Three lessons I learned starting a new design career while quarantined

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

In early October 2019, I had just finished a Product Design program to help me transition from a career in software sales.

After numerous application rejections and several interviews, I finally landed a great design position at a Fintech nonprofit that helps underserved communities build their savings habits and financial resiliency. Although I was going to be their sole designer, I was excited by the opportunities and challenges offered by this role.

That happened at the end of February 2020 and my first day in the office was supposed to be on March 11th. However, that was the same week the Bay Area went under quarantine and we’ve been remote ever since.

In the several months that have followed, here are the top 3 lessons I’ve learned since starting a new design career while quarantined:

1. Share your work, early and often

Since design can inform the product decisions we make as a team to achieve our goals, that means we help our colleagues navigate complex roadmaps and conversations to deliver value to our users and the business.

Specifically, the tools and methods at our disposal means we have a responsibility to share the fruits of our labor with others.

Sharing my work these past few months have highlighted the importance in:

• Always seeking feedback
• Identifying technical constraints immediately
• Learning where to make compromises
• Constantly clarifying my understanding in the goals, requirements, and if the timeline needs to be adjusted because of some overlooked detail
• Looking for opportunities to challenge user assumptions, explain what needs to be tested, and course-correct if necessary

As designers, it’s easier to put ourselves in the (metaphorical) corner when that corner is now our homes instead of the office. But that is a trap and by showing your work early and often means you’re supporting yourself and the work of others.

2. If it can help you do a better job, do it

Working by ourselves is our reality now in between the moments of sharing our work. Even though these quiet moments can serve us well, it can become a handicap as questions will come up when we generate flows, mockups, prototypes, etc.

And this is where growth opportunities can present themselves.

When I first got into design, one of my favorite quotes came from Mike Monteiro in his book “Design is a Job” where he said anything that can help you do your job better, is a part of your job.

Since I started my role, this has included:

• Performing data analysis
• Presenting ideas
• Researching
• Writing
• Collaborating
• Facilitating

Whatever was needed to do a better job, I went after it. Sometimes I’ve had to scale back to refocus on design, but I always came away with learning something new about the product, or myself, to do better work.

Which brings me to my last point…

3. Improve the skill gap that will make the biggest impact for your work

This has been the toughest (ongoing) challenge to navigate because since we’re working in isolation, how can you be sure the skill you want to work on is the skill you need to work on the most?

This is probably a bigger issue for sole designers — especially those early in their career like me — because we don’t have any other designers at work we can talk to that can help us identify our skill gaps.

But since working in isolation means we can all feel like we’re on a island, here’s how I’m addressing this challenge:

• Be quick to identify your skill gap and ask if this will make a bigger impact on what you’re currently doing for work
• Whatever skill you’ve chosen to work on, apply it immediately
• Set time aside to research how to improve that skill as you’re doing the work

For example, we’ve been looking into how we can improve engagement on our site. After conducting heavy product and data analysis, I wanted to better understand how I could apply those insights to build more effective user stories and flows.

I decided no amount of visual design improvements would replace the impact of identifying key moments in your product and applying what you know about a user’s context, situation, and outcome to make better design decisions.

As with any skill gap, it takes time and practice to get better at them, so that’s why it’s important to spend that time wisely on something that will immediately benefit your work.

Bonus resources

I know I’m still growing and my experience differs from others out there, but I hope these lessons can offer some practical insights to your work.

Thanks for reading and I hope you are staying safe. As a bonus, here are some resources I’ve found to be helpful while quarantined:

• The difference between a “Maker’s, and Manager’s schedule”
• Design podcasts that have been SUPER insightful: “Design Better Podcast” presented by InVision, and “New Layer”
• Highly recommend the “Pocket” app and web extension to save articles related to design, your users, or about whatever. It has been a huge time-saver and great resource reference guide.

Cheers!