I’m Rob Sens – a product design leader based in NYC.
I design interactions – between customers & products, between teams and the context around them.
About me.
I’m an interaction designer, systems thinker and team leader with cross-disciplinary expertise and a collaborative, pragmatic approach to design that enables me to effectively operate across all stages of a project – from vision, through to design strategy and execution.
As a designer and team leader, I am a staunch advocate for bringing intelligent solutions to life quickly and thoughtfully by implementing processes that continually balance design research with design craft. I am equally as passionate about the design of a product as I am about engineering the environment, process, and interpersonal interactions that help bring a product to life.
My experience.
I am a generalist who straddles the line between interaction, communication, and visual design. I have worked within teams and organizations of varying size, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, providing me the opportunity to build a diverse, cross-disciplinary skill set and a gritty, get it done attitude.
As a designer, I seek to understanding the Who, What, and Why around human behavior, perceptions, and decision making in everything I do. A philosophy that is rooted in the techniques of communication design I learned at Pratt – to always balance an understanding of context (research & design thinking) with the execution of design (craft & prototyping).
What i’m passionate about.
I am passionate about understanding human behavior and decision making, bringing structure to chaos, and designing systems and modes of interaction in the physical and digital world. In recent years, this passion has manifested in my work in several forms.
Engineering interactions.
A passion for engineering moments, environments, ecosystems, and communities where ideas can be generated, shared, and discussed.
Making design understandable.
A passion for making design understandable and actionable to others through collaboration, storytelling, and visualization.
Empowering product ownership & decision-making.
A passion for planning, implementing, and facilitating design and product decision making techniques within teams and organizations.
Challenging assumptions through research.
A passion for uncovering patterns and insights in research, abductive analysis, and utilizing hypothesis-driven ideation to provoke new thinking and challenge assumptions.
My perspective on design.
These are the principles that frame my approach to design and leadership.
Facilitation is the cornerstone of product design & development.
Fostering ideas, facilitating decision making, and shepherding a vision across an organization of diverse viewpoints is the lion's share of a designer's responsibility.
Empathy & analysis are the designer’s key skillset.
Making something is easy. Engineering impact by listening, empathizing and analyzing needs, emotions and context is what makes a designer great.
Design is a team sport.
Great design rarely originates from the brilliance of a single individual, it is born from the collective input of multiple individuals, cross-functional teams, and diverse viewpoints.
True insights are derived through observation, conversation & collaboration.
Only by observing, conversing, and collaborating with our humans can we uncover the valuable insights that will shape impactful design.
To produce great work, we must relentlessly challenge our assumptions.
Producing something meaningful is a result of continuously challenging our own beliefs and assumptions, as well as those of our peers and stakeholders.
Design thinking should always be balanced with design doing.
Abductive reasoning & inference are the tools by which we convert research into ideas. Sketching and prototyping is how we make these ideas tangible and testable.
Great designers sweat the details.
Measure twice, cut once. Whether you are designing a complex interaction or writing copy for an error state – always be thoughtful, precise, and respectful of your craft.