A lyrical approach to design leadership
Archana Thiagarajan
Senior Director of Design
Enterprise products are efficient, task-focused, and complex. Music is expressive, rhythmic, and soulful. As a design leader for Adobe’s Experience Cloud, and also a singer, I’ve come to appreciate the unique relationship between these two very different pursuits: each requires understanding an audience, persevering through challenges, and creating passionately within constraints. As a result, I’ve found new ways to innovate and to lead. During this talk, I’ll share how I’ve learned to craft vision and strategy to meet needs; put creativity at the center of my work; and lead with objectivity, passion, and imagination.
Archana Thiagarajan is a Senior Director of Design, leading a team of enterprise designers for Adobe’s Experience Cloud business. She also serves as the site lead for Adobe’s Utah office. Over more than 2 decades, her work and leadership has influenced the design of products for the traveler, army, navy, homeland security, analyst, marketers and now experience makers. Strong partnerships, inclusive design processes and driving to a clear point of view are the fundamentals to the teams she leads. Archana is the recipient of Adobe’s 2018 Founder’s Award. She was recognized by Women Tech Council of Utah as one of the top 12 women tech leaders in Utah for 2015. She was featured in Utah Valley Business Q magazine’s 40 Under 40 edition (2016). She is an accomplished vocalist and has performed on numerous platforms and occasions.
