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I’d argue you should always design for yourself and build products you want. When your needs aren’t in alignment with your user’s needs then you’re the wrong p
by awb 5y ago
I’d argue you should always design for yourself and build products you want.
When your needs aren’t in alignment with your user’s needs then you’re the wrong person for the job anyway.
User feedback is important for getting additional insights, but the implementation of the feedback should always feel correct to you too.
- Barrin92 5y agoThat's a little bit like saying a barber should only cut hair the way he'd want to wear it. Being part of a professional, maybe the defining feature is to be able to understand what customers want and to do it without bringing personal preference into it, unless that's asked for.
- falcor84 5y agoI like your sentiment, but I think this only works at the start. After the initial MVC phase, you discover additional potential target audiences, and often (but not always) it makes more sense to apply empathy and adapt the software to also benefit their needs, rather than just abandoning then as "not the intended audience".
- blacksmith_tb 5y agoMVC phase? That's where my projects end, not start... Betting that was MVP! (Actually they start there, too, to be honest)
- munificent 5y agoDesigning for yourself is definitely the easiest way to have good affinity for your users. But it also limits the set of products you can create. People that aren't software developers and designers deserve to have good software designed for them too. All you really need is genuine compassion for others to do good design for them.
- marcosdumay 5y agoI don't think professional designers have the option of only designing for themselves. It's a bit like only programming for one's own problems. Sure, some people can do that, but most need to solve other people's problems to pay their bills.