Building Blocks: Laying a Solid Foundation for Your Design Career

Do you ever feel like you’re trying to build a skyscraper without knowing how to lay the first brick? When I started my design career, that’s exactly how it felt. I was eager to create “big” things – beautiful interfaces, seamless experiences, innovative solutions. But one day, during a team review, my manager asked, “How does this design solve the core problem?” That’s when it hit me: I was so focused on the end product, I hadn’t built a strong foundation of problem-solving skills.

Designing is a lot like constructing with bricks – every decision is a building block. Here’s how I learned to stack them right:

Master the Fundamentals

Learn the basics of design systems, typography, grids, and accessibility. During my first big project, I spent hours refining a color palette but neglected usability. Don’t skip the essentials; they’ll save you in the long run.

Ask Why – A Lot

Every design choice should answer a “why.” Early on, I once chose a flashy animation for a user flow. It looked cool, but when users tested it, they got confused. Turns out, I hadn’t thought about why that animation was there in the first place. Always start with the problem you’re solving.

Collaborate and Listen

Building blocks don’t work alone, and neither do designers. Engage with your product managers, engineers, and users. On one project, I shadowed the engineering team and learned how backend constraints impacted my designs. It taught me to create solutions that were not only beautiful but feasible.

Your career is a structure you’re building, one block at a time.

Clarifying Question

What’s the one design skill you think is missing from your foundation? Could mastering it help you build higher?