Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Shane Bzdok

On trusting your gut, and other lost arts.

Illustration by Shane Bzdok

If you count my first design internship, I’ve been working as a full-time creative for 20 years. During that time, I witnessed the dramatic rise of User Experience Design and mass adoption of a variety of branded UX and creative problem solving processes like Design Thinking. While I welcome the rigor the UX discipline brings to the table, I have taken a keen interest on how its success has impacted the role of the Visual Designer. Everything, from how we approach and solve creative challenges to where and how we fit in to a modern digital creative work flow — all of this, is changing. For better and for worse.

Below, I outline five key observations and offer some suggestions on how visual designers might navigate some of the challenges we face in this golden age of data-driven, user-centered design.

Design is going to the end of the line.

As UX roles and responsibilities continue to expand, graphic designers are finding themselves being edged out, pushed to the end of a long line of strategists, analysts, information architects, and experience designers with nothing left to do but “paint wireframes.” This new normal often depicts the design phase of a project as a small polygon on the far right side of a multi-step chart. This not only devalues the role of the designer, but literally wastes the creative potential for solutions from conceptual designers who bring a powerful differentiator to the game — they think visually. Graphic designers often bring solutions that are not so easily captured in a wireframe or features & functionality spreadsheet, but can be game changing when it comes to innovative solutions.

…never be afraid to break the rules — a hallmark of designers for as long as we’ve been in the business of design.

Try this — Leaders should include graphic designers at every step of the process. After all, we’ve been solving creative problems and caring about usability long before UXD and Design Thinking were a thing. But ownership of our evolution largely relies on our own pro-active efforts. For designers, the most effective way we can solve a business challenge is to be intimately familiar with the problem. This means actively engaging with strategy, planning and UX to have as much context and situational awareness as possible. Ask questions, seek answers and never be afraid to break the rules — a hallmark of designers for as long as we’ve been in the business of design.

Best practice makes perfect. Perfect is boring.

Adhering to best practices can be critical to success, but what happens when it’s oppressively applied to every single move a designer makes? As you might guess, the results tend to look and feel a lot like everything else. For some projects, yes, that is the point. But if innovation is the goal, leaders should foster environments that encourage designers to explore and try new things. For designers, this often means relying on instinct—also known as good old fashioned, “trusting your gut.” But don’t be so quick to say those words out loud as you might find yourself in user experience jail.

For people who wake up in the black-and-white world of usability and data, “trusting your gut” can be a very uncomfortable phrase. Graphic designers are wired differently. We go head-to-head with a blank canvas every day and as we grow in experience, we get more comfortable with the unknown. As I like to say, we are in the business of uncomfortableness. We become conditioned to rely on our instincts and it’s those same instincts that allow us to envision solutions that break boundaries and go against convention. Designers look beyond what must be and imagine what could be.

Designers look beyond what must be and imagine what could be.

Try this — It’s okay to trust your gut so never apologize for going on instinct. A seasoned designer’s instincts have been sharpened to a fine point over years of honing craft and design sensibilities. These are things that should be put to good use, not shamed into oblivion.

Cold data is driving creative direction.

Has the pendulum swung too far in the direction of testing and validation? Don’t get me wrong, I embrace data and all the valuable insights it provides. But sometimes it feels as though the dependence and enforcement of data has become so strong that it’s starting to have a dilutive affect on the more expressive and conceptual aspects of creative direction. Pointing to data as the primary reason to do something is shutting down the opportunity to take risks and create something more unexpected.

The thing to keep in mind is that results and data should be used to inform direction, not dictate it.

Try this — The pulpit of data is an easy place to preach from. After all, data is real and that makes it hard to argue with, right? The thing to keep in mind is that results and data should be used to inform direction, not dictate it. One of my favorite quotes is from my past creative director, Michael Miller who said, “Results should act as a street lamp, not a flashlight.” meaning they should illuminate possibilities, not lead you down a single, narrow path.

Designers are waiting for the bread to bake.

