There are certain characteristics that each designer shares: curiosity, the desire to grow, the need for clarity, and a passion for problem solving. With these traits, designers seek inspiration from multiple disciplines, and find ways to improve what already exists. They create emotional situations and reveal the right message.
All these characteristics have made me a designer and have shaped my experiences.
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What makes me curious?
Have you ever read The Way Things Work or Cathedral? David Macaulay authored and illustrated both of these books. I was always impressed by how well he draws, but I’m most fascinated by his curiosity about architecture, history, and machinery. Being a world traveler throughout my childhood, I experienced seeing more of what he talked about, and became more curious about my surroundings. Curiosity is key as a designer because it makes designers think far beyond their own specialties.
Designers make an effort to be curious in a world that asks us to go the easy route. For example, a professor in college once told me that I should consider transferring to an illustration program because I happened to be good at drawing. I love to draw, but as a curious designer, I wish to generally grasp all disciplines. I’d rather challenge myself and understand how and why things work, than move forward with something that came naturally to me. Perhaps my skills in applying graphic design techniques were not mature then, but the designer in me was already stronger.
As a designer I gain knowledge and inspiration through different topics. Every industry has room for designers to bring out creative concepts: designing marketing strategies, communication platforms, and futuristic scenarios for business.
The desire to grow
As designers, the curiosity of learning new things makes us grow and evolve. Change drives us. We observe things, analyze what they are like now, and how they can get better.
Observing how change impacts institutions that struggle to prepare for the future is interesting to me. One of my most exciting projects was helping an influential energy company understand their firm’s future. They recognized that consumer habits began to change, and they feared their existence once raw materials would run out. We initiated a program for them to be more transparent to their consumers to increase trust, while redesigning their office structure so current employees could participate in brainstorming creative solutions, grow the company, and grow as individuals.
Achieving clarity
Bringing clarity to a situation delivers a powerful message. Designers find opportunities for clarity by digging deep into problems. That opportunity represents order, balance, efficiency, and fairness. Throughout that time, they embrace and document the time it took to find that message.
Sometimes coming to a clear answer is difficult, and we need to think critically about what should be said. At ThoughtForm, we use quite a variety of methods to simplify complex information and realize those clarity opportunities. We use our design and communication skills to find the message our clients need to share with their audiences. With the right tools, like compression planning, we can structure our ideas, and end up with a clear path forward.
A passion for problem solving
Designers are empathetic to people—to our clients, to their audiences, to end-users. And that’s what fuels our passion for problem solving.
I always listen to my friends when they have a bad day. I want to seek solutions to make their situation better. In the same way, I am also able to help clients meet their goals through collaboration and facilitation. At ThoughtForm, we design a comfortable environment for clients to feel open and more themselves. We write notes and do drawings, letting them know we are listening, and that they are the center of our attention. Once we’ve gotten them to an “aha” moment, we know we’ve helped clients find an opportunity to guide them on the path to success.
When looking at all of these characteristics in myself, I find that they are all a part of our “designer DNAs”. Being curious about everything helps me grow as an individual. By experiencing so many things, I get confronted with mixed messages, so it is always a challenge for me to find clarity, or one unified message that many can rely on. I enjoy solving this challenge, and through empathy, I take into consideration how others approach the same problem.
Read next: “Visual communication: everyday inspirations”
Monica Alisse is a designer who brings a global perspective and multidisciplinary approach to every project—resulting in work that’s clear in concept and rich with meaning.