Over the past few months, I have had an increase in conversations with design students from various institutions, as well as early, to senior-level designers, researchers, & product managers from various companies in the Bay Area. The increase honestly wasn’t intentional, but because of these conversations, many beautiful thoughts and experiences were shared. They truly inspired me and from those conversations, and my own experience as a product designer, I’ve abstracted the 9 most empowering methods to accelerate growth in your design career. At a high level, however, these methods can be of benefit to truly anyone for any new type of career.

在过去的几个月中，我与来自各个机构的设计专业学生之间以及与来自海湾地区各个公司的高级设计师，研究人员和产品经理的早期对话越来越多。 坦白地说，增加并不是故意的，但是由于进行了这些对话，许多美好的想法和经验得以分享。 他们的确激发了我的灵感，并通过这些对话以及我作为产品设计师的经验，我抽象出了9种最有效的方法来加速您的设计事业的发展。 但是，从高层次来看，这些方法实际上可以使任何新职业的所有人受益。

01.公式不是成功的关键 (01. Formulas are not the keys to success)

They simply are not

他们根本不是

I will have to be completely honest, this piece of advice is not of my own. The talented Maya Sanchez-Strauss gave it to me during a conversation that we had in Alamo Square park and it deeply resonated with me. I’ve spoken to many designers about their journeys of breaking into the design industry and having a successful career. No two journeys have ever been the same. You do not need to be a clone of anyone else to be, by your own definition, successful in this industry. Design is constantly changing, and so are we, whether we are conscious of it or not. Understand what will work for you in today’s world, not what worked for that one, out of hundreds of thousands, really successful designer from five plus years ago.

我必须完全诚实，这不是我个人的建议。 才华横溢的玛雅·桑切斯·斯特劳斯 ( Maya Sanchez-Strauss )在我们在阿拉莫广场公园(Alamo Square park)的一次交谈中把它给了我，并引起了我的共鸣。 我已经与许多设计师谈过他们进入设计行业并取得成功的职业生涯。 没有两次旅程是相同的。 按照您自己的定义，您不必成为其他任何人的克隆人，就可以在这个行业中取得成功。 设计在不断变化，无论我们是否意识到它，我们也是如此。 从五年前开始的数十万名真正成功的设计师中，了解当今世界上对您有用的东西，而不是对那个世界有用的东西。

02.设想您想做什么 (02. Envision what you want to be doing)

Day in and day out

一天又一天

There is a difference between analyzing and actualizing our careers as designers. We have to balance both, but the analyzing aspect should be in service to the actualizing component. It’s important to not get too attached to an idea of what it’s like to work for a company, but to truly understand what your day to day could be like. Companies have value, but company culture has much more value. The environment that you are in is crucial to the quality of work that you will produce, and your overall well being. Positions have value, but new job titles are birthed every few years and there are countless debates happening right now as to what old and new titles actually mean. Understand what task you want to do, everyday, and in what way.

分析和实现我们作为设计师的职业是有区别的。 我们必须兼顾两者，但是分析方面应该为实现组件服务。 重要的是，不要太了解公司的运作方式，而要真正了解您的日常状况。 公司具有价值，但是公司文化具有更大的价值。 您所处的环境对于您将产生的工作质量以及整体健康状况至关重要。 职位具有价值，但新职位每隔几年就会诞生一次，关于旧职位和新职位的实际含义，现在正在进行无数争论。 了解每天要以何种方式执行的任务。

03.了解自己 (03. Know yourself)

You are who you believe you are

你就是你所相信的人

It’s very easy to swim downstream. Not so much upstream. Understand what that means for you as a designer. What does going with the flow consist of for you? What have you always been interested in designing, or have been working on in the past month that you’ve thoroughly enjoyed doing? Let me take a step back. Why is it important to go with that flow? You’ll feel physically and mentally better. You’ll produce higher quality work. You’ll feel more confident in your ability to make decisions in this design industry which is something that many new designers consistently struggle with. You know what’s best for you, listen. You know what does and doesn’t make sense to you, believe that you do. Trust your intuition and it will never lead you astray.

