The designer mindset
Hello! Long time, no see. My apologies for the break, ‘Omo things choke’ send help. Lol. I am back like I never left and I still ‘full ground gidigba’.
This week I will be introducing us to a series I tagged “The Designer Mindset”, and under this topic today I will be teaching you how to thrive effortlessly in the design industry by applying the design mindset part 1.
However, before I dive into dishing out tips like jollof rice, I want you to understand exactly what the designer mindset means. The term simply means ways of thinking that any designer in this world ought to adopt. It deals with your psychology, how you see things, react to them and thrive in your career as a designer.
The growth path of a designer is obviously not straight, it is not a one way street neither is it a one size fits all. Some designers join the industry via the front or back door, while others break in through the window, none of this really matters, as the most important thing is that we are all on the journey of growth.
One of such paths to growth that I think has been neglected or isn’t talked about often are the soft skills a designer should have. This is because a lot of people have yet to understand that to become a world class designer there has to be a synergy between your hard and your soft skill. The thing is, your soft skills will keep you in places where your hard skills took you to. Sho get ba?
One of the soft skills that has helped me and will help you thrive in this industry is:
#1 Empathy
Yes, I know you have seen this word being thrown around on social media since you joined the design industry. This is simply because empathy is the basic bedrock of becoming an excellent designer. I say this all the time, “If you are bad at empathizing with people, you will suck as a designer” Dear designer, you should have it at the back of your mind that the users always come first.
You should be able to feel their pain by putting yourself in their shoes and then create a solution to their problem.
For example, if you are to redesign an application, a good designer aside from carrying out user interviews, will go the extra mile of actually downloading the application and then going through it, first, as a user and then secondly as a designer.
Empathy helps you to understand what your users need and how it impacts their perception of things. You cannot run away from empathizing with your users as long as you are in the tech industry and are a designer, be it a brand designer, UI/UX designer, motion designer etc.
#2 What is your “Why”
What is your “Why” for joining the design industry? What is your drive? Own it!
It is very important that you understand the driving force behind your urge to join the design industry.
This is because, gone are the days where people treated design like a side hobby, Today it is a full blown career that can fetch you millions.
- Are you joining the industry because of ‘Sapa’? ( Sapa means lack of money)
- Are you joining because you are seeing other people making money from the industry?
- Are you joining because you want to add value to yourself?
- And lastly, What part of the design industry do you want to venture into?
Whatever your reason for joining the industry is, you need to always keep it at the back of your mind as your constant reminder, motivation and push.
The truth is, some days you will feel like you are not working hard enough, or that you are wasting your time or that your big break is taking too long to come and that is where your “why” comes in to motivate you, else you will crash out of the industry before you make your big break.
Calm down. The truth is nobody will motivate you more than you can motivate yourself.
Embrace your “why” it doesn’t have to make sense to another person but you. Hold it close to your heart and keep pushing. "This tech money go reach all of us” Just calm down.
If you still don’t know your own ‘why’ for joining the industry, I urge you to take your time and find yours.
Take your time and think deeply about the gems in this article, I will bring more goodies by next week.
Remember you are not alone in this industry, if you have any questions feel free to reach out to @Johnogaga4 or @c_ifebunandu on twitter. We will be willing to answer your questions.
P.s this article is a collaboration between Ifebunandu Angela .C. and Ogaga John
See you next week.
