When Designers Get In the Way of Great Design

I am a designer. I formulate a solution to a functional problem and decide what, I think, is the best way to depict that solution. Thing is, I always have multiple options for that problem. That means that, in practice, there are always multiple design solutions to any given problems.

The problem is when I think this one solution is definitively the only solution. With designers, that happens more than it should. That is why we are often not happy when the client takes our worst option.

Thing is, it is the nature of a problem to have multiple solutions. If there is a gap from here to there you can build a bridge between the gap or you can level both sides down so that there is no gap: both work. The best solution rears its head around objective, budget, and long-term strategy. Hopefully.

This is why templates and frameworks are helpful. They do not solve for everything but they solve for a lot. We designers hate them because they cause constraints but what they do well is structure strategy so that we can maximize the design possibilities. If you allow it, the template or framework is simply the page grid where multiple design solutions can play.

Designers, do not get in your own way. Use all available tools.