向下游游泳很容易。 上游没有那么多。 了解这对您作为设计师意味着什么。 流程对您有什么好处？ 在过去的一个月中，您一直对设计感兴趣或一直在从事什么工作？ 让我退后一步。 为什么顺其自然很重要？ 您的身体和精神都会好起来。 您将产生更高质量的作品。 在这个设计行业中，您对自己的决策能力会更有信心，这是许多新设计师一直在努力的目标。 您知道什么是最适合您的，听着。 您知道对您有什么用和没有用，请相信您有。 相信您的直觉，它永远不会使您误入歧途。

04.只比作六个月前的你 (04. Only compare yourself to who you were 6 months ago)

Imposter syndrome is real, but you’re not the only one who gets it

冒名顶替综合症是真实的，但您不是唯一一个患上此病的人

Your progression as a designer is an important trait to be aware of. We live in a world filled with many instantaneous digital interactions that consistently gratify unhealthy and egocentric behaviors the most. It’s very common to feel unconfident in yourself and discouraged in your abilities to design when someone else is constantly showcasing how good they can. I know I have. But in that moment, think about what you were doing 6 months ago. Were you reading articles about how to grow as a designer? Were you working on that one project or developing that one skill that you finally feel a bit more competent at? There are many indicators of progress that we should always be aware of. Focus on that, and focus on growing as a designer through those progressions. Did you complete 15 daily UI challenges last month? Shoot for 30 this month. That is how you’ll grow insanely fast.

您作为设计师的发展是一个重要的特征。 我们生活在一个充满许多即时数字互动的世界中，始终能最大程度地满足于不健康和以自我为中心的行为。 当别人不断展示自己的能力时，对自己不自信而沮丧的设计能力非常普遍。 我知道我有 但是在那一刻，请考虑您六个月前的工作。 您是否在阅读有关如何成长为设计师的文章？ 您是在从事一个项目，还是在开发一种最终使您感到更胜任的技能？ 我们应该始终注意许多进展指标。 专注于这一点，并专注于通过这些过程成长为设计师。 您上个月完成了15项日常UI挑战吗？ 本月拍摄30张。 那就是您将快速疯狂成长的方式。

05.最多只能设定6个月的目标 (05. Only set goals for 6 months out at the most)

This will maximize your potential for growth

这将最大化您的增长潜力

Let’s take that daily UI challenge example. If your goal is to do 30 challenges, maybe it makes sense to plan on doing one challenge a day. That sounds fairly easy and manageable. What if that goal was to do 300 challenges in that month? It can begin to feel very overwhelming as you start to consider how you might, ideally, complete 10 challenges a day. Start small and start very short term with your goals. The best way to become more familiar with a concept that you want to learn is to consistently practice it. Consistency is the key. That’s why it’s good to have short term goals that are approaching soon. You will quickly become comfortable with consistently handling a little, which will make it easier for you to transition to handling a lot.

让我们以该日常UI挑战示例为例。 如果您的目标是进行30个挑战，则计划每天进行一次挑战可能是有意义的。 这听起来很容易且易于管理。 如果该目标是在那个月进行300次挑战怎么办？ 当您开始考虑如何最好地一天完成10个挑战时，可能会感到非常不知所措。 从小处着手，并从短期开始就制定目标。 熟悉您要学习的概念的最佳方法是不断地实践它。 一致性是关键。 这就是为什么短期目标很快就要实现的原因。 您将很快适应少量处理，这将使您轻松过渡到处理大量内容。

06.完善Craft.io (06. Perfect your craft)

Love the process

热爱过程

This is the one thing that transcends portfolios, how many connections you have, how well you give presentations, or really just about every other quality a designer can have, in my opinion. That is your skill. How skilled of a designer you are. If your skill is there, other qualities will come much easier. The confidence to give an insightful presentation. The ability to articulate your design decisions to a team and collectively work towards the best solution. This all starts with loving the process of becoming a better designer. Even when an unknown obstacle is dropped in front of your path. The obstacle is the way.

