The “Good Enough” War of Being a Designer
Whether it’s confronting ability or apathy, I have three ways you can break out of the pressure and design excellently.
Impostor Syndrome, inadequate, or just not good enough.
Label it how you will, but the reality is you can really be on the pendulum between a lack of design ability and the indifference of tossing your designs over the wall.
I would open up Dribbble back in the day and look forelorningly at all the amazing web design work I wasn’t producing. At some point after years of this, I felt capped that I wouldn’t ever get any better.
But it doesn’t have to be that way, right?
Do you feel you aren’t “good enough” as a designer?
Answer: discover what do you do effortlessly.
You have design talents, and they’re waiting to be discovered. There’s no time limit on finding them, but wouldn’t you rather be doing effortless work than pushing a square stone cube uphill?
Do you just feel your work is not “good enough”?
Answer: do your best, then get hungry for feedback.
Pour yourself into a design, but then seek a mentor, expert, or a trusted colleague to give you actionable feedback. You don’t want flattery, you want to know the gaps between what you designed and how excellent it could be.
Are you simply satisfied if your work is only “good enough”?
Answer: ensure your work represents your character
This is a deep one, and the most critical. Your work represents you when you’re not there. The fallout can be an unreliable reputation, but just as negative is you’re limiting how far you can grow. If you’re willing, look at the previous two answers and start digging.
Listen to the full deep dive in Episode 17 of The Daily Sprint Podcast.
Darrell Estabrook
