INDUSTRIAL DESIGN: the better you get, the more your instincts lie

On a recent project I picked the thing I thought mattered most and worked it relentlessly. Every round got cleaner and sharper, and I could point to obvious progress. The results barely moved.

For too long I kept asking how to make that one part better. What I should have asked was if it mattered as much as I thought, and it turned out it did not.

People were responding to something I had treated as secondary. Once I stopped defending my assumption and watched their behavior, the answer was embarrassingly clear.

That is a useful reminder after more than 20 years. Experience sharpens your instincts, but it also makes them harder to question. You get good at recognizing patterns, then mistake recognition for being right.

The day you stop questioning your assumptions is the day you stop getting better.

Building something?
Crafted by works with companies on product strategy & research, industrial design, engineering, UX/UI, branding, packaging, and manufacturing.
[See how we can help →]