How I learn and grow as a product designer?
I am a self-taught product designer, with no formal training in any kinds of design or arts. I started as a project manager in a design agency. Thanks to the environment, I could immerse myself in a visual world. During that time, I thougt myself design tools like Photoshop, Illustration and a little bit of HTML and Javascript by online video courses. Even though I was never an expert in any of those tools, I got a basic understanding of how design is done. My product design capabilities grew a lot during my 7 years of working in the agency, from brainstorming ideas with designers, pitching them to clients, working with developers for implementation, to launching those designs to the market.
5 years ago, I was fortunate enough to join Microsoft as a product designer. Working in a big company is totally different experience, but how I grow my design skills remained relatively the same. Here I summarize a few key practices that I use in my daily work to keep learning.
“How I learn and grow as a product designer?”
The first thing is to consume good design everyday. I would spend at least half an hour everyday browsing through websites like awwwards, Godly, It’s Nice That, or Instagram etc. By immersing myself in all of the visual design or interesting product ideas, slowly my sense of design builds up. I not only consume visual content, but also read as much as I can and watch a lot of documentaries to build up my knowledge of the world. I believe that a lot of the things are connected and designed. The expansive consumption helps me connect the dots.
The second is really to make designs, as many as possible. I actually sketch and make a lot of mocks whenever an idea hits me. Figjam is great tool to document ideas. I don't mind sharing really early ideas or design with others. It’s a great way for me to gauge my design direction and how people feel about it.
In order to make a lot of actual designs, you have be matery of your tool. Figma is my tool, so from time to time, I watch the Figma Youtube channel to learn a few tips.
I would also spend a lot of time tweaking small details of my design, like spacing, font-size etc… I would always revisit my previous design and see if there is a better way to it. In retrospect, you would probably find the area for improvement and at that moment, you realize you’ve grown a little.
I also keep a close eye on the competitors/industry of the products I design. I often “steal” first, then add my own spin to it and iterate on.
I would force myself to create beautiful documents every time I can to hone my visual skills. For example, the ppts I present are usually have some kind of visual theme.
I also learn from talking to my fellow designers. I enjoyed the 1:1 with them as I learn from their problems or the opinions they share. I feel through their lenses, I can see things differently.
Hope this helps. What’s your ways of learning and growing?
