← Back to the LeaderboardThe Design Leadership Index

Richard Banfield

VP of Design Leadership at Knapsack; author of Design Leadership and Product Leadership; founder of Fresh Tilled Soil

ExecutiveLeads from the frontHybrid schoolSystemsOrgAI
He is the field's connective tissue between design leadership theory and AI-era practice — moving orgs through transition via design-systems infrastructure that frames AI as amplifying human production, not replacing it.

Signature win. Built and sold Fresh Tilled Soil into one of the first dedicated digital product design agencies, then codified the field's playbook through best-selling books and InVision's Design Maturity Assessment.

The case

editorial · CCBEI · with sources
CraftHolds the bar through design-maturity frameworks and the craft of design systems infrastructure; his expertise is org/practice craft more than hands-on pixel work, and he openly argues 'AI has no taste (yet)' as a craft defense.7
CommunicationAmong the most legible voices in design leadership: four books (Design Leadership, Product Leadership, Enterprise Design Sprints), InVision Films, Design Systems Podcast, and a long writing record making the case for design's value.9
BusinessBuilt Fresh Tilled Soil (700+ projects, sold 2019) and Acceleration (250 staff, acquired by WPP); InVision Learn hit $500K ARR in three months; Knapsack work explicitly frames design systems as a business case for production ROI.8
Education[Education recalibrated toward editorial baseline] Career centered on elevating others: hundreds of design-leader interviews, the Design Leadership Forum, design-maturity coaching for Fortune 500 teams, instructor and exec advisor reskilling C-suites — the people-protection axis is his core.8
InnovationPushes practice forward via Enterprise Design Sprints and now AI-driven design-systems infrastructure at Knapsack; frames AI as augmenting human production/taste rather than replacing teams — elevate, not hollow, though more synthesizer than 0->1 inventor.7

Endorsed by peers

illustrative · opens with verified accounts
OverallI'd work for them62
CraftRaised my craft bar56
CommunicationMade the case for design72
BusinessMade design matter to the business64
EducationTaught me something I still use64
InnovationShowed me a new way to work56

Verified peers only — one tap with LinkedIn. Names stay private; we show role and industry. Bars are illustrative until the participation backend is live.

Stories

first-hand · reviewed before publishing
No stories yet.