Building Enterprise Design Operations
Buffini & Company
Role:
Design Director, Design Operations Lead
Scope:
Architect and build enterprise-wide design operations serving 9 cross-functional departments
Scale:
Consolidated 6 designers from scattered departments into unified team; 2,500-3,000 annual projects; 98%+ on-time delivery
Challenge:
Design function was fragmented across departments. No unified workflows, no asset management system, no quality standards, unclear reporting lines. This resulted in redundant work, asset duplication, vendor chaos, and inconsistent quality. Leadership recognized the need to consolidate and systematize the function.
Approach:
Leadership decided to consolidate the fragmented design function into a single team and asked me to design what that structure should look like. I designed the organizational model, championed implementation of a digital asset management system and project management infrastructure, and established production processes, quality standards, vendor management protocols, and timeline checkpoints across all creative work.
Execution:
Led organizational restructure to consolidate all design function under unified leadership. Architected a new organizational model organized into three strategic micro-verticals: Brand, Web, and Structure/Presentation Systems. This structure optimized efficiency by creating clear specialization while enabling cross-functional collaboration.
Outcome:
Over two years as Design Director for the entire company, I consolidated 6 designers from scattered departments into a unified team managing 2,500 to 3,000 annual projects with 98%+ on-time delivery, tracked through Monday.com. I built the business case for the company's first digital asset management system, projecting more than $600K in recovered productivity over three years, and led it through approval and implementation. I established reporting lines and decision-making authority for the new structure, and hired, developed, and separated staff as needed to build the team's capacity.
Leadership has since introduced additional creative leadership roles over parts of the function I built. I now lead design within our Content & Curriculum department, and the production infrastructure, DAM system, and standards I established remain in use company-wide.
Team Development & Growth:
Implemented cross-training program exposing designers to diverse disciplines (marketing, social, print, video, presentations, packaging, product, web) to create career growth opportunities and operational coverage. Hired new design staff to strengthen team capabilities and capacity, growing the function while maintaining quality standards.
Project Management Infrastructure:
Interviewed Traffic Management and stakeholders to identify workflow bottlenecks. Designed and helped build the project management system that enabled scalable intake, production, approval, and asset tracking across 9 departments. While this system is now owned by Marketing Operations and Traffic Management, I was instrumental in its architecture and implementation.
Systems & Standards:
Implemented Bynder DAM with comprehensive training and adoption protocols. Established production workflows, quality standards, vendor management protocols, and timeline checkpoints across all creative work.
