You, as a designer, invest a significant amount of time, thought, and effort into your work. It's no exaggeration to say that we perceive our designs as our babies, our creations, extensions of our personalities. However, it's important to realize that others do the same—product developers, project managers, developers—they all pour their hearts into their work too! Therefore, fostering healthy, open, and productive communication within your team should be your top priority. Agreements and disagreements will inevitably arise, but people will remain. As a designer, you want your team members to trust you, rely on you, and feel comfortable with you. Secondly, maintain an open mind. Remember, your teammates offer different perspectives and experiences; they are valuable resources. Project managers possess knowledge of the entire system and the intercommunication of elements that you might overlook. Developers understand technical limitations and potential improvements that you may not be aware of. Business owners have their own goals and targets. When you find yourself thinking, "No, my option is better!" pause and reconsider. Allow space for other opinions, brainstorm collectively, and experiment with different approaches. Whenever possible, support your solutions with data. To keep egos in check, try to create competitive options based on others' viewpoints or feedback. Treat this alternative as your second "baby," making it easier to select the best solution by cherry-picking from both sets of options.
Number one is to make sure you do not take anything personally, remember, it is about your work and how to improve it, not about you. Second, nobody is perfect, even the best designers need feedback and improvement. It is a constant journey, embrace it. Feedback is like bread and butter for designers, you get them all day everyday. It has done nothing but help me strengthen my professional career.
As a CEO of Startup House, I always encourage our UX designers to approach design critiques with an open mind and a willingness to learn and grow. Constructive feedback is essential for improvement, so I advise them to listen carefully, ask questions for clarification, and take notes to implement changes effectively. One memorable experience was when a client pointed out that our navigation menu was confusing, leading us to redesign it for a more intuitive user experience, resulting in increased user engagement and satisfaction. Remember, feedback is a gift that helps us evolve and innovate, so embrace it with gratitude and humility.