When the product or a service is released, can you point one person who could be a parent of a design? Is it a UX Designer, Graphic Designer ora Front-End Developer? Or is it a Product Manager? How do you think? Who is responsible for the whole vision and product execution?
A team
In my opinion nobody owns the design by themselves but the responsibility is shared among the whole team. The sooner you and your colleagues realize this, the more effective they will be. Why? Here is why:
- You will feel accountable for the whole process, so you won’t turn the blind eye to the things that are outside your area of interest
- You will be more open to participate in wider range of tasks than your core competences
- You will take suggestions and criticism far more smoothly as you do the same to the others even if you are not a specialist in the field you are commenting on
It can be frightening to go outside of a comfort zone, but it will only give you wider perspective and new opportunities.
Don’t be afraid to loose control
So you came up with the best idea ever but while the project workshops are happening, user testing is going on, product manager is giving you some feedback, the idea is evolving into something completely different. You become terrified. Don’t be!
Supposedly, you are one of the few people who are watching the whole process from the very beginning, so you have the influence to shape the conversations to get inspirational feedback. Don’t be pushy.
How about the Ol’ Switcheroo?
I’m sure you known the famous quote from Kahlil Gibran:
If you love somebody, let them go. If they return, they were always yours. If they don’t, they never were.
You might consider it cheesy, but it applies to the design process. Give your ideas away and let others work on them. If they remain unchanged or slightly modified, it’s good. If not… It’s good too. You’ll get back a better solution in return for the virtue of sharing.
It’s not about you at all
Last but not least, it’s all about the product. No user will take designer’s ego into account so get rid of it. Listen and implement, get inspirations and polish the ideas. Don’t try to push your ideas at all times.
