Design is the process of envisioning and planning to create something. As a user experience (UX) designer, my job is to plan for the user experience on digital interfaces. An interior designer plans and envisions the interior of a building, and a graphic designer envisions the impact their design will have on people.
In an ideal world, designers would have the resources and time to perfect every aspect of their creations, catering to each user's individual needs and crafting impeccable experiences. They would have the time to challenge every existing standard and test every little aspect to bring out a solution that truly fits the puzzle of every person.
But that's far from reality. For a designer, they don't just design for the end user, they also have to consider their employer as part of the puzzle. And not just the employer, you also have to consider the feasibility of your suggested solution. Whether it's engineers, developers, or printers, someone has to make your solution come to life.
In our planning and envisioning, the user we need to consider is not just the end consumer, but also the client, the developer, and every other thing that tightens the boundary around us.
Negotiate, negotiate, and negotiate.
A good designer, or now we can say a good planner, has to consider the budget constraints, feasibility constraints, and prioritize what to allocate resources to. They know when to follow the standard and when to reinvent. When to be innovative and when to follow the trends.
All of these things, a designer has to negotiate. It is one of the most important skills. Let's say you have a suggestion for a new feature. You need to negotiate it with your boss. You need to negotiate the importance of your idea and make it worth it for them to allocate resources. You need to negotiate with developers on what is possible and what isn't. You need to focus their manpower on things which are of higher priority.
In all of this, having a conscious and being an advocate for people is another aspect that needs to be negotiated.
We aren't just designing. We are negotiating.
