Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Vaibhav Vardhan

Creators, it is about time we discussed this.

As the year draws to a close and bellies filled with candy and cake, it’s hard to recall what went well and what didn’t.

But Jason Shen quotes in his article, the power of reflection is underestimated.

“Extraordinary individuals stand out in the extent to which they reflect — often explicitly — on the events of their lives, large as well as small…by seizing the opportunity to leverage and frame these experiences, we gain agency over them. And this heightened agency, in turn, places us in a stronger position to deal with future experiences, even as it may alter our own sense of strengths and possibilities.”

Also as Confucius says

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

I took some time to reflect and elucidate on the key learning as a UX designer.

Know thyself first.

Right off the text book, the first step to design a good experience is to know your users, right ? It certainly is but learning about your own personality type is key to understand your own strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. Before we start to picture our users, did you ask yourself this question — what’s your own persona ? What do you like doing and what is your ideal work day ? What gives you pleasure and what makes you cringe ? Understanding these goes a long way in building experiences that matter. If you cannot understand yourself, how can you design for others?

There are many models out there that help you understand yourself better.

One such popular classification that we use at our work place is the Myer-Briggs’ model. To the uninitiated, it’s a model that uses a series a question to find your personality type. It is based on the conceptual theory proposed by Carl Jung,[4] who had speculated that humans experience the world using four principal psychological functions — sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking — and that one of these four functions is dominant for a person most of the time.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/MyersBriggsTypes.png

How does my personality matter? Why is it important for design? Let’s say you’re an INFP. You’re an introvert (I) you derive energy from within. Internalising a problem is second nature to you. Because you’re intuitive (N), you enjoy big-picture thinking. But, dealing with details gives you a hard time. You’re also a feeler (F), a natural empathiser. The ability to read feelings is a great super power to have, but can also be rough as you tend to take feedback to the heart. You’re someone who prefers to be perceiving (P) about their life. In your world it’s not a big deal to miss deadlines as long as you can get the perfect solution out. You loathe following strict instructions because everything’s flexible, right ? ( We all know what this means in the design world, haha).

Myers Brigg’s also helps you to understand your teammates better. Hell, it even helps you set up a great team. Pairing complementary personalities can bring the best out of both. For example, pairing a big picture Intuitive (N) with a small picture Sensory (S) personality. This often results in design that is well thought through, right from the vision to the details.

If you’re curious if your mindset is of a diplomat, an entertainer, or of a scientist : try this link. Remember, there’s no right or wrong answer. It’s a test where nobody fails ! The answers should reflect what you would really do in that situation.

Free personality test, type descriptions, relationship and career advice | 16Personalities

Work isn’t always fun. It doesn’t have to be. Get over it.

“If you love your job, you don’t have to work another day” they said, “Oh, by the way, it’s not always fun” they never said.

People usually tend to have a romanticized view of the work they do. You get up, toast the bread to perfection, deliver screens as per plan, the client falls in love with it on the first sight, and you laugh your way to the bank. No Bueno That’s a good aspiration to hold but it hardly happens.

Clients hardly approve things on the first shot, design is a continually evolving process. It’s not a relief based job- you just can’t submit a few screens and call it a day.

Feedback isn’t usually harsh, it’s just the way we take it. This is especially true if you’re a feeler. You tend to react to feedback, rather than responding to it objectively. The designs often are an extension of your mood.One has to always rememer- the feedback is for your design, not you!

The job of a designer doesn’t end when the submission mail leaves the mailbox. It usually begins there. Understanding how actual users use the product that you designed is a learning treasure. It’s laden with key insights and challenges your assumptions about the user. The passionate red that you used may not click well with the color blind users (pun intended).

The passionate red that you used may not click well with the color blind users (pun intended).

Even here, being aware of your personality type goes a long way in staying sane. Introverts usually gulp down the pressure by internalizing. Their conscience is the guiding light. An extrovert vents out the pressure by talking to friends and family. They seem to let the steam off by just talking to people

Learning to take care of yourself and keep up the motivation goes a long way.

Collaboration does wonders

As cliched as it sounds,

Design never happens in vacuum. Great design inspires great design.

Likewise, great designers inspire great designers. A diverse design unit that’s a potpourri of different personality types can do wonders. The dichotomy of personalities — sensory vs intuitive, introvert vs extrovert, perception vs judgemental, and thinking vs feeling can bring in diverse set of flavors that reflects on the design itself.

In the right environment, bouncing off ideas with teammates magnifies the quality and the number of solutions itself. It’s fascinating to see how different personality types think and feel about the same problem.

For example, pairing an INFP with ESFJ results in an environment where the personalities cover for each other’s shortcomings.

Step out and meet designers outside your workplace.

I’m a hardcore introvert. I’d rather be walking on hot lava than talk to new people. This always limited my perspective.

To get out of my comfort I attended this one session that brings in artists, architects, and designers from different disciplines under one roof. I was awed to interact with a shoe designer as he talked about his painstaking process of crafting a shoe from scratch. It’s reassuring to know that as designers we all have something in common — the rigor that goes in the craft.

It’s reassuring to know that as designers we all have something in common — the rigor that goes in the craft.

Find a local design community. Sign up for a meet. You never know what can surprise you.

This is the roundup of my year. What are your key learning as a designer/artist/writer ? What are the top things that you’d like to keep in mind as you step into the new year? I would love to know more.

If you’re curious about running an annual review, here’s one good article I stumbled upon.

How to Run Your Own Annual Review

What did 2017 teach you? Here’s what I learnt as a UX Designer was originally published in Prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

What did 2017 teach you? Here’s what I learnt as a UX Designer

Cool stuff, every week

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