I mean think about it, dear reader. If someone is working as a manager, engineer, or accountant. And we asked him for a list of 10 skills that he is proud to have. Would he include ‘design’?
What’s your guess?
He would hand us some version of this:
9 out 10 times, this list won’t have the ‘design’ skill.
Mind well, if you asked the same fellow for help on your WhatsApp status design during lunch break, his eyes would sparkle, the eating pace will slow down and he will start showing you different designing apps on his smartphone. Your half-hour lunch would stretch to an hour.
Why doesn’t someone who is so excited by the idea of a WhatsApp status design, reluctant to consider himself a little bit of designer?
What different things do the ones who call themselves ‘designer’ do?
I had to find an answer.
So, I Googled.
The search threw some results.
I clicked this advertisement.
Now, read carefully, we want to know what is this all ho-ha about ‘design’ skill.
To save you some time, I have summarized the skills/temperaments from the description in the adjacent note. Give and take, the list won’t have much change if you do it on your own.
A designer’s job requires all of these skills.
Did you notice something interesting?
The design software is mentioned only once!! Just once!
And still, I find so many people averse to accepting they have design skills just because they don’t know how to some fancy software. It has never been about software as I had written in mind before software.
Don’t get shocked like my colleague
A few years back, we hired a seasoned designer on a three-month design project. She had earned degrees from prominent institutes and had good practice going on.
Three months later, when she submitted her design ideas along with a kind of thesis, my colleague’s face was dazed scrolling through the 40-page document and he couldn’t stop squealing “what?…wait…no….three months…for this?”
He couldn’t wrap his head around that design document he had just received. Not because he thought it was incredible, but because he thought it was the exact opposite of incredible. It was a document with 5 pages of design and 35 pages of report-like chapters.
“Bhagyesh, even we could do this! We spent three months for this!?” his high-pitch voice still rings in my ears.
In the designer’s defense, she had produced some solid work. Only my colleague had a misplaced idea about what to expect from designers.
The job of a designer is to solve problems and document them. Some designers use AutoCAD software, some use CorelDraw, and some use Microsoft Word.
Wait, but why are we discussing all this?
Because it is a powerful idea that “I’m also a designer”.
When a business owner, a manager, a team member, or a school principal starts seeing themselves as a designer too, the world changes. They get an additional layer of the agency. They feel — and remember, feeling leads to decisions — little more in control of their effort: an intervention, a hiring system, or a marketing department.
So, next time, if you are using Canva to design your posters and feel hesitant to write ‘design’ in your resume, think again. (Did we ever discuss what I think about Resume?)
If your job is to create project systems, don’t be afraid to mention that one of your skills is ‘design’.
NOW YOU.
Do you think you have design skills? Not necessarily a graphic design, anything will work.
Also, don’t forget to vote on the Reads of the Week. It will help me improve the reading suggestions.
Hit Reply and share with me.
Also, don’t forget to vote on the Reads of the Week. It will help me improve the reading suggestions.
Reads of the week:
- Company of One by Paul Jarvis A fascinating visual summary of Paul’s work on the central idea: “Bigger isn’t always better, in fact, bigger is often the wrong choice.”
- The diversity myth Love him or hate him, but when Peter Thiel speaks, people listen. (Also, can you confirm that you want to continue receiving this type of lengthy article in reads of the week? If you like such lengthy articles, one click on this link is enough. I will know it. The link expires by next Friday. In case you want to receive shorter articles, don’t click. No clicking = shorter articles.)
- Why I am a bad correspondent Neal Stephenson, a lesser-known writer who had written this piece approximately 15 years back. Explaining why he doesn’t answer emails or interact with his readers. It is surprisingly accurate.
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