8 Things You Should Consider Before Becoming a Digital Product Designer
Most of your designs will never make it into the hands of your users.
Who would have thought the world of art and design could be so complicated, especially in the digital space. I’m sure those of you who have jumped into the world of design have already discovered just how vast it truly is. From the various job titles to the overlapping responsibilities, figuring out where you fit in can be a difficult task.
If your thinking about becoming a product designer, there are 8 things I believe you should consider before pursuing your new career.
1. Most of your designs will never make it into the hands of your users.
If you come from a design background, this is no surprise. If not, allow me to be the one to break it to you. As a product designer, a lot of your designs wont make it into the hands of your users. That means that cool interface you built out with the fancy new icons will sit in a file on your computer, forever!
“But Why?”
I’m glad you asked! It comes down to two things. Either the concepts you came up with aren’t good enough or you run into unforeseen issues that delay the project.
This can be an extremely frustrating part of the design process especially if you’re new to the field. Just know all your hard work isn’t in vain. This process will help you produce your best work for the end user.
2. Building brand new products from scratch isn’t the norm.
The allure to create new products from scratch may have been one of the reasons you chose to pursue a career in product design. It was for me. I soon realized that this wasn’t necessarily the case depending on the company you choose to work for.
Creating new products from scratch isn’t the norm. The majority of your time will be spent on optimizing existing products and features.
So for those of you who crave diversity in products and users keep this in mind. You might enjoy flexing those creative muscles within an agency setting rather than a SaaS business.
3. You won’t be designing every day.
I came from a graphic design background where my responsibilities revolved around creating art for both digital and print. Creating aesthetically pleasing designs was one of my main duties day in and day out.
As a product designer, your life will look a little different. Creating interfaces represents a small portion of what you’ll be doing with your time. There are times you’ll go days without touching your favorite design tools. When you aren’t designing, your time is spent interacting with customers, testing new solutions and features, and thinking about other ways to improve the product.
If you’re not artistically inclined, you may find comfort in this. If you are artistically inclined then you may want to find opportunities that cater to your desires.
4. Kiss stable timelines and deadlines goodbye.
We’ve been conditioned throughout our lives to have stable deadlines. Whether that’s in school, through sports, or by the schedules we create for ourselves.
In the world of design, kiss that stability goodbye. Your deadlines will change. Sometimes they’ll be pushed so far back you’ll question the direction taken within the company. Other times they’ll creep up on you like a ninja in the night.
To weather this storm, flexibility will be your greatest asset. You may not be able to work within your ideal process to solve a problem every time. But, how you use your time will be the ultimate differentiator and gauge towards your future success.
5. Expect to have overlapping job responsibilities.
Design isn’t your only job responsibility. As a product designer, you’ll be required to juggle many different hats. Whats required from you will vary based on your design team. But, a diverse skill set will be needed.
At times you’ll find your job duties are similar to an entrepreneur (thinking about strategy and product-market fit), a marketer, a project manager, a researcher, a user experience designer, a visual designer, a prototyper, and an occasional copywriter. At the end of the day, your job is to meet the needs of the business and your users.
6. Expect to communicate in other ways besides your art.
“What! I’m an artist, I’m not a writer or public speaker?” These were my thoughts as I was asked to give an explanation of my design work in front of the class.
This was my introduction to the school of hard knocks moment. It was clear that making beautiful work alone wasn’t enough. I couldn’t hide behind the mask of an “Artist” and allow others to come up with their interpretations of my work. I had to sell my solutions in other ways than the design itself.
As a product designer, communication is king. Our design work isn’t enough to get the job done. Expressing your ideas verbally and in writing will help you in creating compelling design solutions.
7. Expect a long interview process.
People look at me in disbelief when I explain the different stages of a product design interview process. “Why does it take so long to make a decision?” they ask. I could speculate as to why but honestly, I’m not sure.
I do believe that Covid-19 has added more layers of complexity to the hiring process. Especially since there’s even more talent in the market. In one week you could have three to four interviews, all of which are at different stages within the hiring process. Some interviews will require a panel interview with various members from the team. Others might involve creating a presentation over your process or a given design challenge. The process can be tiring, to say the least.
But, there’s good news! With each interview, you gain experience. You improve your communication process. You learn how to create engaging presentations. You find better ways to sell yourself and understand how to shed a positive light on your weaknesses. The skills you build throughout the process will make it worth your while.
8. You will be known as the graphic designer among your circle of friends.
This one isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker. But who would I be if I didn’t give you heads up on this one.
As a product designer you might be labeled as a graphic designer among your circle of friends who aren’t in the industry. I guess I can’t put all the blame on them. I mean, there’s a hundred different titles with the term “designer” at the end. Sometimes, “graphic designer” is just an easier term for others to understand. No matter how much you explain your other job responsibilities you may not be able to shed the “graphic designer” label.
Final thoughts
Entering the product designer space will be filled with challenges. Figuring out your likes and dislikes before entering the field will help you consider the best path to take. Whether that’s becoming a product designer or taking a different path within the design space.
