Why Hackathons Will Help You Become a Better Designer
For years I’ve had a restraint from participating in hackathons.
There always seemed to be good reasons to avoid them; being a designer and not an engineer meant that I had limited experience in coding, the idea of having to meet and cooperate with people I don’t necessarily know made me extremely nervous and then there was the question of time — with so much work to be done, who has the time to put aside urgent projects and dedicate 24/48 hours to work on an abstract concept?
On the other hand, hackathons are a great opportunity to practice “out of the box” thinking, and try to execute an idea in an environment that encourages innovation, curiosity and entrepreneurship.
Two years ago I’ve decided to dismiss the cons and concentrate on the pros. Instead of taking part as a participant, I thought, why not try to get involved as a mentor?
With more than a decade worth of experience as a designer, I knew I could be a valuable asset. I was also extremely keen to share and help teams with transforming their ideas into usable and functional products.
So I took the plunge. And besides having a blast and appreciate this framework even more than before, being a mentor made me realize that it wasn’t that different than working as a designer. In fact, it even helped me become a better designer.
‘Why is that’, you may ask. Well, here’s the answer:
Being a mentor means you get to practice 3 core elements that are extremely valuable for every designer:
1. Leadership
Leadership is more than just bossing people around, it’s about helping others achieve their goals. Often it also means that you need to step out of your shell, become as friendly and outgoing as possible, and ‘sell’ your advice.
People who take part in hackthons are usually very confident in their ideas from the get go, so offering them a different perspective can be somewhat of a challenge. This is why it’s important to treat your own words of wisdom as a ‘perspective’ and not the ultimate truth.
Understanding the difference between these 2 attributes will position you as a mentor that’s worth listening to.
2. Creativity
Even if it’s not you who’s sweating to execute the next Uber, as a mentor you still have to think fast and offer quick and scalable solutions to make one’s dream shine.
Having said that, sometimes creativity means you need to stop offering answers, and to simply ask questions. Just like in our day to day job, good decisions ultimately come from good questions.
Use your creativity to stay flexible and attentive to every team’s wishes and status. This attitude will guarantee every team stays satisfied and proactive.
3. Entrepreneurship
Part of what an entrepreneur does is to address problems and share insights that span across multiple areas of expertise. This ability is valuable especially in competitive and hectic environments such as hackathons.
In other words, being a mentor that specializes in design doesn’t mean you should concentrate solely on UI/UX tips. Providing insights that relate to technology and business plays a crucial part, and will probably assist teams far more than helping them choose the right color for their UI.
A short but proper preparation a couple of days before the hackathon begins is a good start. For instance, if the hackathon’s theme is ‘public transportation’, be sure to read about the latest trends and know the major companies offering solutions in that area.
To conclude:
Hackthons are a great learning environment for essentially everyone involved in the creative process of innovating.
They are a blend between autonomy and mastery, and that’s exactly the combination a great mentor should possess; to ask questions, inspire others and offer relevant advice but at the same time, to listen, stay humble, and step aside when needed.
Keeping these attributes balanced will make your mentoring into a rewarding experience for both sides.
** This is the first article of “4:min read”, short inspirational articles that span across design, user experience, innovation, content and technology **
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Photo Credit: Max Morse, TechCrunch, Flickr CC
