If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years as a UX/UI designer, it’s that every designer faces the same struggles. Creativity doesn’t follow a strict schedule, it doesn’t clock in at 9 a.m. and magically deliver genius ideas by lunch. Some days, the concepts just flow, and other times, you’ll find yourself staring at a design for weeks, wondering why that one button still doesn’t feel quite right.
The Myth of the “Design Superstars”
Scrolling through platforms like Dribbble or Behance can make you feel like you’re surrounded by creative superheroes who never run out of brilliant ideas. But once you start talking to fellow designers, you realize: everyone is in the same boat. We all face creative blocks, tough feedback, and tricky client requirements.
What truly makes a difference isn’t competition — it’s collaboration. Real teamwork gets you much further (and closer to great usability) than a silent battle for the “best” design. Some of the most impressive-looking concepts simply wouldn’t work in the real world because business cases often demand far more complexity than a single Dribbble shot could ever show.
Wearing Other Hats
Another big lesson: great design often means stepping into someone else’s shoes. You can’t design a useful app for patients, sales reps, or internal operations teams without understanding their daily work, challenges, and goals. The earlier you start those conversations, the better.
User research doesn’t start with usability testing. It starts at the very first project kick-off and continues long after launch. It’s a never-ending process of learning, adjusting, and improving.
And while we’re talking about collaboration, never forget your own team. Developers and designers aren’t separate planets orbiting the same product; they’re one team. I genuinely enjoy working closely with developers, learning from their technical expertise while earning their trust in my design decisions. Tools like Figma’s Dev Mode make this collaboration even smoother, but ultimately, it’s about respect and teamwork. With the right people and a positive mindset, the process can actually be fun (yes, even debugging design handovers).
Selling the Vision
Let’s be honest: we all love playing around with colors, UI components, and visuals, it’s the fun part of being a designer. But the reality is, design doesn’t sell itself. Sometimes, you become your own marketing department, explaining to stakeholders what UX and UI design actually mean and how they impact ROI.
In a corporate environment, being able to communicate design value is just as important as creating it. Strong presentation skills (yes, I’m talking about your PowerPoint game) are key. You need to be able to tell the story behind your design, not just show it.
Final Thoughts
Looking back, my biggest takeaway is that UX/UI design is as much about people as it is about pixels. Collaboration, empathy, and communication shape our work far more than color palettes or typography ever could.
And if you’re a designer reading this, wondering if everyone else has it all figured out, trust me, they don’t. We’re all learning, experimenting, and occasionally struggling through the same challenges. That’s what makes this job so human — and, honestly, so much fun 🙂