There’s an excellent post on SVA’s MFA in Interaction Design blog that asks some prominent interaction designers to end the sentence, “So you’re thinking about becoming a designer? If I could tell you only one thing about going into the field, my advice would be ____________.” Everyone asked gave excellent responses (although Jim Coudal, Ryan Sims, and Jared Spool really spoke to me most), and it all started me thinking–how would I answer the same question?
And I surprised myself when the first thing that came to mind wasn’t a technical answer. The one thing I would advise? Don’t be afraid to push back. Meaning, if you feel at the core that a design suggestion or decision is not the right one for the project and its end users there’s probably a good reason and you should let whomever is championing it know. It could be a client or even a supervisor, it doesn’t matter. Standing up for users and for your own gut instincts is your job as a design professional, don’t shirk away from that responsibility. Always be open to the possibility that you could be wrong, of course, but at least be willing to put yourself out there and be persuaded otherwise by a good, healthy design argument.
