Buddhism and the Design Critique
Why designers have to be egoless, and how I learned to do it most of the time.
Land of Bliss by Mary Watkins
Acrylic on canvas
A pictoral representation of a pure land sutra, done as a class project at Grinnell College.
What happens when you approach a critique session without attachment to outcome? A meditation on design, ego, and craft.
I have a super useful degree in Eastern Religion. What does that have to do with UX design? Good designers are detached. They don't care about being right, or being the best. They approach work with an open-minded curiosity and humility that results in the best possible product.
I’m surrounded by smart people, and one of the differences between my younger self and current self is that I don’t have to be the one to think of the good idea. Being humble in the face of user testing, or a stakeholder that immediately sees an issue you were blind to. “You’re right” is something I’ve learned to say a lot, and mean it. I no longer believe in the lone genius school of design. This kind of thinking used to get me in trouble because I would argue about what I thought was right. That’s not to say that as designers, we don’t have a responsibility to make sure our clients make good decisions. It’s just that I now realize that my job is not to have the solutions, but to facilitate a process that will lead to good design.
Once I was demoing a prototype of our new faculty information system to 300 medical center employees. They were not too thrilled about the idea of learning a new system - or systems in general. I told them at the beginning, “feel free to ask any questions at any time.” A guy raised his hand and asked ”Why do you use Roman Numerals in those job titles instead of plain numbers? It makes it so much more confusing!” The audience looked at me. I looked at the screen. And I realized... he was right! Gulp. What should I do? Should I argue? My first thought was they’ve always been that way, so I don’t think we’re allowed to change it. No, that wasn’t right. So I said “You’re right. Thank you!” He smiled. People started to raise their hands and offer all sorts of suggestions! It was beautiful! Suddenly they were present and involved.
The real trick to egoless design is to look at it from the user’s point of view. The user doesn’t care whose idea it is. We all share in the glory at the end if the product is successful. The process of the design critique is to make the product better! I am on a hunt to find improvements to the design. I relish finding these problems like treasures. This is the secret. Ironically. Rather than losing face, accepting critique gives me more credibility as a designer. People like working with me more. I am creating a safe environment for people to give me feedback. I am involving them in the design process. I value and implementing their feedback! Isn’t it ironic. Trying to make yourself look good never works.
Namaste.