Designing for Impact: Brendan Donoghue on ROI, Bold Leadership & Human-Centered Change

Описание: This week on All Things Design, I sat down with Brendan Donoghue — Head of Digital and Customer Experience at UniSuper — to explore how design leaders can prove ROI and translate creativity into real business outcomes.




Brendan shares his 25+ year journey across Optus, Telstra, NAB and now UniSuper, where he’s led outcome-driven transformations like shrinking a 12-week onboarding process to just 90 seconds and lifting digital engagement from 25% to over 85% — including 87% of members aged 60+.




We dive into how he reframes “no” into “show me how,” builds executive buy-in through prototypes and storytelling, and why understanding how the business makes money is non-negotiable for designers who want influence.




🔍 Key Topics Covered

• Why designers must translate creativity into business language

• How to build ROI-driven business cases for design

• The story behind reducing onboarding from 12 weeks to 90 seconds

• Lifting digital engagement across all ages (including over 60s)

• The four traits of influential creative leaders: craft, leadership, business acumen, and entrepreneurial behavior

• How to pitch bold ideas without self-censoring

• Why relentlessness and risk-taking are essential for design leaders

• Building trust with executives through prototypes, metrics, and storytelling




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Resources:

— Connect with Brendan Donoghue on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendando...

— Connect with Joe Woodham on LinkedIn:   / joe-woodham-torii-uxdesign  


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Timestamps:

(00:00) — Introduction

(00:50) — From Telstra to UniSuper: Brendan’s career journey

(06:04) — The ROI of Design

(10:25) — Why Designers Must Understand Business

(15:48) — Relentlessness: The Trait Designers Need in Corporates

(21:17) — Cutting Account Setup from 12 Weeks to 90 Seconds

(29:33) — Owning Risk and Building Influence as a Leader

(33:53) — Measuring ROI: Engagement, Cost to Serve, and Growth

(42:05) — Selling Change with Storytelling and Prototypes

(46:02) — Building Metrics That Matter to Executives

(51:19) — Turning Prototypes Into Funding

(52:11) — The Mindset Every Designer Needs to Create Impact

(55:07) — Closing Reflections: Boldness, AI, and the Future of Design

(58:26) — Outro: Solving Problems, Not Chasing AI




#designleadership  #uxdesign  #businessimpact  #digitaltransformation  #ROIofDesign #customerexperience  #humancentereddesign  #designthinking  #creativeleadership  #AllThingsDesign #JoeWoodham #BrendanDonoghue