Realize how much your trust of someone (or something) is driven by faith, not by experience. We are wired to believe things we want to be true, and aren’t always “rescued” by our rational side. That is, the bullsh*t detector doesn’t always ring loud enough to overwhelm our desire to believe in our colleagues. Decisions driven by faith can lead to conflict when performance or quality doesn’t meet our expectations.
Know what aspects of design are hallmarks of your style.
Some design challenges will respond favorably to your style, but others will demand breaking the mould. For most designers, “style” is their go-to concept, the collection of patterns, tricks, and licks that they apply immediately to any design problem.
Leaning on your go-to concept as a way to break the ice makes sense, but good designers learn to recognize their crutches, and attempt to iterate past them. With each revision, the design should look less like yet another page in the designer’s portfolio and more like a real solution to the problem.
Know what format and structure for peer reviews helps you the most.
For some designers, the peer review is a great opportunity to get feedback on initial concepts and ideas. In these conversations, the designers hash out the design direction, ignoring details and ensuring they’ve solved the core problem.
For others, designers lean on peer reviews to help flesh out the details of a well-articulated concept. In these conversations, the designers compare the design direction to the requirements and constraints, ensuring that they haven’t violated any of the project parameters.
Your agenda might focus on refining the concept itself, getting feedback on your design decisions. What you might find more helpful is working with peers to refine your presentation of the concept and practice facilitating the discussion about it.
Knowing what kind of peer review helps you most, you can set the expectations of your peers. You want to avoid taking your colleagues by surprise with a detailed design, when they might be expecting something less mature.
Know what it takes to bring out your best design work.
For some designers, the trigger is a relatively low bar: simply putting a design challenge in front of them is enough to start the creative process. For others, they need to reach a tipping point. The higher that point, the more energy it will take to get to get the best design work.
One high bar is total project failure. In this case, the designer needs to confront the ultimate brink — the risk of the project going away — before bringing out top-shelf design skills.
Triggers can be people (working with your favorite colleagues), situations (working on certain types of products), activities (incorporating user research).
Know how good you are at hearing the need and defining the core design problem.
Design problems come in translucent packages: sometimes it’s hard to see what the real challenge is. Product owners surround the design problem with extraneous and distracting data that may not directly contribute to the solution.
Sometimes the package is plastered with too much relevant information, which also serves as a distraction from solving the problem.
Some people are great at cutting through the packaging to elicit a clear assignment. Some need time to sort through the packaging. Still others need to pursue a few different solutions before the problem becomes clear.
Know how quickly you like to work.
Designers work to a rhythm. Some are moderate, where designers appreciate the distinct swings between doing design and doing reviews. Their unit of choice for measuring time is the week, giving themselves time to noodle on a concept and zero-in on an approach. A week gives reviewers enough time to balance their responsibilities between this project and others.
Others prefer an up-tempo approach, iterating daily or even hourly. They prefer to hold informal conversations around design. They can render new design concepts quickly, and talk their way around holes in their deliverables.
Know how much you feel in control of a project.
Some designers walk into a project and understand they have control over all the parameters. Not just the logistical ones like time and budget and resources, but also the foundational ones like objectives and scope. Indeed, some designers believe they control the project top to bottom. Others perceive themselves as a pawn in the game, doing their part and contributing to the solution, but unable to affect the rules.
Know how comfortable you are with major changes in philosophy, approach, or management.
Regardless of ability, people have a willingness to adapt. Some see the direction of their organization’s culture or process and adapt their skills to fit in. Others see such changes as incompatible with their career (or worse, an affront).
Know what kind of feedback on your work makes you the most productive and what kind of feedback makes you defensive.
Providing feedback on design work is a delicate art. Too much, and the designer feels a loss of control. Not enough, and the designer may not get a strong sense of direction.
But feedback efficacy also depends on the packaging (delivery channel, tone) and the scope. You may get feedback at a level that’s too granular or too broad for where you are on the project.
Your reaction to feedback incorrectly packaged or scoped can set the tone for ongoing interactions. People rarely remember the circumstances or the content of the feedback and only remember the reaction.
Know how much work you can handle in the space of a normal 40-hour week.
No one likes working with a martyr. You shouldn’t be killing yourself to work on more projects you can handle. Different people have different styles and need the right mix of projects to perform effectively. You can assess your load by looking at the roles you play (manager vs. contributor vs. reviewer) and the size of the project (estimated hours/week, duration, budget, etc.)
