5 things I’ve learned at my first product design job
Now that I’m just about two years into my first product design job, I’ve been reflecting on how I’ve grown as a designer and how my job has shaped me. I started as a product designer on the Kickbooster team at Bold Commerce back in July 2019. I had some UI/UX or product design experience prior to this, but this job felt like the first “real" job I had. Looking back, I think I’ve come a long way since I first started. One example would be the organization of my Figma files — I cringe looking back on how poorly I organized those, but hey, it worked out alright for the team in the end. Since seeing my previous, poorly-organized Figma files, I’ve thought about the other ways I’ve grown as a designer: what I do differently now or different approaches I take in my work. In this article, I’ll talk about five things I would have liked to have known when I first started my job.
I’m sure there’s a couple dozen articles with a similar heading — and honestly, they’re probably more tailored and better written for that early-stage designer demographic — but I’m just writing for (previous) me. But hey, if you just scan the headings, and one makes you think, “hmm, never thought of that before" then that’s a win for me. 👌🏼
Also, it’s been over a year since I produced and posted any content on any medium (that isn’t a dumbass tweet) so this article is also me forcing me to be creative and vulnerable.
1. Track what you do
For the better part of my job so far, I’ve kept a little log of the things I’ve done and accomplished, along with goals for the months and quarter. I do this as it helps me stay accountable and so that I have something I can look at and say, oh yeah, I did that this week. I didn’t do this for a while just prior to the pandemic, then when the company started working from home, my memory went down the drain. I remember one standup where I fumbled on my words, trying to remember what I had done the previous day, haha. I generally have a good memory, but when it comes to work and the things I’ve done, it all just blurs together. So, writing things down has been a great aid in making sure I get my tasks done and so I don’t overwork myself.
2. Everything you do on the job is “work”.
Just because you’re doing something that isn’t directly related to your job title, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t contribute to your work day. Likewise, it also doesn’t mean that it doesn’t take up your energy. This sounds obvious to me now, but I wasn’t too aware of it when I first started at Bold. Though, I think I picked up on it relatively quickly.
Everything you do while working is work: standup, answering emails/slack messages, taking part in meetings, gathering assets for someone, etc. It’s interesting when I hear people say they’ve been in meetings for most of the day (yuck) then say, “I haven’t done anything today!” Maybe some people are built different, but all those things accumulate and take from your work battery, so it’s good to keep those in mind when planning or going about your work day.
3. Be intentional with your time
Hey, that meeting you were invited to? You’re allowed to say no. That’s just terrible advice at face value, haha. By this, I don’t mean saying no to meetings or keeping track of every time block in your calendar (my product manager does this and it amazes me). Just keep in mind that you’re the one providing value to the company, and if you’re taking part in something where your presence didn’t affect the outcome or you didn’t gain anything (professionally or personally), maybe rethink taking part next time.
Our design team at Bold hosts weekly lunch and learns, where one designer presents some design or work related topic. Most people usually have a discussion portion after the presentation or workshop, which I rarely contribute to, if I’m being honest, hahaha. Despite that, there’s a lot to gain from whoever is speaking about what and the discussion it generates afterwards. It’s about an hour a week spent hanging out with the team (virtually) and usually learning something new or doing some activity, which helps break up the monotony of the week and gives me something to look forward to. I’m usually a passive participant, but it’s far from a waste of time for me.
4. Document your work, in any form.
This can benefit both you and your team. For your team, it provides a view that shows how you arrived at a solution, which acts as a design decision document of sorts. Similarly, this benefits you as it provides a little process trail for you to look back on (to retrace your thought processes or to see how you’ve improved) or potentially use as case study material. In the case of the latter, it really streamlines the process as you don’t have to think too hard about what you did or why you did it, because it’s all just there. What this looks like for me is a lot of duplication and labels in my Figma files (showing what version was what) and notes throughout, with my thoughts written out. I’ve done this consistently for about a year now, and it’s sort of refreshing to look at previous work. Which, I’ll totally turn one or two into a case study. Yeah. 👀
5. Everyone’s just doing their best.
At least, give them the benefit of the doubt.
As much as designers are user advocates, pushing for that ideal user experience doesn’t always fall through. You want a user flow to go one way, but technical limitations stop that entirely. You’re pushing for more research — seeking at least a hint of validation that the team is building the right thing — well, the business needs to make money and is betting that they are building the right thing. As a new designer, it can be intimidating to go against the grain; to push back against your colleagues and higher-ups. Sometimes, you see your version go through but other times, your best maybe wasn’t good enough. Put more nicely: other factors took priority over the user experience, but hey, you tried.
I’ve experienced this a few times with my team (and heard from a few others who’ve experienced the same) and in turn, it’s made me a more empathetic person. Not in a direct way that benefits my work but I have noticed I’m more understanding of this tech space and can understand why some things were done a certain way. Which, I guess, helps me direct my energy into things that are worth my time. While everyone and their mom is shitting on that popular app redesign, I’m out here making stupid memes that only I get a laugh out of.
