As a Manager of UX Design at LinkedIn, I'd like to share my personal design and leadership philosophy of “less hurdles, more happy” and deep dive on 3 principles that drive innovation in design, brand and culture at a successful company. While innovation is often perceived as this instantaneous game changing event, I believe innovation can be achieved by significant positive change that drives towards a grand vision over time. Here are some of LinkedIn’s most significant positive changes, before and after stories that yielded successful results, and specific ideas on how you can cultivate innovative product design at your company.

1. Less Hurdles. More Happy.
CULTIVATING INNOVATIVE PRODUCT DESIGN
Digital Web and Design Innovation Summit | 9.19.2013
Lea Ann Hutter | User Experience Design Manager, LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/lahutter @lahutter

2. 3 principles that drive
innovation in design,
brand and culture at a
successful company.
Less Hurdles. More Happy.

3. Hi!

4. Startups & Studios.
Teacher & Leader.
Let’s change the
world together!

5. What drives me
Less hurdles.

6. Less hurdles.
More happy.
What drives me

7. Simplify.
Aspire.
Transform.
What drives LinkedIn

8. Simplify: Design.
“Innovation is a series of small wins along a truly disruptive trajectory.”
- Deep Nishar, SVP Product and User Experience, LinkedIn

9. Pre-Simplify 2009
Start page Update feed

10. Simplify 2011
Reduce 9 sections to 4, new design, changed start page to feed for higher engagement

11. Today 2013
Customizable nav, cleaner design, more delightful interactions, even higher engagement

12. Desktop: Pre-Simplify 2009
The vision: transform the profile into a reflection of your professional identity

13. Simplify Desktop: Guided Editing 2012
Improved UX makes editing easy, increased profile completion

14. Simplify Desktop: New Top Card 2012
Move main call to action button next to larger photo, increased all button actions

15. Simplify Desktop: Portfolio 2012
New Feature: Add rich content and associate with Summary, Education or any position

16. Simplify Desktop: Skills 2012
New Feature: Add endorsable skills to represent your professional qualifications

17. DaVinci: Internal tool for Design Patterns, Code, and Voice & Tone Guidelines

18. DaVinci: example of Design Patterns

19. DaVinci: example of Design Patterns
Members first.
Leapfrog iteration.
Details matter.
Simplify: Design.

20. Aspire: Brand.
“Vision is the dream. A company’s true north. It’s what you constantly
need to be aspiring to.”
- Jeff Weiner, CEO, LinkedIn

21. Our Vision 2011
The vision: not just find a new job, but help you be great at your current job

22. First LinkedIn Today News in Feed 2011
Top 3 headlines lead the home page, links to standalone product

23. First LinkedIn Today Product 2011
Headlines that your connections, peers and industry are talking about

24. Content Ecosystem Evolution 2012
Brand new design for LinkedIn Today news on desktop and mobile

25. Influencers 2012
Follow over 400 global thought leaders sharing professional wisdom

26. Follow over 400 global thought leaders sharing professional wisdom
Influencers 2012
Richard Branson
+2M followers
Bill Gates
+1M PVs in 48 hrs
The average Influencer post receives +20k views.

27. iPad for “Coffee and Couch” 2012
Kickstart your day and catch up in the evening with your network and industry news

28. Extend Reach 2013
Elegant aggregator of your favorite blogs, magazines and social network updates

29. Extend Reach 2013
Elegant aggregator of your favorite blogs, magazines and social network updates
Clear intention.
Expand perception.
Opportunity for all.
Aspire: Brand.

30. Transform: Culture.
“We hire on culture. The culture becomes the brand.”
- Steve Johnson, VP User Experience Design, LinkedIn

31. Eat.
Hack.
Sleep.

32. LinkedIn Labs
Internal Hackday winners and experimental projects

33. LinkedIn Labs
Internal Hackday winners and experimental projects
Year in Review
November 2010 Hackday Winner
The most popular email in LinkedIn history. A visual
representation of everyone in your network who
changed jobs in a given year.
http://yearinreview.linkedinlabs.com

34. Year in Review Email: Hackday design 2011

35. Year in Review Email: new design 2013

36. Hackday goes global, women, veterans, interns

37. Takes Hackday to the next level with
more time and support to bring your product vision to life

38. Incubator: Executive Judges

39. Incubator: Executive Mentors

40. Incubator Products
Hopscotch, an open sourced site touring platform

41. Incubator Products
Go/book, an easier way to book conference rooms

44. Engage & inspire.
Attract & retain talent.
Accelerate innovation.
Transform: Culture.

45. Create effortless
experiences for your
company, your users,
and the world.
Less Hurdles. More Happy.

46. Thanks!
Digital Web and Design Innovation Summit | 9.19.2013
Lea Ann Hutter | User Experience Design Manager, LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/lahutter @lahutter