As we, perhaps enthusiastically, prepare to bid farewell to a tumultuous 2016, it’s only natural to start thinking about the things we want to accomplish in 2017.
In an exciting and ever-evolving industry, the possibilities for better, great design seem limitless. We reached out to the InVision community to learn what design resolutions our friends had for 2017, and let me tell you, I’m feeling pretty inspired.
“For me, it’s to focus on writing and publishing more of my work. I’ve fallen into a trap of being heads down and doing work but not talking about or sharing it. Writing is one of the best ways for a designer to think through what they have done and what they will do. It’s a great way to teach others about how I work and open myself up for critique.”
–Kyle Fiedler, Chief Design Officer at Thoughtbot
“I’m in charge of marketing for our organization. My 2017 design resolution is to push our brand to the next level. Design will be a crucial component of that. I want to not only polish our look and brand perception, but also make our website and app easier to use for our customers.”
–Andre Theus, Marketing Director at ProductPlan
“Writing is one of the best ways for a designer to think through what they’ve done and what they will do.”
“I’m going to put the user’s needs above all else. Personal preferences and/or client requirements take over most of the time and I should ensure my focus is always on the user—no matter what. After all, the solution is for them.”
–Julie McClements, Lead Designer at Eyekiller
“Early wake, daily write. To use Sean McCabe’s words: ‘It all starts with writing.’ I’ve been in the shadow for too long!”
–Marc-Olivier Lapierre, UX Designer at Valtech Canada
“In 2017 I want to make stream of consciousness, high-level sketching a central part of my process. I currently spend a good bit of time thinking about ideas and jotting down notes, then I sketch out the top few I think are most applicable. I just attended a fantastic session by Eli Woolery on quick ways you can flex your design thinking muscles during your everyday workflow, and I was very inspired. Sketching the first 6 ideas that come to mind, even if they seem ridiculous at first, can really shift your thinking about how to solve a problem to a more innovative place.”
–Jennifer Aldrich, UX and Content Strategist at InVision
Related: What are designers thankful for?
“Someone told me the way I talk doesn’t sound like I’m assertive. It’s been driving me crazy lately, so for 2017 I’ll be looking to improve my writing and speech skills.”
Likkie Xiong, Graphic Designer at Republic Wireless
“Relinquishing control, and growing as a mentor for my fellow designers to guide them, instead of taking over.”
–Jon Moore, Senior Design Partner at Innovatemap
“Sketch the first 6 ideas that come to mind, even if they seem ridiculous at first.”
“When you take the leap into a different career, it’s difficult to network when you’re only acquainted with a handful of professionals in your field. By the first of April 2017, I’ll sincerely reach out to one person in the UX community each week and attend 2 local UX meetups. I’m defining a short timeframe so I can hold myself accountable while being open to new developments should they reveal themselves. Starting over from scratch is hard, but I’m hoping that my participation and membership into the community will help.”
–Major Hoffman, Newly Minted Freelance UX Designer
“Side projects are really important to explore new skills and techniques
, something I didn’t do enough in 2016. I want to do more in 2017.”
–Hidde van der Ploeg, Lead Product Designer at Lightspeed
“My New Year’s design resolution is to continue working with so many amazing clients and work with more as well. I also hope to do a lot more learning, growing, and teaching in the coming year.”
–Rocky Roark, Freelance Illustrator
“Design tends to be very subjective based on trends and one’s own taste. In 2017, I’m going to start asking strangers at coffee shops to give constructive criticism on my work so I can get the unbiased feedback.”
–Shahed Kham, Founder at Opentest
“I’ll be focusing all of my side projects on emerging technologies, especially WebVR and AR. I believe that we’re on the brink of another technological revolution, similar to the dawn of the personal computer and smartphone. Just as these revolutions moved us away from print design and toward more digital experiences, we will now be moving away from desktop and mobile design in favor of more fluid, integrated, and contextual experiences. So rather than obsess over screens, I’ll be betting that screens are dead altogether.”
–Austin Knight, Senior UX Designer at HubSpot
“I want to push experience design beyond the realm of pixels. I believe design has become a commodity, and that the next big thing is going to involve architecting systems—through a synergistic blend of both digital and physical—that make people believe in magic again.”
–Joe Toscano, Experience Designer for R/GA at Google
“I’ll collaborate more, talk more, share more. One of the best things about the creative field are those amazing conversations when you connect with another head on a topic you’re both interested in. I’m just really looking forward to connecting with more designers, engineers, users, and abusers so we can learn and build better products.”
–Russell Haines, Co-Founder / Product design and development at Saent
“We’re on the brink of another tech revolution, similar to the dawn of the PC and smartphone.”
“This year I’m launching my own SaaS, which is an exciting and overwhelming experience. My goal is to abandon my typical consulting assumptions when it comes to UI/UX, and learn more from the customers and the data. Being humble is no easy task.”
–Jane Portman, founder of UI Breakfast and Tiny Reminder
“My new year’s design resolution is to make our users even happier by meeting with more of them and really looking into their problems with our product.”
–Lucas Sekula, Senior UX Designer at Typeform
“Designers tend to design for themselves and this sometimes lends to complexity. For this new year, our focus will be to reimagine the connection with our users and end users. Truly understand their journey before, through, and after our product. We’d like to change the way we design for humans. Start using data for machine learning and research for insight, all to make the better decision on behalf of the user.”
–Vitaly Odemchuk, Head of Design at Weebly
“My new year’s design resolution is to increase my collaboration with people I admire from the design and animation industry, and to try to create a community-based work environment.”
–Eran Mendel, an independent designer, animator and animation director
What are your 2017 design resolutions? Share ’em with us on Twitter!
Shakti is the Head of Content at Blueprint Registry. Before Blueprint Registry, she led social media marketing at InVision and is a trained chef. She loves space stuff, dogs, memes, chicken nuggets, and words.
