Tips for beginners in design

You have chosen a career as a designer. I can not dissuade you from this idea, despite the fact that you have already given a lot of time / money (or both) in order to become a New Great Designer. I think in a couple of years you will start asking yourself the same question as me: “Why didn’t I do cheese making?”.

You persist in your desire, as creditors, threatening to take away the last crumbs. For such obstinate, I have compiled a long list of tips. You can listen to each of them, only parts, or make fun of them. But know that I spent sleepless nights wondering about issues relating to my career. Therefore, if you want to have a good sleep without medicines, I recommend to listen.

1. As a designer, your main priority is to understand the problem as much as possible. Do not think that your job is only to provide solutions ... Anyone who has a pen and a board can do the same. You are hired because you know better than anyone else.
2. Do not focus on design tools. You are not a Real Designer simply because you have mastered the Right Tool. Focus on problems and strategies to solve them. As my friend Amanda says: “Tools for strategy are the direct path to tragedy.”
3. You can create a design without research. And still drive blindfolded. But both of these acts have the same consequences - you move into a ditch.
4. People who speak at conferences and write books are not heroes. They are not gods. These are ordinary human beings with mortgages that need to be paid for with their own set of bad projects, failed relationships, and problems that they sometimes hide behind their online or offline persona. Do not worship them. Take what you need and leave. Know that they are as scared as you are.
5. Trust but check.
6. San Francisco, Seattle, New York, London and Sydney need designers. But they are also needed in Tulsa, Shebogyan, Maputo, Dili and Quito (capitals of small states and states). The world of design does not end with San Francisco.
7. Your users are not the same color, income level, gender, or religious belief. Never forget that. If you forget, your empathy will begin to disappear, and the work will become bad and no one needs.
8. Great designers know that they can be better than they are now. Bad designers think they are perfect now.
9. Find good mentors. Those who will challenge your decisions, guide you and support. They are not always older than you, and are not always in the environment of designers.
10. Do not throw off the stairs you climbed. Help others get to the top. Train young designers, regardless of their race or gender.
11. Do not stop asking stupid questions. Do not miss the opportunity to be the most ignorant person in the room.
12. You will work with disgusting people. They will expose you, steal from you, and say that you are not worth anything. Learn to identify them in advance and stay away from them ... And at the same time ask yourself if you are one of them.
13. Learn to communicate with different people. Learn to speak with product managers, CEOs, marketers in the same language. Design is communication. Learn to communicate.
14. Most of your work will not involve prototyping or drawing layouts. During my career, I managed to be the head of the design department, product manager, project coordinator, interviewer, teacher, coach, content strategist, empathic listener and mentor for managers, a psychologist, a consultant for scared and exhausted designers. I even served tea! And all this time, my job was “UX Designer”. Do not expect that you will only need to draw pixels.
15. Burnout is a real problem. The moment you fade, something inside you breaks. Your work is less important than taking care of yourself. Design is a marathon, not a sprint. Top designers I know work less than 40 hours a week.
16. Make the world better, regardless of where you are.
17. Don't let anyone say that diversity is bad. A variety of perspectives and breadth of vision makes you better not only as a designer, but also as a person. Do not allow racism, sexism, or homophobia in your team. Stereotypes are bad for good design. They undermine the trust of the team and hinder the development of sympathy.
18. Think. Offer a variety of options. Have your point. Avoid doubts, including in relation to themselves.
19. You may not be a design evangelist, but you will teach and preach. Learn to do it.
20. Try to look at your work with an independent look. You are not a genius, and your design can always be better. Criticize openly and honestly, receive criticism gratefully, but do not take it personally. You are not obliged to correct everything to please critics. But at least you should listen to them.
21. Work with a great team at least once and at least on one project. Do not look for work with great personalities; look for work with great teams. Learn to recognize such commands. They are usually happier than others and warmly related to other participants.
22. Do not work on assholes. Do not work with assholes. Do not hire assholes. It is not worth it.
23. Find your happy workflow. My work includes a 25-minute Pomodoro , Eno playlist and electronics, good headphones and diet Dr. Pepper. Between Pomodoro I take 10-minute breaks to see what has changed in the world. Your process will be different. When you find it (and you find it), the sooner you learn how to create such a process, regardless of time or place.
24. Stay optimistic. Much in the design is given with difficulty. Disappointment and annoyance will haunt you if you are ironic and sarcastic. The optimist sees a clear goal and goes to it. But never confuse sunny positivity with optimism. Most optimists I know do not always shine like the sun. An optimist is a realist who knows how to handle difficulties.
25. You can always choose cheese making.

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Free translation from Ilya Dzenski.