Over the past few months, I have had an increase in conversations with design students from various institutions, as well as early, to senior-level designers, researchers, & product managers from various companies in the Bay Area. The increase honestly wasn’t intentional, but because of these conversations, many beautiful thoughts and experiences were shared. They truly inspired me and from those conversations, and my own experience as a product designer, I’ve abstracted the 9 most empowering methods to accelerate growth in your design career. At a high level, however, these methods can be of benefit to truly anyone for any new type of career.

在過去的幾個月中，我與來自各個機構的設計專業學生之間以及與來自海灣地區各個公司的高級設計師，研究人員和產品經理的早期對話越來越多。 坦白地說，增加并不是故意的，但是由于進行了這些對話，許多美好的想法和經驗得以分享。 他們的確激發了我的靈感，并通過這些對話以及我作為產品設計師的經驗，我抽象出了9種最有效的方法來加速您的設計事業的發展。 但是，從高層次來看，這些方法實際上可以使任何新職業的所有人受益。

01.公式不是成功的關鍵 (01. Formulas are not the keys to success)

They simply are not

他們根本不是

I will have to be completely honest, this piece of advice is not of my own. The talented Maya Sanchez-Strauss gave it to me during a conversation that we had in Alamo Square park and it deeply resonated with me. I’ve spoken to many designers about their journeys of breaking into the design industry and having a successful career. No two journeys have ever been the same. You do not need to be a clone of anyone else to be, by your own definition, successful in this industry. Design is constantly changing, and so are we, whether we are conscious of it or not. Understand what will work for you in today’s world, not what worked for that one, out of hundreds of thousands, really successful designer from five plus years ago.

我必須完全誠實，這不是我個人的建議。 才華橫溢的瑪雅·桑切斯·斯特勞斯 ( Maya Sanchez-Strauss )在我們在阿拉莫廣場公園(Alamo Square park)的一次交談中把它給了我，并引起了我的共鳴。 我已經與許多設計師談過他們進入設計行業并取得成功的職業生涯。 沒有兩次旅程是相同的。 按照您自己的定義，您不必成為其他任何人的克隆人，就可以在這個行業中取得成功。 設計在不斷變化，無論我們是否意識到它，我們也是如此。 從五年前開始的數十萬名真正成功的設計師中，了解當今世界上對您有用的東西，而不是對那個世界有用的東西。

02.設想您想做什么 (02. Envision what you want to be doing)

Day in and day out

一天又一天

There is a difference between analyzing and actualizing our careers as designers. We have to balance both, but the analyzing aspect should be in service to the actualizing component. It’s important to not get too attached to an idea of what it’s like to work for a company, but to truly understand what your day to day could be like. Companies have value, but company culture has much more value. The environment that you are in is crucial to the quality of work that you will produce, and your overall well being. Positions have value, but new job titles are birthed every few years and there are countless debates happening right now as to what old and new titles actually mean. Understand what task you want to do, everyday, and in what way.

分析和實現我們作為設計師的職業是有區別的。 我們必須兼顧兩者，但是分析方面應該為實現組件服務。 重要的是，不要太了解公司的運作方式，而要真正了解您的日常狀況。 公司具有價值，但是公司文化具有更大的價值。 您所處的環境對于您將產生的工作質量以及整體健康狀況至關重要。 職位具有價值，但新職位每隔幾年就會誕生一次，關于舊職位和新職位的實際含義，現在正在進行無數爭論。 了解每天要以何種方式執行的任務。

03.了解自己 (03. Know yourself)

You are who you believe you are

你就是你所相信的人

It’s very easy to swim downstream. Not so much upstream. Understand what that means for you as a designer. What does going with the flow consist of for you? What have you always been interested in designing, or have been working on in the past month that you’ve thoroughly enjoyed doing? Let me take a step back. Why is it important to go with that flow? You’ll feel physically and mentally better. You’ll produce higher quality work. You’ll feel more confident in your ability to make decisions in this design industry which is something that many new designers consistently struggle with. You know what’s best for you, listen. You know what does and doesn’t make sense to you, believe that you do. Trust your intuition and it will never lead you astray.

