Lena Lekkou emphasizes the importance of soft skills and systems thinking for multidisciplinary designers at the Athens Digital Design Meetup. She discusses how understanding complex systems and implementing design systems can contribute to more effective problem-solving and collaboration in design. The goal is to create a shared environment that values efficiency, transparency, and future-thinking in design processes.

1. N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 1
@ l e n a l e k k o u
A t h e n s D i g i t a l D e s i g n M e e t u p
THINKING IN SYSTEM
AND SCALE

2. A t h e n s D i g i t a l D e s i g n M e e t u p
Lena Lekkou
Multidisciplinary Designer since 2009
 Head of Web at SAE Athens
 Podcast Host of Life of Dev
 Head of Tech at pod.gr
 Owner Red Matter

3. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
If you must invest in one thing for your
future, invest in soft skills.
THE IMPORTANCE
OF Soft Skills

4. SYSTEMIC THINKING / DESIGN THINKING /
DESIGN SYSTEMS / PROBLEM SOLVING /
CRITICAL THINKING / TEAMWORK

5. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
“But many problems don’t have simple
linear solutions but exist in complex
systems.”
WE DEAL WITH
Complex Problems

6. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
@ l e n a l e k k o u
“As our world continues to change rapidly and become
more complex, systems thinking will help us manage,
adapt, and see the wide range of choices we have before
us. It is a way of thinking that gives us the freedom to
identify root causes of problems and see new
opportunities” Από το βιβλίο “Thinking in Systems”

7. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
01
@ l e n a l e k k o u
S y s t e m
A t h e n s D i g i t a l D e s i g n M e e t u p

8. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
WHAT IS A SYSTEM?
A system is a set of things—people, cells, molecules, or
whatever—interconnected in such a way that they produce
their own pattern of behavior over time. The system may be
buffeted, constricted, triggered, or driven by outside forces.
If you look at that definition closely for a minute, you can
see that a system must consist of three kinds of things:
elements, interconnections, and a function or purpose.
Από το βιβλίο “Thinking in Systems”

9. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
Από το βιβλίο “Thinking in Systems”
WHAT IS A SYSTEM?
Elements: What are the core elements in the system?
Interconnections: How are the elements connected? What
are the relationships? What are their inputs and outputs?
Purpose: What does this achieve?

10. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
Από το βιβλίο “Thinking in Systems”
WHAT IS A SYSTEM?
The earth is a system. So is the solar system; so is a galaxy.
Systems can be embedded in systems, which are embedded
in yet other systems

11. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
“IT’S A SYSTEM!”
- The Home Edit, Netflix

12. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
“IT’S LIKE PLAYING
WITH LEGOS!”

13. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
@ l e n a l e k k o u
“Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It
is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather
than things, for seeing patterns of change rather than
static “snapshots.”
— Peter Senge in The Fifth Discipline (Senge, 2006)

14. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
@ l e n a l e k k o u
“For years, the application of user-centered and human-centered
design advocated by so many has often separated people from
ecosystems. Now, designers must start to address people as part
of an ecosystem rather than at the center of everything. This
means designing for two sets of values: personal and collective.”
— Fjord Trends 2020 (Fjord, 2020)

15. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
@ l e n a l e k k o u
“Systems Thinking is
the New Design Thinking”

16. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
“Systems thinking is an approach that designers use to
analyze problems in an appropriate context. By looking beyond
apparent problems to consider a system as a whole, designers
can expose root causes and avoid merely treating symptoms.
They can then tackle deeper problems and be more likely to
find effective solutions.” -- IDF
SYSTEMS THINKING
The iceberg model
02
Events Patterns
01 03
Structures
04
Mental models

17. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
“Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process that teams
use to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine
problems and create innovative solutions to prototype and test.
Involving five phases—Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and
Test—it is most useful to tackle problems that are ill-defined or
unknown.” -- IDF
DESIGN THINKING
02
Empathize Define
01 03
Ideate
04
Prototype
05
Test
The infinite loop

