BECOME THE TOP 1% DESIGNER
Designers, here is something you should not miss.
Your ‘coding’ friends have a Github to record what they have worked on all their life. What do you have?
Are you just making the world better and keeping no record of it? Do you think you would be recognised without you having to present what you did, how you did and what impact did it make?
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In talk with some of my fellow product-design friends, while most of them being early in their career there is a fair portion of them having 5+ years of experience and they still suck at having a repository of all the amazing work they have done in their career.
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Sadly, many of us think that having 2 or 3 performing case studies is enough for us to stabilise our career in the upcoming times. The answer is: unfortunately, a big NO.
You need to communicate what you have done, otherwise it is just moving pixels on a screen ( in other people’s eyes )
Have you never been asked to create a detailed report of your work and its impact on the organisation? Have you never been asked to prove your importance in the workplace just so that you can keep your job? Have you never been asked to show what you have done during appraisals and evaluation cycles? Have you never been asked to present a detailed work history of past projects so that you can secure this new one?
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I believe most of you (designers, freelancers, enthusiasts) need to wake up and start documenting. Trust me when you have something to show- you are powerful. You are powerful during meetings and you are shielded during all the blame-games.
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But I know the problem and why it exists? See, as designers — since the start we have been asked to adopt a very extensive and comprehensive approach to create mind-blowing case studies. There is a lot of things we need to decide before starting to document like gather all the research, the personas, gather data, combine data, present it visually, write compelling statements, prove our hypothesis and also tell why these solutions are being taken and then move on towards the metrics and how it became successful or if not then what did we learn from it. So it gets very overwhelming to even think about starting to document.
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Trust me I know the pain.
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Now I am not saying that creating compelling, detailed case studies is a bad idea or its not worth. I am pro-documenting so of-course I know the value of process and being deeply involved in it. I am just saying that don’t let it keep you strangled.
Making a case study should never be a one-person job because it is a cumulative and collaborative system put to work.
There is no one-person who do all the UX research, market research, empathise, design, UX writing, prototype, code, test, talk to customers, get feedback, and a thousand other things are involved in thousand different places, from a lot of people. But somehow there is only one person who has to create a whole case study.
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So, what is the solution? Why am I stressing on not thinking about making a case study when I clearly admire it deeply?
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The solution is that you should know — ‘There are no rules’.
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All what matters is discipline, and it is in good discipline to take your stand either as an individual or as a team. Self-empowerment is the need of the hour.
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Let me come to the point. Making a design decision is not easy, and to test it by execution is certainly ever more challenging. But it is definitely fruitful when you see something you create bring a positive change in the world. And not all work is successful, some work shows you bad things you never imagined, while some work ends up giving you a big learning.
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But why do you just let it go? Is it procrastination or is it lack of a systemic approach that keeps you from documenting your very important involvement in the work that you have done.
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If it is ‘the lack of a systemic approach to keep an index of your work,’ then let me change your life and make it easy- for better. Better for you, and better for the world.
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Before you move forward to the solution— let me tell you — it is free. I made a small system that brought me a positive change in my corporate world, as a designer. So I thought deeply and came up with an easy solution that I can let out to my fellow designers, because why not?
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To make it easily accessible, I made a figma file which you can replicate, as a completely editable suitable to your own specific use case. The file is available for the whole community to use, completely for free. I will link it down below.
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Here is the community file link:
https://www.figma.com/community/file/1239881612020482814
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You must have got the idea of how this works.
If not- you can reach out to me on LinkedIn
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How will this benefit you?
Appraisals and Increments:
When you have something to show, it makes you confident in presenting your value, and is also easier for the evaluator to understand your worth and importance.
Proof of Strength:
When people around you know how you like to work, they will think twice before putting any blame on you, (even behind your back) because you have your proof.
Workplace Confidence:
When you show your confidence, people around you adjust themselves to adopt work ethics, that ultimately keeps you away from the office politics and you continue to grow.
Proof of Work:
When you have a clear index and proof of involved approvals- it is now not your responsibility to take the blames of other non-efficient teams or team members. You stay safe. You can now be a hero to help others overcome.
Easy to find the work in the clutter, quickly:
In all the hours there are thousands of iterations and hundreds of files. Do you think you remember when was that particular screen representing that problem statement was changed and who asked you and who approved it? Even if you do, who would believe you if things go south. Also, can you find it within a minute among the whole mess?
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While the benefits could be many, or it could be one as it depends on how or why you use it. But rest assured, keeping an index would never hurt you. It can only make you a better professional, a better designer and a very rich man very quick, if nothing else.
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In case you missed, here is the link to the file again: -
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