A new pattern I’ve noticed is that a lot of designers are waiting to get all of the details worked out and handed to them before they start designing. When and how did this happen? It could be that as more of the initial upfront experience strategy and mapping has fallen into the laps of UX roles, designers have slowly been trained to simply wait for the results before they begin. But why?

As a creative, I can’t wait to start bringing the ideas in my head to life. Typically, my idea of what something should look like or how it should work is very different from what the XD is thinking. It’s not about being right, it’s about all the good that comes from exploring different angles. I also learned a long time ago that you will never — ever — get all the information you need. So why wait? There is nothing stopping you from getting started.

Maybe the silliest reason of all for not getting started is ego. During my first years as a designer, I was obsessively concerned about not looking stupid. I didn’t want to do anything that wasn’t perfect so my tendency was to overthink everything. Sadly, at times, my fear of doing something wrong eclipsed my ability to do anything at all. Over time, I realized the only way to get to something good is to work through the bad. And everybody makes bad. Everybody. Get it out, learn from it and make something better.

…the only way to get to something good is to work through the bad. And everybody makes bad. Everybody.

Try this — You have permission to start. Dive in and do what you love to do — make things. Solve problems. Create something beautiful. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Create something to react to. Getting good feedback will take your ideas far beyond what you could do without it.

Our attention is shifting from substance to style.

When I was studying design during my university days, we didn’t have access to resources like Dribbble, SiteInspire or [insert your favorite design blog here]. When it came to design inspiration, we looked to a limited and highly coveted supply of Graphis and Communication Arts magazines. No lie, they were treated like precious gems! And while I would have killed for the volume and instant access to today’s online design content, I feel this privilege is having an inverse affect on how design is perceived and practiced.

Ironically, having an all-access pass to so much content seems to be creating more homogeny than unique expression. We’ve all seen it — a novel visual treatment appears online, becomes adopted en mass and is applied across the web with astonishing speed and efficiency. We have always been a self-referential industry but it seems the line between inspiration and blatant appropriation is getting more and more blurry by the day. And maybe more concerning is that it’s becoming more and more acceptable.

Maybe a more critical point to make is that this endless expanse of visual eye candy paired with our shifting place in the experience design process has a lot of designers gravitating to one thing — style. Sure, style is part and parcel of being a visual designer but if that’s where we stop, then we need to be content with the role of “making pretty things.” There’s nothing wrong with that of course. I have very talented friends who create custom typography and design at the highest level that is appreciated simply for what it is — beautiful design. However, we have an opportunity to elevate our work to something beyond pretty pictures. Style is fleeting. Ideas can be timeless and are the things that stir people’s hearts and imagination.

Setting conceptual creative aside, if we look at more practical digital business challenges like booking airline tickets or alerting an oil driller there is serious danger, we will be expected to provide solutions that go well beyond what style can afford. As a designer, we have the unique ability to provide imaginative solutions and use our craft to enhance usability to make things easier to view, comprehend and use. In the end, we might be left with something nearly devoid of “style,” but we have provided a substantive creative solution through our unique approach to problem solving.

To be interesting, you’ve got to be interested — in a lot of different things.

Try this—Connect with the world around you. If you want to design things that people connect with, the best way to pull them in is to relate to them. Frank Chimero put it best with his poster that states, “People ignore design that ignores people.” To that end, it might be helpful to step away from the computer and explore the real world. Travel and try new things first hand. Even better if these things are outside of your comfort zone. Read articles or books on science, biology, and business. You might find a new passion and you will definitely gain new perspectives you can tap when you approach your next creative project. To be interesting, you’ve got to be interested — in a lot of different things.

I truly believe our craft is stronger now than it has ever been and will undoubtedly continue to thrive and adapt to the challenges I outline above. As designers, we all share a responsibility of shepherding our discipline forward and bringing a high degree of professionalism, quality and integrity to each and every project. Work hard, stay humble and be an active participant in the creative process, from beginning to end.

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