
If a stakeholder asks about your reasoning for a design, just say something like “It’s social-minded, guided by our brand values, and built with personality to engage our users through empathy and emotional design”, even when you’re just designing a coupon input box.
Thinking about the temptation at that low level distracted me from the bigger picture. It’s hard to see both at the very same time. When you look at a forest from a helicopter, it’s easier to see the whole thing as a forest. But when you’re on the ground, you can focus on individual trees, losing sight of the big picture.