My experience of becoming a more valuable designer
Being a designer we usually possess a broad spectrum of soft skills and technical skills. We expect that some of these skills we learn throughout our career will make us more valuable as a designer. This means moving from becoming a pixel pusher to actually making a difference in the actual business. Also getting that sweet raise (just kidding…)
Technical skills can make you a great designer there is no doubt. However, soft skills could help you become a valuable designer to any business and in your career (in my opinion). Note: some of these skills I myself is still learning and constantly trying to improve on.
1. Learn the language of business.
As designers this is probably quite boring and we definitely didn’t go into design thinking this would be important. But learning what ROI, profit margins, stakeholders, etc. will help you understand more about the business you work for and help you understand the choices they make about the projects that involve the design team.
2. Design with the business in mind.
When you are designing you need to keep in mind that you are not just designing for the target audience you are also designing for the business.
You need to consider how your design will affect the bottom line and its processes. Example, content on marketing assets could have either a positive or negative effect on the business or one of its department.
3. Question everything!
As a designer, you need to understand what you are creating for, the budget, deadline, to objective, etc. Do not be afraid to ask stupid questions. There are no stupid questions if it will help you do your job, avoid rework, help you achieve an outcome that will altogether benefit the business and meet all stakeholders vision of the project.
4. Learn to manage your time.
Whether you work as a freelancer, run your own business or an in-house designer you need to be able to separate productive work vs “busy work”. Having the skill to prioritise your task by its importance, impact and feasibility will allow you to be more efficient.
5. Get good at communication.
Design is a type of communication. But from my experience, there are a lot of us who struggle to put our ideas into words (This includes me). Being able to verbally communicate clearly is important in helping stakeholders, clients, team members, etc. to understand our ideas and hopefully buy in. A designer who has this skill is a valuable asset to getting more clients and customer relationship.
6. Understand other disciplines.
There are many branches of design and other skills that affect your area of expertise. Each of these areas has its own processes and issues. Learning the basics of these branches and skills will provide you with a unique skill in being able to see a project overall and may be able to identify issues before it moves on to the next stage or team. Example if a web designer is able to identify features that will give developers problems this will save time and money. This will also help you with the next point.
7. Playing well with others.
As you become a more valuable designer and become involved with discussion with different department leads OR just working on a project that requires many different individuals. It is important to have a collaborative mindset. Making sure that you are not only looking out for your own skill area but learn that you are all working toward a common goal.
8. Believe It
This is usually easy to overlook because it may not seem important and kinda cliche. But believing in yourself makes a big difference. If you really believe that you are good at what you do and you provide value to any business it starts to show. Not only will it help team members, clients, stakeholders trust your expertise it will also make a big difference in your mentality.
Thank you for reading the article. Points above refer to my own experiences in the industry. Hopefully, it provided you with some insight on how to become a more valuable designer. If you have other tips or comments please feel free to write them below.
