Design ONLY for yourself.
Now, before you start lecturing me about the importance of user-centered design, just hear me out.
As a human, we naturally tend to like it when someone appreciates our efforts.
But the problem arises when we start to weigh the quality of our work against the amount of appreciation we receive.
If we continue to rely too much on peer approval then with time we start to lose self-worth and self-confidence.
We would only see value in things that we get validation from our peers.
Eventually, self-doubt would creep in and you’ll start to question yourself if you and your work are worth anything.
That’s when you give complete control of your emotions, decisions, and career to others.
To overcome this mindset, start taking these steps:
- Objectively, list down the improvements that you and others have identified in yourself
- Find 1 or 2 trusted design professionals and discuss that list with them
- Set a timeframe to make those improvements
- Continue to get feedback from your mentors
Once you start this process, stop trying to prove anything to your peers, manager, or any other person for that matter.
Their opinion about you is just their point of view. It’s not always a fact.
Just design to beat your past self, to prove to yourself that you’re good enough.
It would require some time and effort but when you’ll come out the other end, you’ll be a new, happy, and confident designer.