Product design is not a creative role.

There, I said it. I was an arts grad too.

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I’m Lily, a product designer (UX) in San Francisco. With no connections, I hustled and broke into Silicon Valley after arts school. My story has been featured in Apple News and Business Insider.

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✉️ Professional Inquiries

[Designalily]

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[FinnMckentyPRMBA]

Great message! However, as someone who has also worked in graphic design and industrial design, I would say the same about all "design" jobs. You will spend MAYBE 20% of your time doing "creative" things at most companies (especially bigger ones). If you want to be a pure creative, being a freelancer is probably the way to go, although you'll give up stability for that. Coming to term with the idea that design isn't really a creative job is one of the hardest things for younger designers.

[DesignGal]

Wow, crazy timing. After denying this to myself for many years, I recently had this same realization! To be honest, after being in creative roles for the first half of my career and then product in the 2nd half, I have felt the growth of my craft majorly stunted (though of course I've gained skills and experience in these other areas like business and strategy). It really sucks to feel like you aren't getting to practice the part of design work you love the most. I'm glad you're talking about this and keeping it real, as always!

[HyperGamma]

Great video I agree. Product design is also often glamorised by people online who only focus on craft. That side of things is what graphic designers are attracted to as its seen as 'traditionally creative'. Product design is creative thinking, not just creative visuals. People don't often talk about all these aspects of product design so I appreciate your honest videos 🙌

[xavi]

This is a NICE take!! I somewhat dislike how product design is sold as a Visual Design centric role like Brand or Marketing design. Especially in online spaces/ some boot camps. I will say; personally I've struggled with this as well since I have a Fine Arts background, but once I started approaching it from a Business or PM attitude, I've seen growth and better outcomes.

Personally, I think it would be beneficial if more schools, boot camps, etc. led with and taught how Product design is more of a mix of Tech, Psychology, and Business. I often have found myself in product roles, deeply considering users' habits/mindest and balancing that with a business's targets, paint points, and the business's position within that industry.

[comodesignstudio_la]

You’re right, I’ve been designing for 8 years now and it doesn’t entail the type of creative energy most people think it has. I’ve always felt like a combination of a tech company therapist, strategy consultant, coach, teacher, project manager and administrative assistant all in one. But hey, here we are. Doing the thing that makes all the things work. I do like the fact that communication and understanding how to connect with others can be if not more creative than visual design itself.

[neonhandshakelove]

The only time it was creative for me, was working in a 'creative company' we're talking about gaming, AR/MR/VR and VFX companies as a UX/UI/ Product Designer. Plenty of creativity things going on there since you're doing storyboarding, and coming up with ideas of 3D models and interactions beyond the tap, swipe and using a mouse.

[aoo]

The goal of profitability is what makes the difference. A free creative mainly focusses on the craft, inspiration…the transition/progression, takes place after the the realisation of the need for profitability.

[BeatsReloaded]

I agree. It’s not what it’s glamorized to be, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. All jobs are like that to some extent where it’s hard to get a good picture of the day-to-day. For some people, being creative every single day could burn them out. On the other end, being a design system enforcer would bore them to death. Finding a job with balance and finding creative opportunities within it is the best route.

[guiltygreen]

I know this video's a little older than your current cotent, but I was so satisfied to watch it! I've been thinking this for years, so I'm glad someone else said it. I often get frustrated when I hear students say, "UX was perfect/meant for me because I couldn't design between art and psychology". personally, I think the misconception has led to the oversaturated market, but... /shrug
I loved your video though, and plan on sending it to
a) future students who approach me with that art line, lol
b) engineers who say "I thought your work was [Behance mocks of mobile apps that will likely never exist in real life]" or worse "You're just a pixel pusher. I can do your job too, we don't need you!"
c) my non tech-savvy parents so they can understand my world a little better

Keep up the excellent work, Lily!

[Taskade]

Some solid points here. You can do anything, but not everything.

[minsugamaxsalt]

As a college student about to entire this field, this video was very informative

[abhiux]

It is. Products can be designed creatively and only a creative person can do so. At the end we have to deliver experience, so adding creativity in that experience is cherry on cake ❤️

[rvind]

Thank you for, your very insightful, helps to have realistic expectations.

[aand_av]

I agree but I don't think it should necessarily be so. I believe corporate bullshit is what is killing creativity and this is pretty much aligned with our current cultural values: less creativity, intuition, originality, and authenticity; more rationality, standardization, analytical thinking and data-obsession.

[xavi]

Also, Designalily, could you do a collab video or some type of video where you could deep dive into how product design work can vary due to the kind of business? In other words, comparison and contrast of product designer roles, responsibilities, and tasks in a Startup vs. a FAANG.

I'm asking because I have heard from designers at some FAANGs that being good at 'the craft' of UI design is beneficial and profitable at some specific FAANGs. However, my experience working at startups has shown me that a product designer with a product owner mindset may excel far beyond the designer focused exclusively on visuals or 'the craft.'

[platinumdynamite]

The marketing spin being done on the UX industry is genuinely harmful - and it's heartbreaking to see so many hop on board being sold on this idea that if you can draw boxes and move around a few elements, you're worth 100K.

[SamSam-yxxq]

It can be, only if you put MASSIVE amounts of time into you visualization skills so your artifacts have artistic flair within project timelines.

[cesruhf]

As someone who much prefers the process rather than creative expression is this still a good job?

[kimchifamily]

Hi. Can you tell me how that's different from Product management? (fyi, I did a lot of research of both roles and I'm in the middle of selecting between the two. I just want to hear from you. It will help me make a decision. Coming from a person who worked in business, is very creative but doesn't have the technical skills as a graphic designer.)