在我看来，这是超越投资组合，您拥有多少联系，展示效果如何，或者设计师几乎具备的其他所有素质的一件事。 那是你的技能。 您是多么熟练的设计师。 如果您的技能在那里，其他素质将变得更加容易。 有信心进行有见地的演讲。 向团队表达您的设计决策并共同努力以寻求最佳解决方案的能力。 这一切都始于热爱成为一名更好的设计师的过程。 即使未知的障碍物掉在了您的路径前。 障碍是路。

07.了解行业 (07. Understand the industry)

Understand, plan, execute

了解，计划，执行

There are certain aspects of the design industry that are pretty timeless, but all things are constantly in a state of change. Understand what today’s design industry truly is. The best way to do this is through networking. Talk to others, share your experiences, & actively listen to theirs. You’ll learn so much from these conversations.

设计行业中的某些方面是永恒的，但是所有事情都处于不断变化的状态。 了解当今的设计行业真正是什么。 最好的方法是通过网络。 与他人交谈，分享您的经验，并积极倾听他们的经验。 您将从这些对话中学到很多东西。

08.停止使用初级或有抱负的标题 (08. Stop using titles like junior or aspiring)

Be who you are

做你自己

Be a designer. Be who you are and become who you want to be. Those titles may signify a point at which you are currently at within your design career, or even what skills you currently possess, but that moment is temporary. It will only last for how long you want it to. Whether you are aware of it or not, you truly have the choice and will make it, consciously or not. Learn the skills that you believe are necessary, go after opportunities you can see yourself doing, and call yourself who you are, based on what you are doing.

成为设计师。 做你自己，成为你想成为的人。 这些头衔可能表示您目前在设计事业中所处的位置，甚至表示您目前所拥有的技能，但是那一刻是暂时的。 它只会持续多长时间。 无论您是否意识到它，您都可以真正选择，并且会自觉地做出选择。 学习您认为必要的技能，把握机会，看自己正在做的事情，并根据自己的所作所为来称呼自己是谁。

09.失败是不可避免的 (09. Failure is inevitable)

Fail, fail, and fail again

失败，失败，然后再次失败

It’s a necessary part of becoming who you want to become. It’s tough to remember this when you’re in those moments. I truly understand how turbulent it can feel when you realize you’re failing or failed at something that you thought you would suceed at. How personally attacked you can feel. Nothing is ever that personal. I wrote an article about how I persevered through one of those moments here. It’s part of the duality of all things. You can’t have light without darkness. Understand the value of failure for your career. Understand how you can transform those failures into lessons learned for the next idea or opportunity. Fail, fail, and fail again, but understand why it’s important too.

这是成为您想成为的人的必要部分。 在那些时刻，很难记住这一点。 我真正理解当您意识到自己失败或失败时会感觉到的动荡。 您会受到怎样的个人攻击。 没有什么比这个人更重要的了。 我写了一篇文章，讲述了我如何在这里的经历中坚持不懈。 这是万物二重性的一部分。 没有黑暗，你就无法拥有光明。 了解失败对您的职业的价值。 了解如何将那些失败转变为下一个想法或机会的经验教训。 失败，失败，然后再次失败，但也要理解为什么它也很重要。

奖金 (Bonus)

You don’t have to do anything, you get to do anything. You get to figure out what kind of design career that you want to have and have it. You get to figure out the best way to tell the story of a design in your portfolio, and tell it. You get to figure out that perfect chair angle, or stay up late tinkering with bits of code, that you honestly may have to rewrite the next morning. The point is, you get to have this opportunity to become a designer and you shouldn’t rely on previous models of thoughts and processes to get you there. You get to figure out what works best for you in today’s world, and apply it.

您不必做任何事情，您可以做任何事情。 您可以弄清楚自己想要拥有什么样的设计职业。 您将找出最好的方式来讲述投资组合中的设计故事，并加以讲述。 您需要弄清楚椅子的理想角度，或者熬夜修改一些代码，老实说，第二天早上您可能不得不重写。 关键是，您将有机会成为一名设计师，并且您不应该依赖以前的思想和流程模型来达到目标​​。 您将弄清楚在当今世界上最适合您的方法，并加以应用。

These tips are only powerful when you consistently practice them. Do so, and everything truly will be ok. If you have any questions or comments, I am always happy to chat and can be reached here.

这些技巧只有在您不断练习时才有力。 这样做，一切都会好起来的。 如果您有任何疑问或意见，我总是很乐意与您聊天，可以在这里与您联系 。