Quick 6: Designing With Humility

Everybody knows the golden rule of human-centered design: you =/= your user. The nuance of accepting this isn’t just to consider our users’ perspectives over our own biases. We also have to minimize our own importance in the narrative of our design process.

Being a good researcher requires more than just curiosity and being a good designer requires more than just empathy. There are quite a few qualities I could write about here - vulnerability, patience, mindfulness - but in this post, I want to focus on the importance of humility. Designing with humility is a critical tool that shouldn’t go overlooked, and because I like cheap beer and a good half-rhyme, here’s six things to keep top of mind (a “Quick 6”) on the subject:

1. In ethnography, listen not to respond

Interviewing should be organic. Even though you have research goals, a discussion guide, and a clear plan for your time with your human, nothing creates open and honest feedback like an authentic conversation. Practice your timing and know your cues, but don’t anticipate where the conversation will go. Listen and digest before responding so that you don’t miss a chance to really dig into a potential insight.

2. Let your user be smarter than you

When I talk to users, I like to repeat what they say in my own words to make sure I’m understanding them correctly. This is a double-edged sword. When done correctly, it becomes a paraphrase or simplification of a few minutes of conversation and feedback. When done incorrectly, it can sometimes summarize the why before the human you’re interviewing provides it. Be mindful of this and don’t let yourself fall into the trap of wanting to jump to the smart conclusion. Rather, let your user spell it out for you. Let them talk with the authority of being the smarter person in the conversation. You never know what they might teach you.

3. Always ask for help

Designing can be a fuzzy spiral and no one should ever go it alone. Humility in good design is always asking for a second opinion - “Does this look too flat to you?” “Is this layout too heavy?” “Do you have 30 minutes to give me some feedback?” Some colleagues might suggest a minimal change; some might show you a better way to accomplish a larger goal; all will appreciate the collaboration you bring to the table and being included in your process.

4. Design without iteration is failure

Think about your favorite design of anything. Which version of it is in your head? Nothing is perfect and everything can always be improved. Even the wheel has been iterated. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t accept an iteration - analysis paralysis is a real thing and everyone should know when “good enough” is good enough, but that’s for another Quick 6. Did you interview users before designing? Good. Interview them again once you think you’ve got something right. It costs less to do it now than it will to develop something flawed and make the change later.

5. Solicit for problems over praise

“Good job” is a closed conversation. It doesn’t open itself to feedback or response. Don’t get me wrong, praise and acknowledgement of good work is important at the appropriate moments. When designing a product or experience, I like to ask my peers to try to break it. Ask questions. Catch me in a detail that I missed. Point out the problems that I might not have noticed on my own.

6. Humility itself is humbling

My best mentors over the years do incredible work without taking themselves too seriously. They wear their curiosity on their sleeves and don’t mind being a follower, even if they have the expertise to lead. They expose their work to review and don’t mind constructive criticism from any level of teammate. They don’t ever say it, but they’re modeling the humility that they value seeing in others. They’re allowing those around them to be the narrative, and in doing so, it makes their own unique narrative so much more important.