There are hundreds of thousands of designers today. Yay!
Yet designers are still a vast minority compared to most professions. And they will often work with people who have no idea what good design is or what designers do.
This means the future of design depends on designers showing other people the way. If designers don’t do this, no one will.
Here are the ten rules for being a good design ambassador.
- Start with them, not you. The common mistake is to lecture people with grand design theories! Don’t do it. It’s a trap! Instead, start with the person you are trying to influence. Ask them: what is your favorite thing in the world? Why is it unlike their least favorite? What did the person who made their favorite thing know that the other didn’t? This is the best introduction to design: it’s on their terms and it raises their curiosity about how good things are made. They’ll be asking you for more.
- Be a positive influence. No one wants to learn from an angry “teacher” or someone who has a chip on their shoulder from bad past experiences. If you’re the first designer someone works with, make that experience a positive one. Gently show them what they don’t know, but need to know. This doesn’t mean taking abuse, but it does mean investing in creating a positive reputation for yourself and for design. Start with small things and then ask for more influence.
- Know the stereotpyes and avoid them. Designers have earned a reputation for being: passive/aggressive, stubborn, hard to work with, pretensious and impractical. Go us! If you fall deep into these stereotypes, you’ll be dismissed even if you have great ideas. Be self-aware. Ambassadors are good listeners. They’re good at asking questions. More than anything, they study the culture they are working with and know to speak, act and behave like the locals do in order to do their work.
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- TBA