

12. In 1997,
I moved to Dallas,
with a degree
and a girlfriend
and no job.

14. Working with amazing artists and talent!

18. Some of my highest points…
And lowest points.

19. Pivot One: From deliverable to experience

22. Pivot 1.1: From Ads to Apps - Back to School

23. Emmy-nominated! And a true failure!

24. Pivot 2: From inventing need to fulfilling need
(The aha of human-centered design)

26. Pivot 3: From Leader as Doer to Leader as Teacher, Coach and Mentor

28. We Help Accountants
to help Small Businesses
Succeed and Consumers
Thrive, Financially.
And Power Prosperity
Around the World

29. 1. Research
2. Ideas
3. Prototypes
We use design to understand
and make products for accountants
and the clients they serve.

31. I coach our team to:
Embrace the craft of design to delight customer’s by
understanding their needs through observing their behavior -
and honing beautiful, simple, benefit-delivering experiences
that change their lives and those of their clients.
Influence through design by practicing empathy to
build productive relationships - and using frameworks and
prototypes to provoke debate and inspire change.
Lead with Design by framing customer needs as business
value, and curating a behavioral-data-informed Point of view

33. I also coach our team to:
Live our values. To treat each other with respect and
compassion, and hold them accountable to delivering their
very best.
Express their personal and career aspirations, so we can align
them with the most meaningful work.
Embrace their authentic self and bring their personal magic to
everything they do.
Lead and teach with the superpowers of design: aesthetics,
frameworks, “conceptual tangibility” and curiosity.

34. Thanks, J

35. Pivot 3.1: From Leader as Doer
to Leader as Teacher, Coach and Mentor
and back to student

36. I paint and draw, too.

38. My takeaways:
My journey has rarely been straight. Some of my biggest pains
illuminated my biggest opportunities.
I’ve let learning new things pave my journey, and I haven’t
been afraid to take a pay-cut or two to jumpstart my career.
The hardest stuff has yielded the most growth -
personally and professionally.
Design is about WAY MORE than what things look like.
Design leadership is about humility, curiosity and bravery.
The practice of reflection keeps me teachable.

39. @jamesh_str
medium/jamesh_str
THANKS TO SMU MADI &
THE DEC/CAPITAL FACTORY