Time moves so fast. I have been working at Traveloka for 5 years and before I realized, it’s already August. The same month I got into Traveloka just after I graduated. When I joined Traveloka Design 5 years ago, there were only 3 designers. Now the company already has more than 100 designers that come from various background and specialties.
Looking back, I realized that so many things have happened while I was working there. Going through rapid organizational change in startup is not easy. However, it has helped me to grow as a better designer and as a better human being. I couldn’t be more thankful for all seniors that have been supporting me throughout the years and also have helped me transition from engineer to ui designer and to interaction designer which requires quite lots of mindset shifting.
Thanks to them, I learned lots of things while working there. Here are some things I learned about design during my working days at Traveloka.
Empathize with Your Team and Stakeholders Before Empathize with Users
Your design solution does not only affect the users. It will also affect your team and stakeholders. Before you advocate them about the importance of empathizing with users, you need to empathize with your team first. Try to understand their goal, motivation, and way of thinking in order to collaborate. If you’re not doing it, it will be impossible for them to trust you, let alone listen to your argument.
Then again, how can you empathize with users that live far from you if you can’t even understand the people around yourself?
Design Goes Hand in Hand with Business and Technology
Users’ perspectives is not better than business and technology perspective. All three are equally important to consider in product development since the product and organization sustainability does not rely in one aspect.
Aside from thinking how your design is beneficial for users, you also need to think how your solution could contribute to the benefit of the company you work with. Don’t be a self-centered designer.
Always Check Your Gut Feelings
Regardless of your confidence in doing something, it will be better to ask for feedback. When we already get used to seeing the same things, our perspective is already biased. In design field, it is not about being right or wrong. It is about seeing things in many perspectives and gaining new insights. So ask feedback to your peers to gain fresh outlook.
Learning about Stuffs Outside Design is Part of Design Process
One thing I noted that is two designers can process the same input but deliver two different output because the way they process the input is different.
When we started learning about design, we usually read lots of books about design (if you like reading, that is) like Don Norman’s Design of Everyday Things or Steven Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think. However, learning about the design theory is not enough. You also need to learn about something else. It will help you to enrich the perspective you have. Your experience and wisdom will be the tool that help you making sense of the data you have and give personal touch to your design output.
So once in a while, try to find a random book to read, for example, “How to train a horse" and then try to connect it with how design works. You will be amazed how you can find pattern in seemingly disconnected field and how useful it is for you in the future.
Don’t Bandwagon Best Practice
“We need to get five participants to do usability testing.”
“Why?”
“Because the expert said so.”
“We should interview users and make their persona before we design.”
“Why?”
“I read that on [Design book name]”
That’s not how it works.
Doing best practice is good but you can’t stop there. You need to figure out why some best practice is the way it is. The “why" behind the best practice is far more important than the best practice itself because it tells you in what kind of situation the practice could work out.
We work in dynamic environment and most of the time, the situation is not suitable to do the ideal that we are demanded to always figure out the workaround. As a designer, we are required to be adaptive to our situation. Relying on best practice too much will restrict you from the creativity. So, try to learn about the reason behind the best practice. That way you can adjust the usage according to the situation which will enable you to gain optimal results within the existing constraints. Experimenting your practice will help you grow as a designer.
I should say I’m grateful enough to be able to join the company since I was graduated. I discovered things that perhaps will be hard for me to find if I didn’t work there. There are so many other things I have learned. However, for now I should save it for another occassion.
With all being said, after 5 years working at Traveloka, I decided to go separated way to pursue other things. They already help my career development so I was thinking about how to make the best out of all knowledge and experiences that I already have. Hopefully, I could also apply the lesson in my new place and share it to larger audiences so more designers also could grow. Wish me luck :D
