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Why Design?
Why now?
Design is all around us: from the chairs in our home, to how we read the news, to the screens on our smartphone. But what’s in it for you?
Being a designer is about believing that there is a better way of doing things.
Goal
Reflect on your personal reasons to start a career in digital product design.
Illustrations by Michela Picchi
People often think that design is all about the way things look. Aesthetics is an important part of design, but it’s not the only one.
Here is what design is all about: making things better than they were before. Identifying something that is not working, going deep into the problem, exploring potential solutions to fix it, and then deciding which one of the solutions works best to the goals of the project.
Industry experts tend to use a lot of jargon when talking about design — in some cases as a way to protect their position of specialists. Hopefully, as you grow into your career as a designer, you are not going to perpetuate that same type of practice.
And then there is UX. User experience. User-centered design. Which is the same as design, but because you are solving the problems of a person (the user) you want to make sure you are checking in with that person to understand what their problem is and to validate whether your solution is really solving it for them. And when we say "them", we're talking not only about the individuals who will use your product, but also their communities and the world at large. Initially, UX was mostly focused on digital interfaces like websites and apps, but is now quickly expanding into other platforms (e.g. TV, messaging apps), formats (e.g. voice interactions), and locations (e.g. interactive experiences anywhere).
“Design is the rendering of intent.”
You might be venturing into design because you believe you are a natural creative. Or it might be out of anger with the status quo, a burning desire to provoke change. Maybe it’s because you are tired of your current job. Because you want a higher salary. Because you think design is cool.
Understanding your motivation is key, and you need to take the time to find it.
The journey to becoming a designer can be stressful. Learning all the methods, tools, processes. Developing good taste and a good eye. Iterating a design many times to get things right. It takes time. And that’s precisely why you need to know your reasons: keeping that broader goal in mind will be of great help when you’re halfway through the journey and in need of extra motivation.
Over the course of this guide, you will get a better understanding of the steps designers go through when creating digital products. You will learn about concepts like usability, UX research, ethics, accessibility, visual design, and much more. For each chapter, we recommend you go through the reading list first, then choose a few videos in the watchlist to get inspired by great names in our industry. At the end, we offer a number of questions that can help you reflect on how the concepts you learned can apply to you as an individual and to your own career goals.
Don’t rush into the next class. Give yourself time to digest and fully understand the concepts we’re introducing here.
This will be a journey into the unknown, as you might not be familiar with some of the terms included here. But also a journey into yourself. Self-awareness is one of the most powerful tools a designer can have in their tool belt, and the first step to being able to change things around them.
We hope you enjoy the ride.
Reading list
1.
The Design of
Everyday Things
Start here. This book will open your eyes to how embedded design is in our everyday lives. By Don Norman.
Borrow this book from local public libraries or buy it from local bookstores.
2.
A 100-year view of user experience
Jakob Nielsen (9 min)
3.
A unified theory for designing just about anything
Christina Wodtke (9 min)
4.
What is design?
Koos Looijesteijn (8 min)
5.
What’s a digital product designer?
Rubens Cantuni (6 min)
6.
The meaning of design
Reena Merchant (7 min)
7.
Do you really want to be a UX designer?
Chris Kiess (9 min)
8.
What it means to be a designer who’s creative
Tanner Christensen (8 min)
1.
Using design to make ideas new
Milton Glaser
2.
The first secret of great design
Tony Fadell
3.
3 ways good design makes you happy
Don Norman
Watchlist
Take some time now to go through the questions below and write down your answers somewhere (e.g. a Google Doc). Think of this as your journal, where you keep track of what you have learned so far.
What is design for you? What are 3 reasons why you want to become a designer? What are some products or services you consider to be well designed, and why?
What are your top 3 questions and uncertainties at this point in your career?
What impact do you want the products you design to have on the world around you? What are some behaviors you want your product to enable — on the individuals who use the product, in your community, or in society at large?
Reflection
See it in practice
1.
Pick a few companies you identify with and check if they have any design positions open. What are the skills listed on the job descriptions you found? How do they describe the responsibilities and challenges of the role?
2.
Search for experienced designers and learn more about their work, projects, and portfolio. Focus on people who are working on something that interests you. How do they define what they do? What do their career paths look like? How do they present their work? What's similar and what's different among them?
Here a few places to get started:
Linkedin search (companies you admire)
Women who design
Product design shots on Dribbble
Blacks who design
Your IXDA local group
Interaction gallery on Behance
Latinx who design
Queer design club
![Illustration of the word desire filled with abstract shapes](https://i-p.rmcdn.net/5ecbe27f82f5b3005df02f46/1937030/upload-207b5c33-9783-4633-84bd-0b3cbcb70226.jpg?w=1006&e=webp)
![Abstract, colorful illustration with organic shapes](https://i-p.rmcdn.net/5ecbe27f82f5b3005df02f46/1937030/upload-4dfd93ac-acfa-4bc2-bcbb-89b3197cab9b.jpg?w=1006&e=webp)
![Book cover: the design of everyday things](https://i-p.rmcdn.net/5ecbe27f82f5b3005df02f46/1937030/upload-ea0cec59-3808-487d-946c-7866f06a9340.png?w=196&e=webp&nll=true)