Every couple of days, I get people reaching out to say they want to learn or improve in product design and they need my help to do so. I am always glad to help out but sometimes I either cannot or the person makes it really hard for me to assist them.

There are a couple of things 98% of these people do wrong and I am writing this article to help out the ones that are willing to learn and progress in their careers. These are the things I wish I knew when I started out about product design in general and reaching out to seniors for help.

• Nobody is obligated to do anything for you

People are usually busy with their own lives and problems. If they do not respond to your messages or miss appointments with you, extend them some grace, they are most times trying their best. It’s always best to humanize this person you are reaching out to, sometimes we are just tired from life’s problems and cannot pour from an empty cup. Sometimes the person is just an asshole and in that case, you should leave them alone.

• For maximum result, always ask for specific help from seniors

Don’t send a Figma link and expect instant generalized design corrections, those things take time and as I mentioned, this person most likely doesn’t have that time to spare. Instead, ask something like this “on this screen, I have tried but have been unable to properly show that this element has the most hierarchy, how do I make it call out to the user?

• Learn to give first, there is always something you can do for the other person

Remember the human-ness I talked about earlier? People need to feel like a relationship is two way rather than a diffusion situation. There is always something to give, find it. Do they have a pet? Buy them something for their pet. Share their work, thank them publicly, and make a gift for them. Do something, anything.

• Make it easy for the person to help you

Find the method most convenient for them. If it is a voice note outlining how you should solve the problem that works for them, don’t complain that you weren’t able to get a google meet screen sharing design session. Share a png file so they do not have to stress to help you.

• Peer to peer mentorship is your best bet for fast growth

You are going to do very well if you find two or three product designers at your level who can keep you accountable and with whom you can grow. You can teach each other the things you learn and find solutions to problems together. It’s a game-changer, try it.

• Prioritize experience and projects that are likely to go live over money

Stay away from those time-wasting projects that offer you scrap money and will never go live. The best thing you can do for your career is to have projects that will get launched. Ask to join seniors on projects for free if you have to and if they say yes, don't fuck it up. I did once and it took a lot to regain this person’s trust. Your presence on that project is not really helping them as much as you think, they are helping you. The work will most likely be slowed down because they will have to do multiple reviews with you to get things up to their standard. Do them a favour and fail quickly so you can make improvements and learn even quicker. Always remember that you will not create the perfect design because it doesn’t exist.

• Do and then show the damn work

Product design like every other craft requires your commitment to learning and improvement. You need to learn to use your design tool properly and you need to learn how to design user interfaces and experiences. As you learn, share your work with the person you want to learn from. They might not respond all the time or may give a half-hearted well done and any response is fine, to be honest. You will find that when it matters they will remember you and recommend you because you are the one who always showed up and showed off.

• Do not spend too much time trying to make things perfect

You should have a checklist on paper where you make sure the basics are considered in your design. Is the written content contrast following accessibility guidelines? Are your elements properly aligned? Are the icons the same kind? And other stories.

• Follow up, you are in need of something

I am not saying you should be a nuisance, pace yourself and reach out at intervals. Life happens and people forget to do the things they said they would do when they said they would. Remember to always extend extra grace.

• You need to learn how to give and receive feedback

I always recommend using the Toastmasters Commend-Recommend-Commend system when giving feedback, I’ll talk more about this in another article. On receiving feedback, you must not tie your self worth to your work, separate your work from yourself. Your work most times just needs to be improved, it doesn’t mean you are worthless.

• Get comfortable with being bad at it for a while, It takes time

Time and chance happeneth to them all and you need to allow time to pass. You will grow and you will become a badass product designer. You would just need to go through your painful seeding phase, a little pruning here and there.

• Ask them how they are

It sounds like common sense, right? But a lot of people do not. You will be surprised how much more receptive to you they will be when they can feel that you care about how they are and not just what you can get out of them.

• You need more than design skills to succeed

As a product designer, you are a mediator, an activist, a protector and a businessperson. You need to develop your active listening skills, critical thinking and communication skills as these three things will determine if you can actually make it far in your career.

• Don’t worry about being creative at first

At this early stage, the only thing you need to concern yourself with is making sure you are following already laid down design guidelines. Do not worry about reinventing the wheel, steal like an artist (I recommend you read the book)

• Google is your friend

From my experience, it’s always better to ask where you can learn to develop a certain product design skill. Asking where you can learn auto layout is a better ask than asking them to teach you how to use auto layout.

• The tool doesn’t matter, only design rules do

Figma? XD? Invision? Miro? It mostly doesn’t matter. The only question you should ask yourself is “am I following design guidelines and getting the work done?”

• Learn to separate opinion and design preference from actual design feedback

I am saying it again for the umpteenth time, design rules and guidelines on colour, type, layout etc are the major things that matter when it comes to user interface design. Everything else is personal preference until it is proven through research.

• Research is your best friend

Product design is more scientific and strategic than artsy. You must remember this. You need to prioritize research as much as possible because you can never really know for sure unless you talk to customers.

• UX writing is more important than you think it is

This part of the UX process is one of the most overlooked parts and I understand why people do not recognize its power. Now that you know, prioritize proper UX writing. You will have better-optimized user experience flows because of it.

• Carry engineering along

At the start of my career, I didn't get along with the engineers I worked with and I was always confused until I sought to improve that relationship. You should always talk to your engineering team about your design and carry them along through your process (I'll talk about how to work better with engineers in another article).

• Consistently ask why

You have to learn to be a constructive dissenter in your career. You must always ask why until you get to the root of the problem or solution. You must always know why you are making those design decisions and why you didn't go with anything else.

• Be a minimalist, always look for things to take out

Product design is interesting because it is more of a science than anything else and so you have to optimize for the best use case. Always ask yourself how you can make things better and simpler by using the reduction technique (I’ll write about this in another article)

Like the 10 commandments, I have given you guidelines that will help you. Come back to this article once a month to remind yourself of the things you should focus on and/or eliminate and you will see your growth reach record highs.

I am rooting for you and the amazing product designer you will become. WAGMI