The life of a design consultant: How to survive in the deep end
Over the course of my working life as a design consultant I’ve been thrown in at the deep end a lot. I’ve become well acquainted with life outside of my comfort zone, and as the name suggests it’s pretty uncomfortable.
The dictionary definition describes consulting as “engaged in the business of giving expert advice to people working in a professional or technical field.” However, it is important not to confuse being an expert in your own field with being an expert in the field of your client. In the field of design this is especially important.
Your role is not to be the expert in their business; they’ve already got that covered. Your role is not to become part of their problem. Your role is to be objective and to see through the complexity that they can’t get past. In fact, I would go as far to say that being an expert in your client’s business is a handicap, because it blinds you to the problems and stops you asking the right questions.
However, what this means is that a substantial portion of your job will involve doing things you’ve never done before, and feeling painfully aware of your own ignorance.
You will often be parachuted into a task, a project or an industry without the skills, experience or context and you have to adapt quickly. It’s like changing job every few weeks, except your induction will only last 10 minutes. Even if you have worked in that industry before there will always be new things — new technology, new stakeholders, new tools and new co-workers. As a design consultant the environment around you is constantly changing.
By this point I’ve experienced the deep end enough times to know how to survive. So here are a few principles that might help you when you find yourself in this situation.
1. Seek out mentorship
Surround yourself with people you can learn from and who will support you. Being thrown in the deep end isn’t as hard when you know there is someone ready to throw in a life ring if you are struggling. A lot of the time you can manage without them, but just the presence of someone with experience is a real confidence builder.
One of my first projects as a consultant was to help a start-up company simplify the experience of their new addressing app. Having just started out in the industry, I didn’t really know what I was doing. Luckily, I got to work with with a senior colleague for the first few days, then he left me to it. He was there as a sounding board and to bounce ideas off but mostly he was in the background. His experience and approach was invaluable and it was motivating having a mentor you know will support you if you need it.
The most influential leaders I’ve worked with have given their best support just by being available or able to give subtle nudges. Find yourself one of these people and you’ll grow in confidence much more quickly.
2. Be aware of your limitations and don’t do it alone
Once you begin to grow in confidence it’s easy to slip into the habit of trying to do things alone. The same is true for those who are starting out; they feel the need to prove themselves and try to do everything themselves in a bid to show off their ability. In both cases, realising what you don’t know and learning to lean on others will speed up the process, improve your work and allow you to solve problems that may have frustrated you for days.
Asking for help is not a habit that everyone possesses. It is often seen as a sign of weakness, but trust me it’s not. Flagging issues early means that the team can have enough time to come up with solutions, update the plan, bring in new people to support or give you help themselves. Even if the people you speak to don’t have the direct answers, just by talking through the problem can bring solutions to the surface, or trigger a memory of something similar that can help you think much more clearly.
It is far better to realise the limits of your abilities and ask for help when you need it rather than trying to do it alone and realising too late, if not for yourself but for your colleagues.
People can’t help you if they don’t know you need it. Open the door for yourself.
3. Be inquisitive and ask questions
The most uncomfortable point of any project or task, I think, is when there are many unknowns. However, take comfort in knowing what you don’t know, because you’ve already done a lot of the hard work in identifying the unknowns.
At this point, much of it is about attitude. If you don’t know, you will strive to find out, or find someone else that does. It’s about speaking to the right people and learning to ask the right questions.
You’ll inevitably find tasks that you feel ill-equipped for. Stick to the process, keep questioning and you’ll find that you can tackle most challenges eventually.
4. Get comfortable with your own ignorance
When you find yourself doing something you’ve never done before, or facing challenges that you just don’t know how to solve, you may begin to question yourself and wonder what qualifies you to do this. This self-doubt and vulnerability can become paralysing and it has a name — the Imposter Syndrome. Julie Zhuo writes a far more detailed and compelling piece on the Imposter Syndrome than I could, but essentially it’s feeling like a fraud, or that you’ve fooled people into thinking you’re more competent and talented than you actually are. If this sounds familiar, it’s important to note that you’re in esteemed company:
“I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’”
Maya Angelou, Author, Poet and Civil Rights Activist
“There are an awful lot of people out there who think I’m an expert. How do these people believe all this about me? I’m so much aware of all the things I don’t know.”
Dr. Chan, Chief of the World Health Organization
But as Socrates once said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” The sooner you become comfortable with this, the easier your life will be.
When crafting the visual identity of the Met Police website, I certainly doubted myself, and felt that others may doubt my credibility. I had very little experience and the stakes were high. Furthermore it was more a subjective task where there were no right or wrong answers and couldn’t be solidly backed up by research.
In this situation, and in many others, there were two attributes that helped me overcome this: Self-awareness and a willingness to learn. (Tom Stocky has some great thoughts on self-confidence that covers just this.) It’s about being aware when you’re out of your comfort zone and acknowledging that you don’t know everything. Be open and honest about it — it’s okay to admit you are learning (everyone is) and might not get it right first time.* If you ask for help and you’re responsive to feedback, you’ll find that people will be naturally inclined to help you.
*Please note the fine balance between honesty and stupidity. It’s okay to be transparent with your colleagues, but saying you have no idea what you’re doing to your client may not be such a good idea.
5. Learn by doing
When you’re thrown in at the deep end of course it’s stressful, but when you break down how to cope with it, it’s pretty simple.
If it’s something you’ve never done before, you Google it or you ask someone who has. It’s rare to find yourself doing something that nobody has ever done before, and these days people tend to share. YouTube is a goldmine. This works for a number of basic things like learning a new tool on Photoshop or designing a form. It’s likely that someone has already mastered this so there is no point learning from scratch.
You can draw from the experience of others as much as possible and plan for all the time in the world but sometimes you just have to jump straight in and do it. You might get it wrong the first time, but the only way to learn is by making mistakes. If you want to create something original you have to experiment, you have to get it wrong, you have to make false starts, it’s part of the process.
In 2015 I was asked to direct a video for an online learning platform. There was a lot of pressure as the video would form a crucial part of the client’s pitch to potential investors. I was managing two video producers whom I’d never worked with before, and working with a product still in its early form. We were still trying to work out the value proposition whilst producing a video to communicate this. I needed to learn about animation, scriptwriting, storyboarding, lighting and sound management, how to work with and communicate in new ways with producers and consult with the client on the best way of telling the story. I was ultimately accountable for the execution of this video.
Coping in this situation came down to attitude. I was open with myself about my lack of experience, and knew that to succeed I would need to get others on my side and form a team that were motivated to deliver something we could be proud of. I also needed to continuously assess and adapt my approach if it wasn’t working. For example, I was struggling to communicate the ideas I had for animation or styling clearly, so I changed to demonstrating what I meant using examples rather than trying to explain it verbally.
I could never have predicted these hurdles when planning the task — it was only through jumping in and getting it wrong that I was able to learn and do it better.
The best consultants are not experts. They’re the best because they can apply themselves to any problem, in any sector, and take a step back and see it from a new perspective. They see beyond the complexities of the existing situation and ask questions that nobody thought of or considered too obvious. Not being an expert is a strength, but it’s nerve-racking.
Being thrown in at the deep end is an inevitable part of being a design consultant. It’s our natural habitat. It’s never going to be easy, but if you seek out mentorship, ask for help, stay inquisitive, get comfortable with your own ignorance, plan less and do more, you may not just survive but thrive.
