There’s only one thing that matters: are both sides happy with the exchange? — Pricing creative services is tricky. You’re always worried you’re not charging enough because you can’t help but compare yourself to others who can command higher rates. Nobody likes leaving money on the table. But you’re also worried if you charge too much you’ll lose customers, and nothing is scarier than…

Obsess over process, not outcomes. — As the field of design matures, the weight of responsibility we get from having a “seat at the table” means more pressure to measure the success of design. More metrics, more validation, more proven design outcomes. But the problem with creative work — truly innovative work — is that we…

Mind the gaps for long-term thinking and creative rejuvenation. — White space is a designer’s best friend and most powerful ally. It’s what gives great visual work breathing room. It creates moments of silence that amplify the areas of focus. It forms groupings and builds rhythm. We’d never question the value of whitespace — it’s one of the most fundamental…

One of them is never optional, and sometimes you can’t even pick two. — Surely you’ve heard it before. The iron triangle of service: good, fast, cheap — pick two. You can never have all three, as the saying goes. Cheap + Fast = low quality Good + Cheap = too slow Fast + Good = expensive I have so many problems with…

Mediocre work requires constant sales and marketing to maintain momentum. Exceptional work sells itself. — Would you rather have an average product with excellent marketing or an excellent product with average marketing? Off the top of your head, what would you pick? The perfectionist in me would choose the latter, and I would usually be wrong. The answer to this common business question frequently refers…

It’s time for a radical shift in how we present ourselves as designers. — My website needs some love. The design is showing its age—but even worse — I’ve been too busy to update it so it doesn’t even represent my best work. Sound familiar? Many creatives find themselves in this conundrum. It’s difficult to work on your own website when you’re flat-out designing…

The maturation of UX isn’t making you an uncreative robot or replaceable commodity. — Complaining about the maturation of digital design is all the rage in the UX world right now. Years ago we started noticing how all websites look the same due to the standardizaton of UX best practices and data-driven design. Now we’re complaining that everyone’s design process is the same —…

What’s holding you back from sprinting your career ahead? — It was more than 20 years ago, but I can still remember it clearly. I was sitting in front of an old cathode ray tube watching a grainy VHS tape of my state’s high school track finals. Kevin, a friend who was one grade above me, had just won the…

How alternating focus between the yin and yang of design leads to the perfect balance of consistency and flexibility. — Talk to any design system advocate and you’ll hear the word “consistency” over and over. Consistency in customer experience is what has matured our design field, governed UX best practices, and elevated many loved brands and services to the top of their industries. We all know that consistency is a…