18. CAN WE COMBINE THE TWO TOGETHER?

19. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
WHAT IS A DESIGN
SYSTEM?
“A design system is a set of standards to manage design at
scale by reducing redundancy while creating a shared
language and visual consistency across different pages and
channels.
“There are two important parts to a design system:
the design repository the people who manage it” – Nn/g

20. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
@ l e n a l e k k o u
“Design systems bring order and consistency to digital products. They
help to protect the brand, elevate the user experience, and increase the
speed and efficiency of how we design and build products. They are a
source of truth and a system of record for our design decisions. They
hold us to high standards, keep teams on the same page, and help to
onboard new team members. They document the why, when, where, and
how.”
— Από το βιβλίο “A book about Design Systems”

21. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
@ l e n a l e k k o u
“System design is about not tackling design problems in
isolation, or as one-offs. It’s about considering versatile
solutions that can be used repeatedly and consistently
throughout a product. It’s about not creating a different way
to solve the same or similar problem every time you come
across it.”

22. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
@ l e n a l e k k o u
Example
https://www.figma.com/file/IWAwu0FCjWBdfzxvqurjzF/Thinking-in-System-%26-Scale?node-id=0%3A1

23. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
@ l e n a l e k k o u
“The goal is not to create the prettiest system, get more likes
on Dribble, or impress your friends — it’s to design a system
that best meets your product, user, and business needs.”
— Από το βιβλίο “A book about Design Systems”

24. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
@ l e n a l e k k o u
“Freeing designers from re-creating the same design
elements over and over again allows them to focus on more
important things, like iteration, new features, and user
experience.”
— Από το βιβλίο “A book about Design Systems”

25. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
02
@ l e n a l e k k o u
S c a l e
A t h e n s D i g i t a l D e s i g n M e e t u p

26. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
WHAT IS SCALE IN
DESIGN?
“Scaling design can encompass everything from creating
uniformity through systems to spreading design thinking
practices throughout the organization—and beyond.”
-- inVision

27. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
As long as there are people out there using
what we have designed, we should also be
out there testing it, improving it, elevating it
OUR PROJECTS IS
Never Done

28. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
03
@ l e n a l e k k o u
O u r T o o l s
A t h e n s D i g i t a l D e s i g n M e e t u p

29. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
We are privilege enough to have tools that
are focus on this systems thinking mindset.
WE HAVE
Superpowers

30. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
We should change our mindset from working
on our own computer to working in a shared
environment.
WE NEED TO
Share

31. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
04
@ l e n a l e k k o u
O u r G o a l s
A t h e n s D i g i t a l D e s i g n M e e t u p

32. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
01.
Focus

33. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
02.
Efficiency &
Speed

34. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
03.
Consistency

35. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
04.
Collaboration

36. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
05.
Organization

37. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
06.
Documentation

38. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
@ l e n a l e k k o u
“Don’t leave documentation until the end, or as an
afterthought. If you do, it might never get done. Make
documentation part of your design and
build process.”
— Από το βιβλίο “A book about Design Systems”

39. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
07.
Transparency

40. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
08.
Future

41. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
@ l e n a l e k k o u
“We need to find multidisciplinary solutions to the
great challenges of our time in order to continue to
live and thrive on this planet”

42. T h i n k i n g i n S y s t e m & S c a l e
@ l e n a l e k k o u
“Every Designer is a
Systems Designer”
*they just need a mindset shift

43. Thank you!
@lenalekkou

44. Thanks to our sponsor
SAE Athens
Τελευταία εβδομάδα εγγραφών για το Web Design Certificate στην SAE Athens!
O αριθμός των θέσεων είναι περιορισμένος.
Μάθε περισσότερα στο site της SAE: www.sae.edu/grc/admissions.

45. Thank you for coming!
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