Power Through the Design Process

Lessons learned from photography

The Problem

Every designer had experienced the following at least once: We will go to the internet to find inspiration, spend countless hours admiring other people’s work on networks like Dribbble and Behance, but when we finally start designing, not 30 minutes would pass before we give up thinking our work could never be as good.

For some reason, we have this false perception of how great designers sit in front of Photoshop, start pushing pixels, and 2 hours later, upload the finished mock up to Dribbble to be praised and warded by the community.

We then expect our own designs to be perfect from the start, only to give up when we find out that’s not the case — and it’s NEVER the case.

The Reason

In his talk from 2012 titled “Crush the Composition”, photographer Scott Kelby describes a similar problem amongst photographers:

“… I’m going to show you me struggling to take a shot, which (as opposed to common belief) is not the exception to the rule, it happens every single time I go out. I wish I could just take a picture and walk away with something.

I have been to some of the most beautiful places in the world, and taken some of the crappiest shots you have ever seen! …And it’s very frustrating, to be in this incredible place and say ‘How can I be this bad?!’…”

I know this sounds familiar to you. So how is it then that you, I, and all those photographers know that designers, (or any other creative professional really), will often take days, if not weeks, if not months, before reaching that finished product, but still get disheartened so quickly ourselves?

Well, it’s simply because we Googled our way to being too impatient to search for answers.

The internet became SO good at providing the right answer (- immediately), that when we get to work, we simply give up after putting too little time, just because we lacked the endurance to see our designs through.

The Solution

Luckily, Mr. Kelby goes on to offering a solution: instead of getting discouraged when taking that poor shot, especially when the subject clearly has potential, power your way through by taking 30 additional, slightly different shots of the same subject.

Now, I do not have Mr. Kelby’s vast experience, but I say that the same concept applies to us designers. What if, instead of retiring to our favorite social network after 30 minutes of work, we also try to power through?

Below are a few methods to assist this mentality:

1. Pen & Paper

Starting in Photoshop guarantees that you’ll waste time and energy on the wrong things.

It is so much easier to iterate on paper.

Sketch as many different solutions as possible early on (4 is when it starts to hurt, 6 is usually a good number)

2. Set design goals

This one is probably my favorite, and too few designers use it. Always start with the following:

1. Goal — What is the purpose of the page we’re designing, what will users use it for, and in which context.
2. Objectives — What am I going to need so that the users can accomplish the goals we set? Kind of like a UI check list (It will need to be responsive, I need to design a contact form, include a back button etc…).

3. Disengage

This may seem contradictory to the idea of ‘Powering Through’ that was described earlier, but often the best thing you can do when you feel stuck is to get away from the computer.

Go out for a run, get coffee with a friend or just take a shower. This is by no means a new idea, but it is still a deadly effective one.

4. Use friends and colleagues

If disengaging allows you to look at your design with a refreshed pair of eyes, getting someone else to look at your design provides a totally new perspective, and they will see something you missed.

5. Analyze your inspiration

Work from people like Haraldur Thorleifsson or Matthew Smith can get me so excited, and so freaking frustrated at the same time. I know for a fact that you too had asked yourself “How the hell could I ever be as good?” — on numerous occasions.

Mr. Kelby to the rescue once more! This time with a great tip about making the most out of the work that inspires us:

Do this right now: Find a design you think is beautiful. When you do, take a piece of paper and write down what it is that you love about it. You need to understand what excites you before you can produce work at that level.

Also, you’ll just might find that you are disappointed with your design simply because it is not the type of work you want to be producing. It could be that you’re designing in the wrong field (corporate websites when you want to be working with startups), it could be that you’re designing the wrong things (designing landing pages while craving to build healthcare software) or it could be something more specific, like changing the typeface.

Conclusion

Don’t give up — work the canvas. Pull that great design kicking and screaming out of the mediocre mock up you’re seeing on your screen until finally, you are happy with the result.

If you enjoyed this, PLEASE reach out via twitter @NirBenita.