Hola Amigos!
No, I am not Spanish (I just like the energy ⚡️). This is my first story and I hope it doesn’t suck. I am not exceptionally known for my penmanship (or should I say penwomanship) so please bear with me for a few minutes, I am sure you’ll learn something out of this, or at least relate to me.

Let me introduce myself first (don’t worry just the highlights), I am an experience designer from Delhi, India. Currently, working in Mindtree, and in the account of the world’s second-largest sports brand (take a wild guess 💭).

But, I am not here to share my latest experiences. Not to brag, but my professional life right now is ummmmmmm (wait for it) mmmmmmmazing. So, let’s see how did I get there.

Once upon a time, I was an average-experienced UI/UX designer. I used to be submissive, whenever a product owner or a client used to suggest a tweak or sometimes an enormous change, I just did it.

When bosses poke their nose too much into designs,
then the entire creativity of a designer is gone.

Eventually, it cost me big time. Once, I changed the theme of a huge website a thousand times and in the end, it was looking like a real pile of 💩. So, how do you think this happened? What shouldn’t I have done in the first place? But more importantly, what did I learn so it won’t happen again?
Be with me. I’ll explain.

Occasionally, we have to deal with some tough clients with the following features:
– hard to please (apparently, a zillion design options won’t suffice)
– likes every other idea on the internet (but not yours)
– talks about simplicity (but not simple at all)
and believe me, the list is loooooooooong.

So, what is the ‘Mantra’ to deal with them??? (A million dollar question)
And the answer is utterly simple, just stop dealing with them (no offence). Instead, you gather facts and find your ‘Why’.

For instance, if you tell them that this is a good shade, they’ll be like, Meh! that one is good too… and the other one… and another one (God! the vicious cycle).
Remember Hick’s Law??? (or you can always google it)
Nevertheless, you should rather tell them the relevance of that colour to their business and what emotions are associated with the colour. Moreover, you must explain why exactly did you use the exact specific colour. It is hard to cross an airtight argument, so… lawyer up.

Another example is, that there are times when you feel like your boss or your client is steering the wheel of your project’s navigation and completely ignoring the IA. Well, this is challenging but guess what, you can take the charge. So, the solution here is… (drumroll please)… A/B Testing!!!
You can create two options and perform this test among the potential users or personas and evaluate which one will be comparatively optimal and completes the intended task more effectively. You can use the results to make your point and avoid unproductive altercations.

If you don’t believe in your design, no one else will.
Be bold, be factual.
Present your ideas assertively but also logically.

Also, the way of presentation really matters, someone once said to me,

And it turns out to be a true fact in my experience.

Furthermore, sometimes the situation gets worse such as when a project has multiple stakeholders (who obviously do not align on anything). My advise here would be to find the “leader of the pack” and communicate with him/her directly (it can be infeasible, but a little birdie told me you can handle it).

To sum up, a designer should not take the comments personally but rather find the ‘Why’ and communicate the solutions authoritatively. Gradually, one will realise that criticism is better in several ways (just convert them into constructive ones). Instead of living in misery and thinking about some words, one can work strenuously on those weak areas in order to achieve great things.

Thanks for bearing with me!!!