Designer who don’t know everything.

All humans understand design. Trend. Editorial Voice. This is not rocket science. Design (which includes writing, art, creative work, etc.) is subjective. It’s art. Art is for Every one. And everyone deserves a right to an opinion. Especially the CEO. Even your CFO should be welcome to share his/her opinion. Colors? Fonts? Images? Layouts? Yes.

You. Yes, YOU! Designer. You. You don’t know everything.

Your job as a designer is to solve a problem. It’s to articulate visually. It’s to SUPPORT the business. You’re support staff just like the receptionist and the general counsel and the facilities manager. Making peace with that, that you’re a support function, will allow you to focus on what you should be worrying about and getting energised about and fretting about: DESIGNING. That’s your job.

Designers like to pop their headphones on and escape into work. Writers too. And artists. Designers can be solitary people who emerge from their work with the answers that will fix everything.

Wrong.

Working in a solitary is bad. Part of the job of a designer is to bring people with you. Listen to everyone. Engage everyone. Meet with them and show them your iterations. Your mood boards. Your ideas in rough, ugly, unpolished form. This may make more work for you. It will make more work for you. But it will make better work and it will make others want to work with you.

Trust. Trust is a designer’s best friend. And you earn it. You don’t just get it.