We cannot predict the value our work will provide to the world. That’s fine. It is not our job to judge our own work. It is our job to create it, to pour ourselves into it, and to master our craft as best we can.

We all have the opportunity to squeeze every ounce of greatness out of ourselves that we can. We all have the chance to do our share.

James Clear.

Everyone has a gift to share with the world, something that both lights you on fire internally and serves the world externally, and this thing–this calling–should be something you pursue until your final breath. It could be your actual job … It could be a creative hobby … It could be the care you provide to those around you.

Whatever it is for you, our lives were meant to be spent making our contribution to the world, not merely consuming the world that others create.

James Clear.

Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value. Albert Einstein.

Your interactions with the designer go a long way in determining whether they’re showing you their best work. You don’t hire them to be your friend or to design to your own whims. You hire a designer to solve a problem. I’ve seen too many designers throw their research and good sense to the wind because the client expressed a personal preference and demanded they follow it. You don’t want a designer who ends up doing the best work you can come up with. You want them designing the best work they can come up with. Mike Monteiro.

Beware a designer who wants you to like them more than they want to do good work.

Every designer has an aha moment in their career when they realize they’re designing work the client hopes to see instead of work they know is right but needs a harder conversation to get the client’s approval. Until they have that moment, they’re not giving you their best work.

Mike Monteiro.

Beware a designer who doesn’t ask questions.

I mean «Why are we doing it this way?» type questions, not «How do we do it?» questions. A designer, heck, everyone in your company, should be curious about why decisions are made the way they are. A good designer takes every decision apart to see if they can put it back together better. It’s in every good designer’s nature to improve what they’re handed.

Mike Monteiro.

There’s a big difference between defending work, which a designer must know how to do, and being defensive about work, which a designer should never do. When you point out an obvious problem to a designer and they keep fighting, they’re no longer fighting for the work’s quality. They’re fighting for their ego. A good designer is confident enough to fight for what’s right and acknowledge what’s wrong. Mike Monteiro.

A solid, thoughtful rationale also nicely sets the table for good feedback. If your designer says they made a decision based on research and best practices, they’re doing their job.

But a designer who says they were «inspired» to do something opens the door for a stakeholder to give feedback that’s just as subjective. Whim begets whim. Now you’ve got a roomful of people arguing about their favorite colors.

Mike Monteiro.

A designer who can’t explain their rationale is useless—open to the whims and desires of everyone around them. If they don’t understand their own decisions, they can’t advocate for your users or replicate their choices across projects. They can’t argue. Every designer in the world needs to be able to answer: «Why did you do that?» If their reply is, «I can change it,» you’re absolutely fucked.

«I think it looks good» is not a rationale. It’s a red flag.

Mike Monteiro.

It’s almost impossible to design anything by yourself. It’s also stupid. You improve everything when you talk to people with different viewpoints, experiences, and skill sets. The myth of the solitary genius is just that: a myth. Mike Monteiro.