向下游游泳很容易。 上游沒有那么多。 了解這對您作為設計師意味著什么。 流程對您有什么好處？ 在過去的一個月中，您一直對設計感興趣或一直在從事什么工作？ 讓我退后一步。 為什么順其自然很重要？ 您的身體和精神都會好起來。 您將產生更高質量的作品。 在這個設計行業中，您對自己的決策能力會更有信心，這是許多新設計師一直在努力的目標。 您知道什么是最適合您的，聽著。 您知道對您有什么用和沒有用，請相信您有。 相信您的直覺，它永遠不會使您誤入歧途。

04.只比作六個月前的你 (04. Only compare yourself to who you were 6 months ago)

Imposter syndrome is real, but you’re not the only one who gets it

冒名頂替綜合癥是真實的，但您不是唯一一個患上此病的人

Your progression as a designer is an important trait to be aware of. We live in a world filled with many instantaneous digital interactions that consistently gratify unhealthy and egocentric behaviors the most. It’s very common to feel unconfident in yourself and discouraged in your abilities to design when someone else is constantly showcasing how good they can. I know I have. But in that moment, think about what you were doing 6 months ago. Were you reading articles about how to grow as a designer? Were you working on that one project or developing that one skill that you finally feel a bit more competent at? There are many indicators of progress that we should always be aware of. Focus on that, and focus on growing as a designer through those progressions. Did you complete 15 daily UI challenges last month? Shoot for 30 this month. That is how you’ll grow insanely fast.

您作為設計師的發展是一個重要的特征。 我們生活在一個充滿許多即時數字互動的世界中，始終能最大程度地滿足于不健康和以自我為中心的行為。 當別人不斷展示自己的能力時，對自己不自信而沮喪的設計能力非常普遍。 我知道我有 但是在那一刻，請考慮您六個月前的工作。 您是否在閱讀有關如何成長為設計師的文章？ 您是在從事一個項目，還是在開發一種最終使您感到更勝任的技能？ 我們應該始終注意許多進展指標。 專注于這一點，并專注于通過這些過程成長為設計師。 您上個月完成了15項日常UI挑戰嗎？ 本月拍攝30張。 那就是您將快速瘋狂成長的方式。

05.最多只能設定6個月的目標 (05. Only set goals for 6 months out at the most)

This will maximize your potential for growth

這將最大化您的增長潛力

Let’s take that daily UI challenge example. If your goal is to do 30 challenges, maybe it makes sense to plan on doing one challenge a day. That sounds fairly easy and manageable. What if that goal was to do 300 challenges in that month? It can begin to feel very overwhelming as you start to consider how you might, ideally, complete 10 challenges a day. Start small and start very short term with your goals. The best way to become more familiar with a concept that you want to learn is to consistently practice it. Consistency is the key. That’s why it’s good to have short term goals that are approaching soon. You will quickly become comfortable with consistently handling a little, which will make it easier for you to transition to handling a lot.

讓我們以該日常UI挑戰示例為例。 如果您的目標是進行30個挑戰，則計劃每天進行一次挑戰可能是有意義的。 這聽起來很容易且易于管理。 如果該目標是在那個月進行300次挑戰怎么辦？ 當您開始考慮如何最好地一天完成10個挑戰時，可能會感到非常不知所措。 從小處著手，并從短期開始就制定目標。 熟悉您要學習的概念的最佳方法是不斷地實踐它。 一致性是關鍵。 這就是為什么短期目標很快就要實現的原因。 您將很快適應少量處理，這將使您輕松過渡到處理大量內容。

06.完善Craft.io (06. Perfect your craft)

Love the process

熱愛過程

This is the one thing that transcends portfolios, how many connections you have, how well you give presentations, or really just about every other quality a designer can have, in my opinion. That is your skill. How skilled of a designer you are. If your skill is there, other qualities will come much easier. The confidence to give an insightful presentation. The ability to articulate your design decisions to a team and collectively work towards the best solution. This all starts with loving the process of becoming a better designer. Even when an unknown obstacle is dropped in front of your path. The obstacle is the way.

