How to become a great designer?
Short answer
Travel from macro to micro.
Long answer
Once there was a king who wanted his son to take-on his responsibilities and be the next king. He sent him to the forest to take permission from a sage. The prince met the sage and asked if he is ready for the role. The sage told the prince to go deep into forest and return after 3 months. 3 months passed by and the prince returned.
The sage asked him to describe all that he could hear — to which the prince replied, “Master, I could hear the lion roar, the elephant trumpet, thunder of the heavy rains and the waterfall” The sage told him to go back to the forest for another 3 months and listen carefully.
The obedient prince went again and came back after 3 months. This time, the sage asked what more he had heard. “I could hear the bees humming, the ants walking, the wind blowing through the trees, the cricket and frogs at night” said the prince. The sage dismissed, “You are still not fit to be the King. Go back for another 3 months.”
The prince went back but came running within a month and told the sage that he could hear a lot more. “I could hear the early morning sun rays hitting the rock, the flowers blooming, the dew drops forming on leaves and dry leaves falling.” The sage was pleased and gave him the permission to be the next king.
This story helps one understand subtleties involved in any task. Until you are not sensitive to those nuances, you can never design the over all experience. I guess, even Charles Eames with his famous quote wanted to say the same thing — The details are not the details. They make the design.
I found a similar story here; Parables of Leadership.
