I get asked daily about what "good" designers do. I've answered that question many times in other works, so I wanted to take a look at the other side of the coin. In this short piece, I share the common habits of ineffective designers that I've seen in the last couple of years. There are lots of things ineffective designers do, but I wanted to focus on some of the issues that can be resolved with mainly mindset adjustments. I talk a lot about the philosophy of curation vs. pixel-pushing in my work. While that generally applies to many things, I believe that a pixel-pusher can be an effective designer given the context of this list. I’m just as shocked as you are, but as they say, "even a broken clock is right twice a day." So what do I mean by that? The ineffectiveness of designers seems to stem more from a lack of care than a lack of experience, and while there is some crossover, I've found that even pixel-pushers can get a majority of these habits right. While pixel-pushers may struggle with empathy, feedback, and designing in a vacuum, they're struggling with a lack of experience. A truly ineffective designer can be dangerous for the team’s culture, and it’s the lack of care, not ineffectiveness, that troubles me.

Driven by Design

5 Habits of Highly Ineffective Designers

Driven by Design is a Product Design & Entrepreneurship Podcast. Focused on sharing insights and stories from today's design, product, and business leaders. Join us as we explore the stories and ideas from great people elevating empathy and design principles to the forefront of their organizations.

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Driven by Design

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