Humility and Design

What is humility?

According to Google, it is

“The quality of having a modest or low view of one’s importance”.

Why humility is needed in design…

Like an organization, which is a designed structure, one needs to keep empathy in mind while designing a product. Since organizations are too big and in turn, too hard to monitor, the least designers can try to do is to bring these qualities in their projects. Because just like one cannot better themselves without humility, one cannot improve their product without humility either.

How?

Opinions of customers/Users are to be welcomed and respected, much more than your own. And your own convictions should be taken with a grain of salt, and in many circumstances, the opinions of your superiors and colleague. To understand and differentiate between these circumstances is where the real experience of any professional lies.

How to acquire it?

Humility is both a value and a skill. Something you might be born with and not know. Something you don’t have but can acquire with practice. We all know what it is, and if we don’t have it then we don’t know it. One moment I might think I have it, and in that very moment I might be wrong.

One can even find it in a life altering event like a car accident which would in turn render one’s hands useless, make one rethink their life as a successful and wealthy brain surgeon and in turn send one to Nepal in search of answers.

Threats to humility

Humility is one of those abstract things which can be confused with other aspects of human nature, like naivety, fear, low confidence and self doubt. It is not easy to differentiate amongst these by simply reading. One would need to keep their mind open and have lot of life experiences before they come close to becoming the “All Knowing One”.

For example, fear and low confidence would be different. In my own experience, I find that in interactions where I lack humility happens when I am in a state of rush, and in turn don’t give time and effort in listening to others’ opinions. This could stem from fear of not having enough time or by not having confidence in others.

Vs Confidence

On the balance, one side where humility sits, other side sits confidence. And to be a good designer, one needs to keep this emotional see-saw in check. Because it is unlike the other parts of our mental playground, where we can easily climb up the stairs of skill and knowledge.

How to keep it in check

Keener observation and introspection.
Don’t take yourself seriously.
Have friends that can slap some sense into you.
And just be humble.

So next time before we say that we are bringing empathy to the design table, let’s take a look at the state of our humility, and see where it’s coming from, so that we can be better people, better leaders and in turn better designers.

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