This is the fourth article in a series about the Design Process.
This is the fourth article in a series about the Design Process.
Whether you are working with a team or by yourself, on a logo, print product or a website design, knowing what your limitations are is very important to understand.
The worst thing you can do is propose something that you can’t deliver on. That instills distrust in your client and can ruin your reputation as a designer.
If you are working on a solo project, make sure your promises are valid and that you can do everything you say you can. Many designers over promise and under deliver, when the opposite should be true.
If you are the design arm of a project, make sure that you understand what the rest of your team can deliver on, and make sure they are aware of what you are planning to propose should be done within the scope of the project.
After all, nobody likes surprises.
It’s important to identify gaps in technologies and in execution of the technologies so that you can find solutions for them.
If you are a company hiring for a design project, be sure that the designer has a portfolio or actual work and not just faux projects aimed at impressing you. There is a difference in designing something that will actually be built and something that someone created to look good and reel you in.
Once you know what you can and cant do, you can then move onto the next item in your process: the Content Roadmap and Definition.
Possible Pitfalls
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you don’t have the resources, then don’t add that to your list of responsibilities, otherwise you will be scrambling to find someone to fulfill that role, and that person may or may not be capable.
Knowing there is a skill gap is not bad news; it just means you are not capable of making promises you can’t keep.
Always be transparent about what you can’t do, however your solution is not to use a technology (or specific person) that you know to fulfill everything needed to be done. That could lead you down the path of reliance on the wrong technology, reliance on the wrong person, or being left holding the bags when a specific person leaves.
This is step 4 of 17 from the Design Process Playbook
Next: Design Success Starts with Content
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