INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS: we're all pretending there's a "right way" and protecting that lie

Screw it, let’s kick the hornets' nest…

I've talked to close to 400 designers this year. Most of us can't fully explain why our solutions work. We say "this feels right" and hope no one asks for proof.

That confidence only holds as long as no one challenges it. When they do, we deflect ("you don't get it") or posture ("15 years experience"). Neither works, both lose the decision.

Our taste might be excellent. But when the VP says "make it blue," taste isn't enough. Opinion vs. opinion goes to whoever has more power. That’s never the designer.

What gives designers influence is connecting intuition to evidence: user behavior, constraints, competitive context. Not "I like this," but "this solves the problem."

It's not killing instinct. It's making it legible. Because the only opinion that wins isn't yours or theirs, it's the customer's.

If we keep getting overruled by worse judgment, this is why. We're choosing to feel like artists instead of becoming designers people can't ignore. The confidence without methodology isn't strength, it's just hoping nobody asks why. And eventually, they always ask why.

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