As an interaction designer, I have to participate in certain projects on the one hand, and lead some projects on the other. Regardless of the project, I have been satisfied with my output for a long time. But recently, I feel more and more frequently that the design proposals submitted do not actually represent my highest level. I should be able to do better. The goal should not be just to deliver on time, but to go beyond the initial design requirements and show my innovative thinking as much as possible.
I frankly told my design colleagues about these ideas, and soon discovered that I was not the only one who felt this way. Many colleagues in the industry would fall into this predicament of lack of design ideas and output quality from time to time.
I spent some time trying to overcome this hellish embarrassment in my design career by starting from the following aspects. I roughly divide the related methods into two categories to correspond to our usual environment and state.
Rest time
If you are as difficult as I am to finish the day’s work at 6pm, then you usually need to continue to think about the design of the project in the evening. Although we all know the importance of concentration, sometimes you will find that the more you pay attention to one thing, the harder it is to develop your mind.
Why not try:
Read the books
you bought when you were a junior designer. You bought these books to learn and improve your design skills, but after you read them, you will probably abandon them on the shelf to accumulate dust. Why not try to review what you learned at the beginning. In fact, many times you will accidentally find that you can still get a lot from these “junior” books. You have already paid for these books, maybe you can make them worth twice or more.
Sketch casually
The sketch is just fine, any idea is OK, no matter whether it is reliable or not. The purpose is to put your very basic ideas on paper, because usually this is the first step to let yourself naturally lead to deeper and more complex ideas.
Main points of listing ideas on post-it notes When I write an essay or report, I usually list various ideas on a post-it note. This method can act as a catalyst for formal writing work. The few words scattered on the sticky notes can often form a basic framework, and even help you sort out a very good formal document.
Cultivate a hobby, such as chess. Hobbies outside of your career are not only good for your body and mind, but also expand your thinking. One hobby that I recommend to sharpen the mind is chess. Chess is an incredible game, you do need to consume some brain cells to play, but only frequent practice can be truly excellent.
An important reason why I play chess is that this kind of game requires a lot of strategy and thinking. You must fully consider the current situation and the advantages and disadvantages brought about by this move before the next move. As designers, the design decisions we make often affect many things. One of our jobs is to think about these decisions and related results. So you might as well find some hobbies that are similar in thinking mode outside of work.
Design a table cloth for your own The
previous suggestions are basically outside the design work, but this one is different. But if you are really eager to create something of your own, why not try and see how to design things around you better? It doesn’t matter how the final output looks, the key is to complete the whole process of this thing alone in your own time: let the project deadline and creative barriers roll away, you can arrange your time and try various ideas.
operating hours
Of course, the most important thing is still the moment you sit at your desk with a glass of latte.
During working hours, you might as well try:
Identify who is Master Yoda and who is Obi-Wan (the Jedi in Star Wars).
I am a enthusiastic supporter of “Tutor”. Of course, a college degree is a bit useful, and the instructional videos on Youtube are not bad, but the best way to become a good designer is to work with designers who are better than you. The so-called “good”, I mean more “wise” rather than how senior, these are two different things.
Whether you are a rookie, intermediate or chief designer, look around, there will always be some people worthy of you to listen to their opinions. The key is to identify who is really willing to guide you and who just use you as a pawn in chess. In my career, I have met both kinds of people, including creative directors who are really willing to help me grow, and people like politicians who just want to increase their pay. You will feel that those who are really willing to help you want you to at least reach their level; to find these people and talk to them about the problems you have encountered is equivalent to giving yourself a restart button.
Studying the work of others is
not only to look at the creative blog or work display on dribbble, but also to learn real design cases. Don’t miss any article about real project cases, and see how other designers go through the process from product exploration to final launch, and see what things can be applied to their own work.
Don’t pay too much attention to the so-called “trends”.
You can naturally follow the mainstream design trends. I guess this is normal. No, it’s not completely normal. The so-called trend is more about making many websites look like WordPress themes. It’s bad, maybe the dilemma you are facing is caused by blindly following the trend.
Try to be a good teacher.
If you have a team of junior designers to lead, then remember that listening and support are more important than blindly teaching. I have seen in the blogs of many senior designers or design team leaders that they educate newcomers to slow down, be patient, and so on. I personally think that instead of letting them slow down, it is better to give them a long road for them to run down. On this road, there are all kinds of obstacles that you have encountered. When you see them overcome those obstacles, you may still remember your own experience, and reflect on the current difficulties you have encountered as a senior designer, and see if you can get some inspiration.
Finally, only create the most beautiful works
This is not only about visual designers; this is true for interaction designers and even developers: only create the most beautiful works. One of the side effects of the rapid growth of the industry is to catalyze the production of a large number of shoddy products whose sole purpose is to please the boss or customer. You can get paid naturally, but if these are the only things you can do, then the passion for design and products will not be maintained.
Try to stay enthusiastic, get the team excited, and cooperate with each other. If you are in the same room, don’t send any emails, just stand up and talk to the other person.
Before delivering the design proposal, spend some time reviewing your own work from every angle, and ensure that the highest level of proposal is submitted when time and resources permit, because we are our own quality management manager, and we create the most beautiful work for ourselves.
