What makes a great product designer?
What makes a great product?
What makes a great product team?
What makes a great product designer?
These are the questions that I’ve always been thinking about and seeking answers. In this post, based on my past design practices and recent recruiting experience, I want to reflect on my learnings on the 3rd question: What makes a great product designer?
Following are the 3 major traits that we are using at Base not only for identifying potential talents, but also for our personal growth.
Great product designer cares deeply about people’s values and intentions
Design is a service relationship [The Design Way, p. 41], in which designers have great accountability and responsibility to ensure whatever we introduce to the world, put into people’s hands would fully speaks to their self-interests. Great design is not just about solving people’s problem. It is about knowing what would be the most appropriate way of solving those problems and ultimately helping people live the lives even beyond their imaginations.
Notes:
Almost every designer now knows design is about solving problems, and could propose a final solution based on some iterations. However, only a few designers could clearly articulate the essence of their solutions and the corresponding impact on people’s well-being. Disruptive products often come from the exploration and understanding of people’s inner appeals, rather than merely focusing on solving their problems at hand.
Great product designer knows how to navigate through ambiguities
There are different levels of ambiguities throughout the whole product design process. A complex problem space would be explored with a clear purpose. An abstract goal would be broken down into tangible action items for the whole team. Various constraints would be embraced. Polarized feedback would be well addressed. A meaningful solution would be distilled.
Notes:
Ambiguity is one of the beauties of Design. Different designers may have different ways of approaching ambiguity. We’d love to see your unique approach. How do you bring direction and clarity to the project? How do you give shape to ideas as a team and build on each other’s feedback? How do you validate your assumptions and solutions? What is the context? Why do you think your approach works under this context?
Great product designer is proactive and self-reflective
Great designers seek out opportunities and take initiatives to learn, experiment, and design new things both at work and in life. They have a clear sense of their own value when working with teams, while always looking for ways to improve themselves.
Notes:
We’ve often seen that great designers are constantly designing. It can be all kinds of things: A more scalable font, an inspiring cocktail, an emotional meal, an unique pair of shoes, etc. All these different design activities that allow you to think and play with diverse forms of materials will eventually help you become a better designer, regardless of your specialized domain. At the same time, great self-awareness would help you better draw a roadmap of your own growth. After all, as a designer, yourself probably is the most intimate product you’ll ever design. 😉
Of course, all of the above are not comprehensive. What do you think would make a great designer? How do you identify talents in your recruiting process? I’d love to hear your thoughts too!
Want to become a great designer together? We’re hiring!
