Are you a net positive team player? Design jobs would be a whole lot more simple if all it took for a successful design career was delivering killer design deliverables. There’s way more to it than that. All designers are part of a team. Even if you’re a freelancer, you’r still a member of the …
Most designers struggle with turning off the constant design critique program that runs in the back of their head constantly. “It would have been nice if the designer knew how to pair fonts… did they not even test this site with users… why is that gradient even there?” You probably find yourself thinking thoughts like …
It can be all too easy to focus on the big things and blow off the small things at work. However, the thing about the small things is that they add up to big the things over time, good or bad. Adding a simple bullet-list agenda to a meeting invite. Naming your files. Saying “thank you”. Staying off …
As a designer, it matters how you identify yourself professionally. If your professional identity is “I’m a great designer”, then you are going to have a harder time with failure and obstacles than if your identity is “I’m a great learner”. Psychologist and author Carol Dweck, Ph.D., who’s research with students explains the importance of mindset when it comes …
Here’s a simple tip any designer can implement today to give an impression in meetings and stay more organized… Take notes, and write them down on paper. It’s embarrassing to have to bother co-workers, the client, or your boss with questions on a previous meeting because you didn’t take any notes. It’s even more embarrassing …
I wasn’t going to write on goals because it can get pretty controversial. There’s thousands of books on the topic. Money usually comes up too, when goals come up. And physical fitness. All sensitive stuff. But here I am, writing about goals, sharing a bit of my story and what has worked for me… 2011 …
Feedback usually isn’t fun to hear. Know anyone who actually looks forward to their annual performance reviews? Bleh. Most don’t. I still don’t look forward to reviews or coaching conversations with my boss—even when I’m crushing it at work and have a great relationship with my boss. However, just because most of us don’t look …
Initiative is a big deal for career advancement for any designer. Initiative is one of the key attributes I look for in high performing team members when it comes to the topic of who on the team I can promote (at my full-time job as UX Director). So what do I mean with the term …
Have a design interview coming up? So, toward the end of the job interview, the part when they ask you if you have any questions… should you ask some? Heck yes you should. Absolutely. Early on in my design career, when they would ask me if I had any questions about the job I was …
Delivering effective, top quality design requires clear communication, and clear understanding. Ensuring that you understand the problem that you are solving is a job requirement, regardless of what level of design career you occupy. Ever get confused on a design project when the requirements aren’t clear? What about confusion from an important stakeholder comment in …