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Hello, my name is Maxime Le Ruyet and I am a young product designer, born and raised in the land of baguettes. Now I live in Shanghai, where I am completing my final year of a Master's degree in Design and Transculturality. Currently (2015), I am expanding my design experience through an internship at WILDDESIGN Shanghai. As a junior designer, I am familiar with all kinds of mistakes. Today I would like to share with you my most common mistakes and my ways to overcome them!

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I experienced all five of these design mistakes first-hand during my studies in France and during internships abroad. I even developed my own diagram for the design process. I have divided this process into five parts.

Mistake no. 1: Staying on the safe side

It's hard to imagine, but sometimes I still meet people outside the design field who think that design "just happens" and springs from a magical, creative spark! As designers, we know that this is rarely the case. In these five years, I have found that there is no room for randomness when it comes to the design process.

Following a design process is really important to structure the work, create consistency and keep the team on the same page. However, before you realize that it is not possible to follow this disciplined procedure, you will think: "Why are my design results not as satisfying as they should be when I have followed and completed all the steps?"

This is the first mistake of a young designer who stays on the safe side.

You have to keep in mind that a design process is not a static method or a rational equation, but a flexible tool for your mind. It needs to be adapted to each design project, taking into account different elements such as the context, the user, the client's requirements or even the members of the team. There are actually no good or bad designers, some people are just better at finding new ways of identifying design opportunities and putting the talents of the team in the right position.

This first mistake is not only characteristic of young designers, but also of older people and companies who are often afraid to step out of their comfort zone. In light of societal changes and new user needs, it is worth refocusing our design process when we are struggling with a project and looking at it with fresh eyes.

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Mistake no. 2: Disregarding the limits of the project

You are starting a new project - the first step will be to find out more about the context and your user. Make sure you have analyzed all approaches, get relevant feedback and understand the goals of the project. However, one of the most important steps is to define the boundaries of this context. Well-defined boundaries are your best protection against yourself and your client's escalating wishes.

I have had disappointing situations where I realized that my team and I had strayed too far from the specifications. Now, when that happens on a school project, it's no big deal, but when you're facing a client who has timelines and exact estimates, it becomes a costly problem.

This is a classic "beginner's mistake", which is usually due to excessive and positive motivation to revolutionize the project. On the other hand, clear boundaries are also a way to steer your client. They help you to stop them from asking for even more borderline ideas that would cost you or your company time and money.

You can find out more about dealing with client relationships here: 6 Key Factors to Build Excellent Client Relationships >>>

Mistake no. 3: Refining instead of exploring

Now it's time for you and your team to start brainstorming. You can't wait to finally formulate the ideas and thoughts you've been carrying around with you since the research phase. The creative sketching session begins. The goal: 100 quick sketches in one hour. After five minutes, you've come up with some cool concepts, but quickly one of them seems to be your holy grail. So you spend the rest of the creative session refining it.

In a perfect world and in the best case scenario, all colleagues are impressed by your idea and finally the concept is selected. The whole team works hard on the concept, from CAD modeling to high-quality renderings and rapid prototyping. And boom! It's too late! You've made the third rookie mistake - you've refined your idea instead of researching it thoroughly.

You realize that you've spent all your time refining instead of opening doors and pushing other ideas forward. If your client ends up not being happy with the main concept, you have to start all over again because you didn't develop alternatives and put the idea to the test.

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Mistake no. 4: Not tailoring the concept to the user

The concept has been selected. You and your team have done a great job and you have successfully fought the first three bugs. Your project is based on good research, reasonable perspectives and a cool concept exploration. You are now ready to meet with suppliers and launch the project. However, a lot of time has passed since your initial user research and your design has evolved substantially.

That's the fourth mistake - you forget to refocus your concept on the end user. Sometimes we lose sight of the user's needs throughout the refinement process and forget who the design is made for. We spend months, days and nights developing a project and shaping it to our personal taste. After many refinements and simplifications, it can happen at some point that the project moves significantly away from the primary user expectations. This is the moment to go back to the user and check whether the result is suitable and understandable for them before going into production.

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Mistake no. 5: Being afraid to share your work and feedback

When the project is ready and the user has approved the design and its features, it's time to promote it inside and outside your design bubble. This is the last mistake: you're afraid to share your work and your thoughts.

If you are still a student, don't be afraid to share your project with others. It's more important to get feedback on your work from others than to try to protect it. This way you can improve your weak points and also promote yourself if you are looking for a new job, for example. On the other hand, if you are working as a junior designer in a company, try to summarize your findings and discuss them with your teammates. This point is directly related to the first mistake regarding the design process. If you are able to draw objective conclusions about your work within your team, you will arrive at a better design process. Don't be afraid to say what you think, regardless of your position, if you think it can be constructive and useful for at least one person.

This article is not aimed at avoiding any of these mistakes at all costs. The most important thing about making mistakes is that you learn from them. You can refer to these five points if you want to achieve a specific goal, but making mistakes is an essential part of your life as a junior designer. In the end, it will increase your efficiency if you are able to draw objective conclusions from them.

Thank you for stopping by and I wish you many valuable mistakes!

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