在我看來，這是超越投資組合，您擁有多少聯系，展示效果如何，或者設計師幾乎具備的其他所有素質的一件事。 那是你的技能。 您是多么熟練的設計師。 如果您的技能在那里，其他素質將變得更加容易。 有信心進行有見地的演講。 向團隊表達您的設計決策并共同努力以尋求最佳解決方案的能力。 這一切都始于熱愛成為一名更好的設計師的過程。 即使未知的障礙物掉在了您的路徑前。 障礙是路。

07.了解行業 (07. Understand the industry)

Understand, plan, execute

了解，計劃，執行

There are certain aspects of the design industry that are pretty timeless, but all things are constantly in a state of change. Understand what today’s design industry truly is. The best way to do this is through networking. Talk to others, share your experiences, & actively listen to theirs. You’ll learn so much from these conversations.

設計行業中的某些方面是永恒的，但是所有事情都處于不斷變化的狀態。 了解當今的設計行業真正是什么。 最好的方法是通過網絡。 與他人交談，分享您的經驗，并積極傾聽他們的經驗。 您將從這些對話中學到很多東西。

08.停止使用初級或有抱負的標題 (08. Stop using titles like junior or aspiring)

Be who you are

做你自己

Be a designer. Be who you are and become who you want to be. Those titles may signify a point at which you are currently at within your design career, or even what skills you currently possess, but that moment is temporary. It will only last for how long you want it to. Whether you are aware of it or not, you truly have the choice and will make it, consciously or not. Learn the skills that you believe are necessary, go after opportunities you can see yourself doing, and call yourself who you are, based on what you are doing.

成為設計師。 做你自己，成為你想成為的人。 這些頭銜可能表示您目前在設計事業中所處的位置，甚至表示您目前所擁有的技能，但是那一刻是暫時的。 它只會持續多長時間。 無論您是否意識到它，您都可以真正選擇，并且會自覺地做出選擇。 學習您認為必要的技能，把握機會，看自己正在做的事情，并根據自己的所作所為來稱呼自己是誰。

09.失敗是不可避免的 (09. Failure is inevitable)

Fail, fail, and fail again

失敗，失敗，然后再次失敗

It’s a necessary part of becoming who you want to become. It’s tough to remember this when you’re in those moments. I truly understand how turbulent it can feel when you realize you’re failing or failed at something that you thought you would suceed at. How personally attacked you can feel. Nothing is ever that personal. I wrote an article about how I persevered through one of those moments here. It’s part of the duality of all things. You can’t have light without darkness. Understand the value of failure for your career. Understand how you can transform those failures into lessons learned for the next idea or opportunity. Fail, fail, and fail again, but understand why it’s important too.

這是成為您想成為的人的必要部分。 在那些時刻，很難記住這一點。 我真正理解當您意識到自己失敗或失敗時會感覺到的動蕩。 您會受到怎樣的個人攻擊。 沒有什么比這個人更重要的了。 我寫了一篇文章，講述了我如何在這里的經歷中堅持不懈。 這是萬物二重性的一部分。 沒有黑暗，你就無法擁有光明。 了解失敗對您的職業的價值。 了解如何將那些失敗轉變為下一個想法或機會的經驗教訓。 失敗，失敗，然后再次失敗，但也要理解為什么它也很重要。

獎金 (Bonus)

You don’t have to do anything, you get to do anything. You get to figure out what kind of design career that you want to have and have it. You get to figure out the best way to tell the story of a design in your portfolio, and tell it. You get to figure out that perfect chair angle, or stay up late tinkering with bits of code, that you honestly may have to rewrite the next morning. The point is, you get to have this opportunity to become a designer and you shouldn’t rely on previous models of thoughts and processes to get you there. You get to figure out what works best for you in today’s world, and apply it.

您不必做任何事情，您可以做任何事情。 您可以弄清楚自己想要擁有什么樣的設計職業。 您將找出最好的方式來講述投資組合中的設計故事，并加以講述。 您需要弄清楚椅子的理想角度，或者熬夜修改一些代碼，老實說，第二天早上您可能不得不重寫。 關鍵是，您將有機會成為一名設計師，并且您不應該依賴以前的思想和流程模型來達到目標??。 您將弄清楚在當今世界上最適合您的方法，并加以應用。

These tips are only powerful when you consistently practice them. Do so, and everything truly will be ok. If you have any questions or comments, I am always happy to chat and can be reached here.

這些技巧只有在您不斷練習時才有力。 這樣做，一切都會好起來的。 如果您有任何疑問或意見，我總是很樂意與您聊天，可以在這里與您聯系 。