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When people think of a designer, they often picture someone who draws beautifully and exudes creativity. But honestly, when friends ask me to make a logo or draw something, “because I’m a designer,” I sigh tiredly and say – I don’t like to draw and don’t know how to do it. This fact is often surprising because few people understand that a designer’s work only sometimes consists of the ability to draw. Many designers do not draw at all. Instead, they combine several professions, performing different roles requiring different skills. So, if I had to describe a smart designer in one sentence, it would be someone who has mastered other skills besides design. I agree that it looks vague, but in this article, I want to explain my point and show the versatility of this profession.
Like any industry today, design is based mainly on working with clients. It’s a very complex subject, and quite often, to be successful in this field, you need to learn many things outside of design.
Table of contents:
Who is the designer?
Designer is not an artist. I know, I know – you think I’m talking nonsense. However, from the point of view of the profession, the approach of a designer is very different from that of an artist. Artists create their works based on their thoughts, desires, and inspiration; they focus on self-expression. Designers are entirely different because they have to work on specific requirements received from the customer, which basically means that… Designers are business strategists.
Designer businessman
It is worth starting with the fact that every designer is a bit of a businessman because his goal is not to make the client’s life easier but to weigh down the business’s wallet. Therefore, when you see a beautiful and clear site or application and think all this is done for your comfort and happiness, it is not quite so. From a mercantile point of view, this was done so that you have as few obstacles as possible to leave your money there. Therefore, regardless of the originality or attractiveness of the drawing, it makes sense for business only if it brings profit and solves one or another problem.
Remember that designers (again, unlike artists) can hardly rely solely on personal tastes and opinions. These factors are secondary, and efficiency comes first. Business needs dictate to the designer what look and feel a product or service should create. For example, if the company targets a youth market with maximum mobility, the design can be bright, modern, and easy to use. If the target audience is the elderly, the design can be more conservative and easy to understand. These factors and the messages and products offered by the business significantly impact the designer’s decisions regarding style, colors, shapes, and other aspects of the project. Thus, the designer considers all these factors when developing the concept and executing the project to ensure that the business strategy is aligned and the objectives are met.
Designer IT specialist
Designer is a software specialist. It’s not necessarily about creating it, but choosing specific tools to make your design life easier. A smart designer creates successful projects and knows how to administer them effectively. This means that in addition to in-depth knowledge of Adobe programs, he must possess the skills of work organization, project management, and effective communication. Therefore, besides essential tools such as Photoshop or Illustrator, designers must have applications that use various cloud storage tools to create presentations for clients and manage projects with validation tools such as Approval Studio.
Every automated process often means saving money and time. Approval Studio offers validation and project management tools to streamline collaboration and maximize technology capabilities. It is a magic wand for those who want to create and effectively manage projects, ensuring their successful completion.
Designer psyhologist
A designer is like a real psychologist. No one understands your pains and fears better than a designer who studies your behavior and anticipates your next steps. Like a true psychologist, a designer knows how to listen and ask the right questions to get all the information they need to launch a successful project, going beyond vague instructions like “I don’t know, I want it to look cool and modern. ” Do not think that the designer, like a psychic, always reads your thoughts; no, at the first meetings, he conducts a short test for the client – a brief. This is not just a survey, but a magic key that helps to reveal the deep needs of the business, define clear project goals. By the way, we even have a whole article dedicated to the ideal design brief.
Besides briefs, designers conduct interviews, collect analytics, and even create psychological portraits of the target audience at this stage, based on research and data representing the target user.With the help of these personas, a clear picture of the needs, behavior, and goals of your target audience is formed to create the right design decisions.
Designer manipulator
A designer is a master of invisible tricks and manipulations. We’ve all been in a situation where you wanted to exit a site without making a purchase and to do so, you had to click the small gray “Exit” button, and the big, bright “Continue Shopping” button stood out. It’s all about manipulation. A manipulative designer can direct your attention to where they need it. For example, on hotel booking sites, you can see how they use tactics to create urgency and scarcity. When you browse a room, it often says, “Last room at this price!” or “3 other people are currently viewing this hotel.” Such messages encourage you to make a faster decision due to the fear of missing out on a good offer. In addition, hotel ratings and reviews are placed so that you immediately see the positive aspects, pushing you to book.
Another example is with packaging. One of the milk brands uses a clever technique on their cardboard boxes. On the front side of the box is written, “This is not our front side,” which redirects the consumer’s attention to the other side of the package, where the product’s composition and a description of its benefits are placed. This makes consumers trust and subconsciously associate the product with naturalness and high quality. This is not just a coincidence – it is a strategy that helps the business achieve its goals with the help of subtle but effective methods of influencing the user. A manipulative designer knows what colors will make you trust or want to buy something or what to write to get you interested in a single.
Summary
Being a smart designer is about more than just thinking outside the box. Therefore, a smart designer is someone who learns not only design but also many other skills and understands what his job is. This versatility makes the profession so dynamic and vital in today’s world. As businesses continue to thrive thanks to their not only beautiful but also practical solutions.
