5 product design lessons I’m bringing into 2023
At the beginning of 2022, I was still finding my footing in my new job as a product designer at Industry Dive. Over the course of the year, I worked on impactful projects, adapted to team and process changes and further developed my craft.
Looking back, here are the five most important lessons from 2022 that I’m practicing in 2023.
1. Share your work early and often
During the first few months of working as a full-time product designer, I fell into the habit of starting some projects with high-fidelity, polished mockups. I thought if I created the best, most refined work I could from the get-go, then feedback would make my designs even better. I quickly realized starting with hi-fi mocks was problematic; it prevented me from getting valuable early feedback on whether my overall design solution was headed in the right direction.
For one project, I spent hours fine-tuning subtle variations of a high-fidelity card component. During our team review, I discovered the UI component needed quite a different design. I should have started with more basic mockups so as to not waste time.
To improve my UI design process, I began to use the 30/60/90 framework discussed in the 2022 Figma Config talk, “How to Show and Tell.” I now share my work at the 30%, 60% and 90% stages of completion, starting with lo-fi mockups or wireframes. This approach allows me to ask for targeted feedback at each stage.
Sharing my designs early and often makes my work stronger and keeps me from spending time redesigning work I’ve already done.
2. Be flexible and open to change
Arguably the biggest change for our product design team in 2022 was the addition of product managers to the company. Historically, Industry Dive’s product designers led a substantial amount of the product development process, and hiring product managers to take on much of this work allowed us to focus on where we could have the most impact – designing great products and experiences.
At first, I struggled with some of the process changes that came with our new team composition. But through open communication with my partner product manager, we were able to shape the new workflows to best fit our team’s needs. This meant increasing transparency between the product management, product design and engineering teams, frequently touching base on project statuses, and increasing design’s involvement in historically engineering-focused meetings.
By having these conversations and bringing new ideas to the table, our processes became more streamlined and I became more adaptable, flexible and resilient.
3. You don’t have to go to every meeting
As I became more independent in my role, I was invited to more and more meetings. While this was a good sign that others valued my input and that I was becoming a true leader on my team, my packed calendar made it difficult to make progress on projects — I would often work into the evenings and weekends to stay on pace, and something needed to change.
It all clicked when my manager pointed out a key part of being a designer: my most important contributions come from non-meeting time. Yes, I still bring value and insights to meetings, but my role as an individual contributor relies on great design work, and it’s critical to have dedicated time to do that work.
Since then, I’ve gotten better at protecting my time. I’ll suggest shorter meetings, hop out of calls when the conversation moves beyond my involvement, and avoid scheduling meetings that could happen asynchronously instead. Depending on the project, I’ll also facilitate conversations using tools like Loom, Slack huddles, and Figma comments to save calendar time.
Prioritization is critical to success, and with limited time and resources, optimizing my calendar ensures my time is dedicated to working on what’s most impactful.
4. Make a call, adjust later
On my laptop is a sticky note with the phrase “Make a call — we can always adjust” on it. In the past year, I’ve learned no decision is truly permanent and we can always make changes, whether it’s a week, month or year later.
Previously, I put pressure on myself to uncover the right design solution for a project. I struggled to choose between similar design approaches because I wasn’t sure which would be “the best.” But there is no such thing as a perfect solution, and understanding this completely changed my perspective.
Sometimes, you just have to make a call and move forward, using the information you have to make the best judgment you can, knowing you’ll revisit it again later with additional data and insights. Now, instead of obsessing over determining a perfect, lasting approach, I focus on what makes the most sense for our most pressing problems and goals.
Approaching projects this way has helped me spend my time more efficiently, keep a clear focus and build confidence as a designer.
5. Start with (uncovering) the problem
I’ve gotten in the habit of critically examining the initiatives I work on to help guide product strategy. Before jumping into a project, I take a step back to consider the problems we’re trying to solve and the user behavior we’re trying to drive. But sometimes the problems and goals aren’t initially clear.
There are times when initiatives are task-oriented, not goal-oriented, like if a stakeholder makes a new feature request without detailing the “why” behind it. In these situations, it’s key to understand the underlying problems and why they should be addressed now.
These task-oriented asks often include an idea of what the solution should be. But the proposed solution might not address the actual problem, and designing before understanding the “why” means we risk crafting a solution that misses the mark, wasting time and other resources in the process.
Stepping back to ensure we’ve asked the right questions means we can be confident we’re solving the right problems and delivering effective, successful solutions.
