Anybody who has the word "creative" as part of his or hers job description deserves some credit.
Yes, from the outside it looks like is all fun and games. But in the inside is more like an engine that never stops, always going faster than it should, making as few stops as possible.
It's intense and it's a challenge, but it is the most amazing job I know.
Some of the most creative people I know are designers.That's why I thought that it would be good to share some thoughts about thinking like a designer.
The original list is Garr Reynold's blog; Presentation Zen
(1) Embrace constraints. Constraints and limitations are wonderful allies and lead to enhanced creativity and ingenious solutions that without constrains never would have been discovered or created.
(2) Practice restraint. it takes discipline of mind and strength of will to make the hard choices about what to include and what to exclude.
(3) Adopt the beginner's mind. As the old saying goes, in the expert's mind there are few possibilities, but for one with the beginner's mind, the world is wide open.
(4) Check your ego at the door. This is not about you, it's about them (your audience, customer, patient, student, etc.).
(5) Focus on the experience of the design. It's not the thing, it's the experience of the thing.
(6) Become a master storyteller. Often it's not only the design — i.e., the solution to a problem — that is important, but the story of it. This is related to #5 above. What's the meaning of the solution?
(7) Think communication not decoration. Design is about solving problems or making the current situation a little better than before. Design is not art, though there is art in design.
(8) Obsess about ideas not tools. Good advice is to go analog in the beginning with the simplest tools possible.
(9) Clarify your intention. Design is about choices and intentions, it is not accidental. Design is about process.
(10) Sharpen your vision & curiosity and learn from the lessons around you. Design is a "whole brain" process. You are creative, practical, rational, analytic, empathetic, and passionate. Foster these aptitudes.
(11) Learn all the "rules" and know when and why to break them.
