STAND OUT
FROM THE CROWD AS A
DESIGNER
Vikalp Kaushik
VIKALP KAUSHIK
STANDOUT FROM THE CROWD
AS A DESIGNER
Copyright © 2022-23 by Vikalp Kaushik All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the
publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute
it by any other means without permission. Second edition
Table of contents
Foreword
1
1. A criticism is not an insult. 2. Doesn’t design for yourself 3. Be Empathetic 4. Aesthetics are only one aspect of good design. 5. Clear your fundamentals 6. Understands the benefits and drawbacks of
each solution 7. Visualize Your Ideas
8. Explore more, design less 9. Make connection with everyone. 10. Try without worry. 11. Doesn’t pretend to know everything 12 A great designer is always learning and
growing 2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
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24
About the Author
26
Foreword
Hi there! First of all, you’re amazing! Comparisons might be challenging. The notion of relativity,
which allows us to determine if one subject is superior to
another, enables us to select the best among the greatest.
It helps us in making sound judgments. Even when humans
lack natural mechanisms of judging the worth of something,
we frequently rate it based on feelings and experiences. All the illustrations used in this ebook are from storyset.
Vikalp Kaushik
01
01
A criticism is
not an insult
STANDOUT FROM THE CROWD AS A DESIGNER
Great designers do not cower in the face of criticism.
Because they take every critique with a grain of salt. They
don’t go to work only to get paid and get it off their back as
quickly as possible.
Wanting to complete any design quickly is a trap you make
for yourself, and it will eventually lead to failure. Unsatisfied
client; demotivated you.
Sit down with a clean head and write down every design skill
you’ve learned. Recognize that your client, too, has a
deadline. So don’t just make anything for the sake of making
something. Respect each other’s ideas and time. The design process is a human-centered method that uses
empathy to tackle everyday challenges.
03
02
Doesn’t design
for yourself
VIKALP KAUSHIK
A
great
designer
designs
for
the
end
user,
not
for
themselves. A competent designer conducts interviews with
the target audience and creates personalities.
Another feature of a successful designer is that the designer
takes the time to conduct interviews and speak with users in
person. They are capable of putting aside her own answers. A great designer’s goal is not to win prizes, but to create
products that make thousands of people happy on a daily
basis. A
skilled
created
designer
on
cannot
professional
be
sites
affected
or
the
simply
by
opinions
requirements
of
a
contest trial: they must instead focus on the end user.
05
03
Be empathetic
STANDOUT FROM THE CROWD AS A DESIGNER
Perhaps the most crucial characteristic of a designer is
empathy. You won’t do much in design until you know your
users, and you won’t get anywhere in management unless
you appreciate your coworkers.
Usability testing may provide the greatest insight into users’
brains for empathizing with them. Reliable data eliminates much of the dangerous guessing in
design, which is especially important given that the designer
is rarely the intended audience, thus there is always an
element of uncertainty. Try to know your users to the greatest extent possible, and
utilize user research to fill in the gaps.
07
04
Aesthetics are only
one aspect of good
design
VIKALP KAUSHIK
A great designer may produce visually appealing and
engaging things. Nonetheless, they are equally interested in
the effective operation of the product - and I don’t mean
programming or a look beneath the hood, but the real
operation of the product in the hands of people. What will they do with it? What are they going to do with it?
What will people take away from it? What will they do the
first time they use it? And what are they going to do for the
hundredth time? These are the questions that a great
designer is interested in!
11
05
Clear your
fundamentals
STANDOUT FROM THE CROWD AS A DESIGNER
Knowing the fundamentals is not the same as memorizing a
list of items. The concepts become second nature to you and
become part of your instinct, almost like physical movement. While you truly understand them, you will react immediately
when developing or assessing a design. They will take effect and force you to raise the text size,
relocate the icon a few pixels to the left, or shorten a
transition by a fraction of a second. Finally, design methods are really a means to an end: making
your design feel correct.
