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Working for startups as a young designer is more challenging than it looks. Apart from the fun working environment and employees who are as young and happening as you, designing for a startup is an Endless Loop. It involves continuous UX(user experience) research, quick product releases and a ginormous workload – since the number of employees are mostly few and scattered. It may seem I’m trying to deface the Startup Culture, but I’ll tell you the bright side to every aspect of startups, even the most painful ones.

The Many Faces of Startups – How Sitting Idle Doesn’t Happen

Don’t drool over fancy offices and modern spaces, it’s a trap! When you get the position, you’re going to be glued to the screen for hours and won’t even notice the environment that much. Working in startups really get your old clock wound up, pushing you to work more and deliver projects faster. It’s hard to find time for yourself; you often want to throw yourself on your bed after a long day at work.

On the contrary, startups are always hungry for new bright ideas and feedback on their product(s). This is the part of startups I like the most. As a designer you often get to brainstorm for newer ideas for a project. My ability to think quick and to come up with design possibilities to support my ideas became stronger. You can never tell how much you can benefit from working in a startup.

Also, for a freelancer like me, it’s hard not to be distracted by things that I like doing; working in a professional environment keeps me on my feet at all times. It’s tiresome and sometimes exhausting, but on the bright side, this style of working brings in much needed discipline.

Learning is a Necessity – You Just Can’t Stop

Working with a small team, forces you to brush up the skills you’ve been setting aside for years. I thought my UI design skills would be enough, but I was straight up wrong. My UX skills, web development skills and animation skills were being put to the test. I often found myself going through online tutorials and old books which I never thought I’d need again.

On the bright side, this system keeps you on your feet. I’ve observed this practice in every profession where any sort of creativity is involved (engineering, coding). This essentially teaches you the importance of diversification. A lot of artists who didn’t diversify when they needed to, are mostly victims of ‘one hit fame’. So go ahead, don’t be afraid to diversify, especially when you know what the industry demands from you.

This process of going back and learning things you thought you’d never need is hectic, time consuming, but at the end, helps you become a better designer.

Change This, Change That – Chances are Your Bosses Aren’t Designers

Whether you’re working in a startup or in a big company, you’ll always face the problem of your senior telling you to make changes to the design. The problem is not with the changes, but with the number of changes they ask for. I remember my bosses strolling around behind me trying to see how the designs are coming up and it used to get to my nerves at times. You’d think there could not be a bright side to this problem, but well there is! I believe a designer’s work is only as good as he can portray it to be. You are continuously explaining your designs, which does three things – improve your patience, gives you reassurance about your designs and allows you to analyze your design for any mistakes or any additions that you’d like to make. This is almost like proof reading your article to point out mistakes or additions.

The best way to avoid this is to clear out the client’s needs and your ideas from the very beginning. Other than that, just stay patient.

The Small Things Matter Too

Of course I wouldn’t leave you with just the big picture, I like to dive into the Micro aspect of things too.

* The startup environment puts you between people who think differently. It sometimes makes you feel uncomfortable and can often even lead to quarrels. However, this gives you the ability to socialize better with people, even with those who have a completely different point of view.

* You’ll often find yourself making long to-do lists on a daily. This can be boring to do every morning, but trust me when I say it’s the best thing that can happen to you. Writing down a to-do list every morning and prioritizing things you wan to do, can boost productivity like crazy.

* OK, this is just a theory I’ve come up with, but I feel it makes sense. Working in a startup gives you less time for your own personal self and others who matter to you. The constriction of time helps you to appreciate things that you actually like doing and you start making quick decisions about things which make you happy. At the end of the day, also have fun, don’t let the work kill you.

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Designing for Startups – My Best Bad Decision Ever was originally published in Prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Designing for Startups – My Best Bad Decision Ever

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