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How to grow as a designer even when you’re overwhelmed with work
Experimentation is a critical part of growing as a designer
“Seems like you’re struggling a little bit with this one.” My project manager responded after more design iterations failed to hit the mark.
The truth is, I wasn’t moving as fast as I could have with this project. I was experimenting with a new AI tool.
In today’s design market, with tight budgets and even tighter timelines, it may seem like all you can do is keep your head down and keep working.
Even as new tools and advances in AI-based tools are made, it seems like the only way to learn them is to spend late nights and weekends mastering new skills.
Except that’s not the case. You should leave room for experimentation in your work projects because that’s how you grow as a designer.
That’s the way that we’ve always done it: what UX shouldn’t say
Want to know why Product Teams resist change, often saying, “We’ve always done it this way?” It’s because learning a new process takes time.
Implementing new techniques often involves a learning period, and forcing a new technique can disrupt roadmaps, timelines, and progress toward project completion.
After all, imagine how much chaos there would be if a Product Manager suddenly came in and wanted to change how the Agile backlog was structured because of some lessons they learned over the weekend.
That might suggest that you don’t apply anything you learn at work. Except that’s not the case either. You can implement new skills at work but must integrate them slowly through iterations.
By experimenting around certain parts of your process, you can ensure that even if your experiment fails, it won’t derail the entire project.
