Design Process is a Myth ⇒
As per Marc’s piece, my process isn’t an exact match-up, but I do wholeheartedly believe –
Don’t force a process on a design team that everyone must follow.
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Bad product design is fixed by hiring good designers not by adopting a [seemingly] better design process.
Bad design processes are like 1984. They dumb down everything to the lowest common denominator so no one feels excluded. They make the team slow, bloated, and insipid. They allow non-designers to make terrible design decisions. They furthermore get non-designers to believe those decisions are better than their designer’s.
Luckily, there isn’t a sharp toned pitch in this story, so we are able to diagnose the poison. I wish I had good advice for how to navigate this situation. It would be right here [ ]! Check back in 5 years.
“We memorialize that with the motto, “s/he who codes, rules”. As in, when we disagree, the person doing the work makes the decision.”
I believe this more and more. The person doing the work makes the decision, in the realm of tech, this is usually the person who codes.
—via Venture Hacks
“Too much airplane for one person to fly.”
“Design doesn’t need to be delightful for it to work, but that’s like saying food doesn’t need to be tasty to keep us alive.”
Frank Chimero, The Shape of Design.
Still jumping around in the book, but this little bit is very true and relatable. It also became my most retweeted tweet. I consider today a success.
(Source: shapeofdesignbook.com)
“Compound growth: by improving yourself 1% a day, you’ll be 37x better after 365 days.”
“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” —Eleanor Roosevelt”
Gossip and news about events or ideas sensationalized is the equivalent of gossip. These discussions, though sometimes pleasurable, are meaningless.
This is why I rather spend the large chunk of weekend at home working on ideas instead of out talking about.. nothing.
Also nice to have the occasional reminder that reading any of those viral articles rarely brings any insight. When you’re entrenched in this stuff, the best thing is to put more hours into your craft and improve, not pretend you’re improving by rereading what you already know. No need to validate, have you the confidence that you’re doing it right?
