Practicing detachment as a designer
Why detachment is an important skill for a product designer and how it helps in accepting feedback gracefully
We’ve all been there — Working on a design task that is fuelled by high creative energy and weeks of your time. This is the kind of task where designs are churned day in day out, iteration after iteration (Final, Final 2.0, Final Final). Going into a task like this can be intimidating at first, but as we learn more about the Whys and the Hows, there’s a sense of clarity that comes in. Eventually, you reach a point where you know the entire PRD like it’s the back of your hand. Over time, you go from being a stranger to a problem to an absolute expert with all sorts of fancy design iterations. Now, let’s consider these 2 extreme ends of the funnel — the Stranger phase and the Expert phase.
The Stranger Phase: With the first set of iterations, I’m hungry for solid feedback from stakeholders to make sure I’m on the right path. Almost always, this is when designers tend to get a bunch of criticism on the bigger picture (the overall flow, the navigation, information architecture) versus the smaller details (color of a button, placement of a card, usage of a certain icon). When these callouts are made at a very early stage, it’s only going to help in building a better product. This also tends to be the phase where I’m all ears when it comes to any kind of feedback.
Cut to: The Expert phase. It’s been weeks, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time and effort in designing tons of iterations that I think should make the cut. But there still tends to be some sort of “We’re just not there yet. This ain’t it, chief.” At this point, a designer tends to become resistant to accepting feedback because:
- It has been tried and it didn’t fit
- A rough estimation is made whether it would work or not based on all the minute details and the caveats about the task in hand (at least that’s what I think, but there’s always something you uncover through the process)
Over time, the design you were working on has become your “baby”. You’re too attached to it to be making changes based on what someone else has to say about it. You put your own likes and dislikes before others’ opinions and statistical data. And this is where the problem essentially begins.
Feedback vis-a-vis detachment
Get this: Feedback is never directed at you, the designer. It’s simply criticism on how usable the design is. Accepting feedback gracefully is an undervalued skill. A question I like to ask fellow designers is — How do you convince your peers if they don’t agree with you on a certain design decision?
Being defensive about feedback may cause more harm than good. Now, I’m not saying accept every piece of feedback that you get. Empathizing is the first step of any design process. It’s important to try to understand all points of view that come your way, and in case you have counter opinions, back them with data and not personal choices. Wait, but how is this related to detachment?
The Oxford dictionary defines detachment as: “the state of not being involved in something in an emotional or personal way”
Detachment makes room for healthy criticism to flow. By keeping personal and emotional choices out of the way, you get closer to:
- Your target audience
- The most desirable solution
- A finer product
- Being a better designer
Ownership v/s Attachment
There’s a fine line between ownership and attachment. Let’s take an example of 2 kinds of Martin Scorsese films:
a. Films Written & Directed by Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Casino)
b. Films Directed by Martin Scorsese and written by others (Taxi Driver, The Irishman)
In order to make the films of the second kind, Scorsese really needs to own a script written by someone else to make it a “Martin Scorsese film”. All the 4 films mentioned above have a “Scorsese touch” in them, despite him not writing a couple of those films. This works because he brings in his style of filmmaking into someone else’s script and makes it truly his. Now if the film does well or not, he puts it behind him and moves on to the next film. There is very less sense of attachment with a film he makes. I’m sure he still takes a bunch of learnings from every film, but at the end of the day he focusses on what’s next instead of what’s behind him, which is one of the reasons why he’s made 40+ films, most of which are taught in film schools and loved by the audience. Similarly, trying to fully understand the craft at hand while showing skills of ownership and a sense of detachment are great skills to have as an artist. (Wait, are designers artists? That’s a conversation for another day)
One thing to note, however, is feeling a sense of bond with something you work on is totally normal. It’s a good feeling when someone appreciates the work you do, and that’s one of the major drivers to do better work. At some point, it is important for designers to take a step back and think: Does the solution meet the expected criteria and solve the problem? Irrespective of the answer, take whatever learnings come with it and move on. Because at the end of the day, constructive feedback is only going to make you a better designer :)
