When Leadership Speaks the Language of Design
On any immersive project, dozens of disciplines are working toward a single guest experience. Designers, engineers, fabricators, operators, producers. At the same time, leadership is responsible for the biggest decisions on the project. Budget, schedule, scope, and ultimately what gets built.
These roles are meant to support each other. But they often operate in very different languages. Design teams present ideas through space, light, sequence, architecture, and emotion. Leadership is evaluating those ideas through feasibility, cost, timing, and risk. Both perspectives are essential. The opportunity is in how clearly they connect.
What Design Fluency Actually Looks Like
Executives do not need to become designers. No one expects leadership to sketch attractions or resolve creative details.
What makes a difference is when leaders can engage with design in a clear and constructive way. When they can articulate what they are seeing, what they are feeling, and where something may or may not be working.
Even a basic level of design fluency allows conversations to move from vague reactions to productive dialogue.
A Small Moment That Stayed With Me
On Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, we spent a great deal of time discussing architecture, as it is central to the Harry Potter world.
I remember presenting the entrance archway to Mark Woodbury. He looked at it and said, “That architecture doesn’t feel right.”
I explained that it was based on a modified Gothic arch with a pediment, which is consistent with the language of the world. He acknowledged it in the moment, and later followed up with reference images he had looked up himself, confirming the direction and encouraging us to continue.
What stood out to me was not whether he agreed or disagreed at first. It was that he engaged with the idea, validated it through his own lens, and came back aligned. That kind of engagement builds trust and strengthens the work.
What That Actually Means
Design fluency does not mean having the right answer. It means being able to participate in the conversation.
That can be as simple as:
“This space feels dark. Is that intentional?”
“My eye is going to that archway first. Is that where you want guests to look?”
“This moment feels rushed. Should we hold it longer?”
“The lighting here feels flat. Can we create more contrast?”
This is not design authorship. It is design awareness. And it is critical, because these are the moments when leadership is being asked to make decisions that shape the final experience.
Why Early Understanding Matters
When leadership has some familiarity with how design decisions are made, conversations around scope, cost, and schedule become much more productive.
Instead of reacting to a finished proposal, leaders can engage with the thinking behind it. A design team explaining why a moment matters becomes part of a broader discussion about priorities and trade-offs. It also changes how iteration is understood.
In creative work, early versions are rarely final. Ideas evolve through testing, feedback, and refinement. From the outside, this can sometimes look inefficient. In reality, these early adjustments are what prevent much larger disruptions later.
Most teams have experienced what happens when a design misunderstanding surfaces during construction. Even small changes at that stage can impact multiple systems, schedules, and budgets. Early alignment reduces that risk significantly.
It matters because it creates clarity and momentum. When leadership and design teams are aligned in how they communicate, decisions happen faster, feedback becomes more precise, and iteration becomes more effective.
It also builds confidence across the team. Designers feel supported in their direction, and leadership has a clearer understanding of what they are approving. The result is not just efficiency. It is better work.
Where Projects Break Down
Projects rarely struggle because of a lack of talent. They struggle because of misalignment:
Feedback that is unclear or difficult to act on
Decisions made without full understanding of the design intent
Iteration interpreted as inefficiency rather than progress
Late-stage changes that could have been resolved earlier
These moments are not failures. They are usually a signal that the conversation needed to happen sooner or more clearly.
In my experience, the smoothest projects are the ones where this communication works well. Leadership understands what the design team is trying to achieve. Designers understand the constraints leadership is managing. There is a shared respect for both perspectives.
Design becomes a strategic partner in decision-making, not something evaluated after the fact.
A Better Way to Work
When leadership can speak about design, even in simple terms, decisions improve. Not because executives are designing the project, but because they are fully engaging with what they are approving.
Design becomes part of the process, not just the presentation. You do not need to know everything about design. But if you are responsible for the decisions, you should be able to describe what you are experiencing. Because those instincts, when clearly expressed, often determine whether a project succeeds or falls short.
