EVERYBODY IS A DESIGNER BUT ONLY FEW ARE INTENTIONAL ABOUT IT
Summary: This article is all about the benefits of thinking like a designer. The first part talks about how everybody is a Designer and what separate great designers from ordinary people, while the second part explains the benefit of becoming a UI/UX Designer and Graphic Designer
There are several benefits of becoming a designer, apart from the fact that it is going to help you connect more neurons in your brain and help you build your brain muscle by enlarging the cerebrum and the medulla oblongata… Just kidding…..
Ermmm where should I start, there is a lot to discuss.
Okay, let’s start from here.
Design has been a part of our life right from our ancestor caves in Africa to the modern design studio of today’s world, everything around us today was consciously planned by some individual that we call designers. The most intriguing thing is that every human designs, from the food we all prepare in our respective homes, to the outfit we choose when going out, to the way we arrange books on a shelf. In all the activities listed, there is one thing peculiar to all these which is the act of problem-solving. The only difference between a designer and a regular person is the intentionality and the consciousness behind the problem-solving mindset.
There are several benefits to learning how to design either in a structured or an unstructured way and if you are a design enthusiast, probably you don’t just want to pursue a career in design, there are benefits to consciously thinking like a designer. and the consciousness behind the problem-solving mindset.
There are several benefits to learning how to design either in a structured or an unstructured way and if you are a design enthusiast, probably you don’t just want to pursue a career in design, there are benefits to consciously thinking like a designer. Which I will be listing some of it below
1. YOU GET NEW EYES FOR FREE: (Not literary though, but seriously, you’ve to change that eyes of yours) Design gives you a different perspective to life. Generally speaking, design is a combination of methodologies and approaches that allow people to observe and craft solutions to everyday problems. Design helps you sharpen your problem-solving perspective, I believe the ability is inbuilt in every individual but it takes a conscious effort to awaken this skill and this can be applied to life in general. You also would be exposed to different techniques like design thinking, Agile development, system thinking and so on. As a designer, you will learn how to take note of the tiniest detail, right from the fabric of your shoes to the Pattern of the sky. As a designer, you would be prompted to ask why and see the world differently, as this can shed light to things that would have escaped your normal senses.
2. YOU GET TO WITNESS EXECUTION DAY — DEATH SENTENCE (It is not what you are thinking) You will get to know different methods of executing your Idea: Every great design is built on an idea or a series of ideas, and they don’t stay there. They are called great designs because they were manifested into some sort of product or services. This achieves a particular purpose of design ie giving you a structured and creative way to bring your ideas to life.
3. YOU WILL BECOME THE GREAT HERO: Make the World a Better Place: If you were like me when I was young, I also wanted to change the world and make it a better place, like motivational speakers, say. I never knew I had the ability right from start, maybe changing the world is not what you are thinking, you don’t have to be the person to wave the magic wand and create a solution to poverty or global warming, (They are called stubborn problem for a reason) but you can leave the world a little bit better than you met it. Well, I’m not talking about when we die, you can always design things a little bit better than you met them. So the impact starts from now if only you could notice the problems. You can think of it as a way to make people live better.
4. YOU WILL GET A FREE TICKET TO VISIT ADVENTURE ISLAND ON A DAILY BASIS: Design would allow you to work on different things every day. It takes you to a different direction each day, no project is the same. If you get exactly the same project you have worked on in the past, the name and nature might be the same but the approaches are different. The design allows exploring experiments and testing different ideas without literally having nothing to lose. This is different from the conventional laboratory experience when you might be afraid that things could explode.
5. YOU GET A BRAIN TRAINER: let’s go back to what I said in the beginning, Design isn’t just limited to whatever tool you use, it cuts across different fields of study. It will help you to learn new things every day which gives you a healthy mental lifestyle, Different researchs has proven that the more we use our brain the more powerful it becomes. Just like the way we build our muscles. Design is your free brain trainer.
6. Fulfillment Through Creativity: Creativity has to do with creating stuffs which are either tangible products or services, Providing solutions to problems. All these can be achieved if you cultivate a design mindset (Problem Solving).
So, let talk about Pay, cool right? Well, how much you get for a UI/UX job is dependent on your level.
Now let’s get into the financial aspect, by citing examples from two niches: Product design and graphic design. For the people looking for a space to explore in terms of their career.
The rapid change and evolution of things (thanks to technology which is their major drive) has given way for new problems which gave way for new approaches, thereby creating job opportunities in some fields, an example of this is UI/UX design.
Today has a lot of companies paying attention to experience design which is at the Fortier of their business. This has paved way for the UX designer. The market is experiencing exponential growth which is not slowing down. in a post released by CNN Money, UX designers growth is anticipated to move to 18 percent in 10years, this is a booming field that is worth exploring.
Another major advantage of this field is that UX design would put you at the forefront of innovative technological advancement. As an individual who is passionate about tech (if you think 5G is a sign of Antichrist you probably skip this) and is looking forward to the next big thing, UX design is a field for you.
You might be wondering about other fields in design, well like I said earlier a designer is a problem solver. No matter what field you find yourself in, for instance as a graphic designer, you are likely to design things like posters, logo, flyers, brand identity design, illustration and so on, the question is how does this fit in into the big economic boom. Let me show you the average salary of a graphics designer below.
In conclusion, Design is a discipline that pays back by redesigning and reshaping anything. Personally for me, the design is not at its best when practiced as a discipline, but when it is observed as a way of life.
