Adobe’s Scott Belsky on the importance of empathy in designing products

“I always feel like entrepreneurs get stuck and get into trouble when they just follow their passion. I think you actually have to focus more on grounding yourself, with empathy, with the customer who is suffering.”

In this episode, I explore the role of empathy in designing complex products with Scott Belsky , Chief Product Officer at Adobe . Scott has always been fascinated by design – graphic design, of course, but also product and organizational design. So when Adobe offered him the role of CPO after acquiring Behance, a social media platform Scott launched in 2012, it was a perfect fit. 

You could spend a lifetime mastering Adobe’s products – each one is like a different design superpower. But they’re also still accessible enough for beginning users, and Scott has played an integral role in making that the case. Under his leadership, the company launched Adobe Express and brought flagship products like Photoshop to web and mobile. The key is striking the right balance between offering rich capability and simplicity. 

Here are some key takeaways from our conversation I’d like to highlight:

Use frustration as inspiration

In order to innovate, you need to have a deep understanding of an existing problem or need. Scott’s awareness of the problems graphic designers faced when trying to get credit for their work inspired him to create Behance . So the next time you’re feeling frustrated by something, take that as a flag to dig deeper and don’t walk away – you might come up with a novel solution on the other side.

Call out progress in service of the bigger picture 

“It's really hard to drive your team across the country in the backseat of your car with the windows blacked out…Your job as the driver is to narrate the journey so that everyone feels the progress that they're making.”

Motivation is a precious resource in the world of human capital, so you have to take measures to cultivate it. One way you can do that is by tracking – and celebrating – your progress. If you don’t,  you and your team will end up feeling stuck. Scott writes about this in-depth in his book The Messy Middle – check that out for more great advice on enduring the lows and optimizing the highs of any product journey.

First impressions matter

“As product leaders, we’re optimistic and we believe that people will take the time to figure out our products and discover the hidden value. But that's not true, at least not in the first mile.”

Often, product builders give too little thought to their users’ first moments experiencing a product. But onboarding is the only experience every user will have, so it’s critical to prioritize. Demonstrate the utility and value of your product from the first moment of user interaction.

Reveal your product’s complexity in stages 

With products that are rich in capability – Adobe’s video editing software Premiere Pro, for example – you run the risk of overwhelming your users with highly complex interfaces. This is where the concept of progressive disclosure comes in. Design your product in a way that allows users to decide for themselves when and how much detail they want to activate. This way you’re satisfying both the beginners and the experts.

One last insight of Scott’s that I want to reiterate: the way he sees it, AI will only make creative roles more imperative than they are now. “The things that move us, the brands that command premiums, the products or services that we crave,” he says, “engage us through the emotional piece. And that’s story, that's craft, that's a very human thing.” 

🎧 Check out the full episode for many more great insights. Listen, follow and rate the show on Spotify, Apple or wherever you listen to podcasts: