What skills are needed in a career in design?
In the previous article we have introduced what is design. In this article, let’s take a look at what skills you should have and what your natural inclination should be if you want to pursue a career in design.
You ask a designer “What skills and aspects are required for a career in design?” So you will get a very long list, then you will think “Oh my God…can all these aspects be in one person?”, but..don’t panic. We have more or less these aspects, how we cultivate and enhance them is the key to becoming a true designer.
First let us briefly understand the structure of the human brain. Our brain can be mainly divided into two parts – Left Hemisphere and Right Hemisphere. The function of the left hemisphere is mainly analysis, computation, logical thinking, reasoning, while the function of the right hemisphere is creativity, imagination, art, music, spatial thinking. It is to control thinking) and intuition.
Let’s look at an example – suppose a designer wants to design a “container” for drinking hot coffee, he has to use his left brain to “reason” about the right temperature, size of the coffee and the habits of the person drinking the coffee, the structure of the fingers. analysis” has to be done, Similarly, the work of the right part is to design the artistic shape of that “character”, suitable color scheme, attractive appearance and an experience that will be remembered forever! In short, both these parts of the brain have to be balanced in the field of design.
Design Essentials – 4H Formula
Let us divide the abilities and skills required for a career in design into four categories. Let us call them the “4Hs” – Hand, Head, Heart and Hard-work. Let us consider these four compartments in depth.
Hand (Acting through manual skill and experience)
In the design process, we have to express our feelings, expressions and thoughts in front of different people through various means. Similarly, since design is an iterative process, it requires different manual skills at different stages
E.g. In the initial part, you have to express your ideas through rapid sketching, doodling, painting, concept sketching, while in the next stage, making various types of three-dimensional models or prototypes.
–E.g. Clay, metal, plastic, plaster, woodwork, paper art, origami etc. Manual skills have to be used. In today’s technology era, designers often have to work together with people in the fields of science and technology, so the knowledge of making early stage technology prototypes (eg 3D printing, CAD modeling, UX wireframes) has also become necessary.
Head (Ability to think, analyze and think critically)
While pursuing a career in the field of design, it is necessary to have the ability to think holistically as well as manual skills. Following are the types of this thought process.
creativity
The ability to think outside of the norm, e.g. Analyzing many different options and solutions to the same problem or user needs (User Needs) and choosing the right option. E.g. How do you keep a 5-6 month old baby happy and playing for 3 hours (while his mother is out shopping)? The only condition is that he does not want to sleep and is not allowed to cry!
visual – spatial thinking
Often the design process begins with ideas on paper, but as the process progresses, the designer has to consider spatial or three-dimensional aspects. E.g. When an interior designer wants to make a new interior design of the house, he has to create a visualization of how the design of the various items and furniture in the house will look.
Critical thinking
Designing a varkarani may seem simple, but the process is quite complex and complicated. It has several inter-connected stages viz. To understand the preferences, needs and context of the users, to do its analysis (Analysis), Reasoning (Reasoning) and evaluation (Evaluation), to verify their interrelationships, to do their synthesis (Synthesis). It is only after this that it is appropriate to generate various innovative ideas. The ability required for this is called “physician thinking ability”.
Aarticulation and expression
Designing is a “team work”. In it, people with many ideas and skills work together. Design is at the center of the Research and Development process, so the designer has to have the ability to express his thoughts and feelings to explain his ideas, thoughts, intentions, replicas, drawings to other departments and customers properly and using appropriate media. This is necessary.
Heart (A passion and drive to innovate)
Design is all about Passion! It is not possible to have an excellent career in design by force, because my parents want it or because my friend became a designer, now I am doing the same, for that it is necessary to identify one’s inclination and take a decision after introspection.
As this applies to the design process itself, ability to empathize with the user, immersive observation and collaborative co-creation are essential aspects of the designer. .
Hard Work (Willingness to experiment and work hard)
As in all fields, there is no substitute for experimentation and tireless work in design, but the specialty of this is that it involves subjectivity and contextuality, so designers do not know where to stop this research process. Similarly, since an idea cannot be clearly defined as right or wrong in design, the person has to decide how much effort to put into it.
E.g. Let’s say you want to create a new logo for a company, the answer to how many hours it will take may vary, but the more effort you put in using the right design process, the closer you will be to success.
In short, to embark on a successful and prosperous career in design requires as much creativity, critical thinking and intuition as it does hard work.
If you want to pursue a career in design, then always keep the mantra of 4H – Hand, Head, Heart and Hard-Work in mind!
