No Designer is an Island
As some of you may know, I recently left my government job for an opportunity to work for the Sunlight Foundation, a non-profit here in Washington, DC. The Sunlight Foundation works to promote transparency in the government, and the Sunlight Labs group, in which I work specifically, focuses on making government data more interesting and accessible through APIs and web apps exposing the data in unique and insightful ways.
Why I changed jobs
I am always looking to make a difference through design – which is why I signed on with the government in the first place – and I think I was able to make a difference there, but only with the few people who were granted access to my work. Working for the Sunlight Foundation, I can take pride in the difference we are making on a daily basis, and our work (and my design) has the opportunity to affect uncounted people in America and, hopefully, around the world.
The Challenge
Given all of that, the challenge I have been presented with is that I am the only designer in the Labs group, working alongside five developers. Make no mistake, my new coworkers write beautiful code and are fun, wonderful people, but being the only designer in the group can feel like a bit of a vacuum.
So I ask the masses
How do you get inspiration, feedback, and a push when you’re essentially a solo designer? I’m working on a few ideas, but would love to hear what others have to say.
What I have been doing
My first couple of weeks on the job, I was presenting my work to Jack because I was just getting comfortable with my surroundings and I knew that he would give me a valid opinion on my work and push me to question details so that I could make my work much better. But of course he has his own job in some other Labs, so he can’t be around all the time to give me feedback. I am sure many freelance workers feel the same way: you have some good friends and old colleagues that you can ping every now and then, but what do you do on a daily basis?
My Solution
My working solution is to present to the whole office on a weekly basis, and on a daily basis solicit my coworkers in the Labs for their opinions. Although these people aren’t designers themselves I think as long as people stay away from personal preferences, such as “I like / I don’t like that color,” then brainstorming or discussing projects with a group will allow you to step away from the project and hopefully give you new ideas and new directions.
Fingers Crossed
This hopefully won’t become design by committee, but instead honest feedback from a decent number of educated and interested colleagues that I can process and fold back into my work as it makes sense. I’m inspired by Mark Boulton’s experience with the Drupal community, which I think has the chance to be a disaster but seems to be working quite well.
Let me know what you think or what you do to push yourself to keep producing excellent work. Also, keep your eyes open for the new Sunlight Labs site in the next couple of weeks.
15 Comments
Biko 11/09 8:10pm
Ali, I love your new blog site. This is beautiful!
Cadmium 11/09 9:58pm
I’m a huge fan of the Sunlight Foundation and really hoped someone would at least step up and do some pro-bono work for them as their site designs lack usability and are clearly designed by developers (that no doubt write excellent code).
A friend of mine just linked me to this since he’d heard me bemoan the unfortunate lack of creativity coming out of their designs.
I’m glad to hear they have not just managed to find someone to consult with them but that you are joining their team, taking a look around your site it seems like a good choice.
I’ve met a few of the (non-tech) people and they seem like a good bunch. Your idea of having a round-up sounds like a great suggestion, keep us posted on how it works.
Paul Kittredge 11/10 9:30am
Sounds like a great idea to me, Ali! Good luck making it work, and I look forward to seeing Sunlight Foundation sites look a whole lot better!
Ali Felski 11/12 10:57am
So in my post the link to Sunlight Foundation was incorrect. It is fixed how and is sunlightfoundation.com
Anthony 11/13 2:08pm
I have the exact opposite problem:
I’m in a team of designers where I’m the only one that can double as a developer. I feel very stranded when it comes to coding problems, so I can relate to your not being able to talk with other designers issue.
Your approach of just staying away from personal prefs is the best one, but I think if you need designers to talk to - just talk to some associate you may have online or ppl from your old job. All day I sending my work I do here to my other partners and other designers I know to get more and more input.
As far as coding though, I’m still in trouble :p
idotkontji 11/25 9:34am
i want to learn how to make my own template,,, plz help meeee........
Jon Williams 11/29 7:23pm
It is hard sometimes to make such decisions. I commend you for it.. and for writing a great article and a fantastically designed site. Thanks
Rahul 12/03 11:54pm
It is always quite hard for me to change jobs. I think that is the main reason why I’ve been in the same place for more than or close to 3 years now.
But, hope you’ve made the right decision and keep it up.
Best of luck.
Rahul 12/03 11:55pm
Oh, yes btw, I’ve found your designs very inspiring indeed for me. cheers.
Erik Olson 12/16 2:47pm
The job sounds great! I’d be interested in seeing what you have been working on (should you be able to show up)
As the only Flash guy in my office I often feel like it’s me against everyone especially when people have strong opinions about the technology I use. Over time I have learned to tune people out. It’s made me rely on my own opinions and I second guess myself much less.
BTW I love love the look of your blog! I also love the little weather widget in the header.
OAS 12/23 12:15am
Hello Ali,
Your kinda hot!!
You can collaborate with me anytime.
; )
just jokin’.
btw, a supreme site indeed.
Christian 12/25 10:06pm
I like your blog, it’s nice design
Tony Casas 12/29 11:47am
Being the sole designer for a 6 person team myself, I run into this perdicament a whole lot. I was stuck for a while, and not only did it show through on my behavior and happiness in general, but my artwork and productivity as well.
I began to cope with this by first using a bit more social media for my design findings, and to pull inspiration from others that may be in the same boat. Twitter has saved my life more than a few times.
Secondly, being a half-breed designer/developer I started to think about all the things that my developers have taught me, and how empowered they make me feel to speak up ESPECIALLY when it comes to development issues. Just do the same for them. Teach them, and guide them through your eyes as a designer. When you see one of them make an adjustment due to something that you have taught them inspiration will spark. Not only will the help you mentally, but from a production team as a whole :)
I’ve said my peice, my name is Tony. Love your work and nice to meet ya.
(my twitter account is : tonycasas if you have one)
Snowcore 12/30 7:44am
Perfect design! Your blog is the one of the best sited I have seen!
Ali Felski 12/30 11:19pm
Thanks to everyone for commenting. You guys are right, having twitter, and friends who are willing to spare some time to look at your work has helped a lot. But showing everyone in the office hasn’t work out as planned just yet. Since I’ve started, things have been a little hectic. I’m looking forward to getting design more organized come the new year. :)