13
06
Understands the benefits
and drawbacks of each
solution
VIKALP KAUSHIK
Another crucial characteristic of a competent designer is
that he or she does not want to force you towards anything. A
smart designer will bring in many droughts and explain the
benefits and drawbacks of each. There is no ideal answer. Compromises are made throughout the design process in
order to discover the optimal combination that performs well
within the constraints. A skilled designer includes the entire team in design choices.
They are not arrogant or believes they knows more than
anybody else.
15
07
Visualize Your
Ideas
STANDOUT FROM THE CROWD AS A DESIGNER
Being able to visualize these thoughts allows you to make
them more concrete and understandable to others, allowing
them to see what you do without being inside your brain. That’s why they say a picture is worth a thousand words. You
don’t
need
pixel-perfect
drawings
or
hyper-realistic
prototypes to sell ideas; you only need to be able to show
your audience a peek of what your concept may become. It might be as basic as a drawing on paper that shows the
concept and brings it to life. This might be as easy as a handful of sketches on a sheet of
paper, or as sophisticated as creating a prototype that is so
lifelike that people mistake it for the genuine thing.
17
08
Explore more,
design less
VIKALP KAUSHIK
Great
designers
consider
their
possibilities
in
a
similar
manner. They think carefully before overloading a website/
application with all of their design skills. They are color-conscious, mindful of white space, concerned
about
contrast,
alignment,
and
obsess
over
every
minor
detail. Great designers doodle more. They utilize a pen and paper as
an outlet for their ideas. Their design decisions are free of
user
prejudice,
and
they
seek
user
opinion
on
every
contentious choice.
19
09
Make connection
with everyone
STANDOUT FROM THE CROWD AS A DESIGNER
Because design is linked with everything, a successful
designer maintains contact with managers, end users, and
developers. If they are clever, they can combine all of the varied feedback
into their product so that they reinforce each other and, in
the end, create a whole. They understands exactly which
ideas to accept or reject. You don’t need to be a salesperson; only know how to show
and explain your job. Understand your audience first so that
you can build a picture that they can understand. Show them
how your design links back to the original aim and how it
benefits the individuals you’re trying to reach.
21
10
Try without worry
VIKALP KAUSHIK
Instead of coming up with a solution straight away, a skilled
designer
would
experiment,
most
ask
questions,
likely
fail,
and
study,
repeat
think
this
about
process
it,
until
they find the appropriate answer. A brilliant designer tries without fear of failure since it is
only after failing that you realist the answer was staring you
down the entire time. This implies that much of the time spent creating will appear
to be a waste of time since you will end up tossing away a
large portion of the work you performed. However, without all of that failure, you wouldn’t be able to
figure out what the answer was; it’s all part of the process.
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11
Doesn’t pretend to
know everything
STANDOUT FROM THE CROWD AS A DESIGNER
As a designer, you are the design expert, and you should
operate as such; I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t. What I mean is that you should not dismiss someone’s input
just because it is their own view. Or simply because it was
created by someone with no design background or even less
experience. The same is true in reverse; you should not accept someone
ease’s perspective as fact simply because they are your boss
or have more seniority than you. You must assess the input against the aims that the design is
designed to achieve before deciding whether or not to act on
it.
25
12
A great designer is
always learning and
growing
VIKALP KAUSHIK
This is true for all professions, and design is no exception. A
skilled designer is continuously evolving, experimenting with
new tools and approaches. They are up to date: they are always conversing with other
designers and reading foreign literature. They are eager to
learn and practice new abilities
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About the Author
I’m Vikalp Kaushik and I’m working as a
UI / UX
Designer & Developer at Kylo Apps in India. I’ve been
designing and building websites for leading tech and
startup businesses for the last 4 years.
You can connect with me on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/betterdesigning Medium: https://vikalpkaushik99.medium.com
Illustration from storyset: https://storyset.com/people