Luis Ouriach is a Designer Advocate figma who runs a weekly newsletter called Milk No Sugar writes various articles on the topic of design and hosts a More aboutLuis

Yes Id love to present my work at the next meeting

Design is one of those disciplines that has a very low barrier to entry and this is amazing What isnt so easy is acquiring the softer skills that youll need when entering this job market.

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Working on designs is just so much fun But to become better designers its also crucial to understand what makes a great team member and how to present your work to colleagues. Unfortunately not everyone has access to a mentor guide or whatever word youd like to use to describe advice from a more senior person in the design industry which is why we often have to rely on working it out by ourselves.

This may be intimidating at first but I firmly believe that if we take a step back from the pixels on the screen and reflect on who we want to be and what our core principles are we can walk into these design critique meetings with more confidence and really deliver the best possible representation of our ideas.

Yes Id love to present my work at the next meeting This has probably been you at some point during the past few months. Your boss has praised your design work and youve been asked to share your design with the wider team. The thing is youre really not sure if you even like your work. You can see the inconsistent padding between the labels and the icons the misalignment of the chevron the lack of canvas organization a glaring omission of meaningful layer names and more.

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Unfortunately were raised in a world where seniority demands respect regardless of whether that is justified and we need to be seen to grow within an organization. This means that we need to be able to present for the job we want in most cases which is a fair ask for progression and ultimately also money.

You know what What youre experiencing is within us all. The unfortunate side effect of being a creative is that you will never be satisfied with what youve produced and youre not alone.

Unless like I have tried to force myself to do youve resigned to the fact that 80 done is more often than not good enough to convince those at the table youve been desperate to sit at that we can produce good work and ultimately sell our product.

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Presenting your work is fundamental to career growth at least on every career ladder Ive seen. This means we need to either become excellent actors or learn some coping mechanisms to handle that pressure. Weirdly enough presenting work to your team should and is often the least pressured environment we will find ourselves in at work. Still because we know each other and are unfortunately in competition with one another it can feel like the most daunting task of them all.

This is where I can try to offer some help Over the past many years Ive landed on a formula that works for me and Im happy to share what I have learned. Creating your own goals rituals and methods will help you succeed but sometimes its hard to know where to start.

You may be looking at your more experienced colleagues in awe wondering how they present so well and seemingly without a bead of sweat. The funny thing though is that as your experience level increases so does your self-doubt.

This oxymoron keeps us all sprinting along in blind panic not stopping for air burning out and wondering what went wrong. But as Car Seat Headrests lead singer Will Toledo sings It doesnt have to be like this.

A second side effect of being a creative is that we get kicks out of focusing on the wrongs in the world rather than appreciating what we have or whats going well. This means that as we progress become more successful earn more money buy that new iPhone or spend 500 on some digital art we will always fall into a slump at the first sniff of negative feedback. Its in this slump that we are the most vulnerable and here is where we need to rely on our personal values to keep our chins up and our spirits high.

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This is where I should probably coin a catchy marketing phrase like The 5 Ps of Personal Principles but this isnt the movie Dodgeball or an overpriced email course that you paid for but couldve Googled for free. So lets just pretend it has a catchy hook.

Principles also have a bit of a woo-woo reputation thanks to the boom in personal reflection over the past few years. But essentially its about knowing yourself and understanding what youre in control of and what youre not. Control is a strong word and probably elicits some negative feelings but it basically means what we have within our reach.

Knowing what you can and cannot control is incredibly important. Once youve grasped this you will understand where you can win and youve guessed it where you cannot. Knowing where you can win will present you with an endless amount of marginal gains that once properly planned for may turn you into a superstar. Of course theres no such thing as a superstar designer or a front-end ninja. Although youd be surprised at the number of hits if you Google one of these terms

If youre like me your mind probably went straight to something spiritual or religious when reading the word principles but I promise you its not that.

Believing in yourself is more powerful than you think and if you can stay humble whilst knowing your worth you will become the best kind of colleague.

Im not encouraging you to write down a list of commandments or commit to an every day I will do this or that type of routine here because we all know forced routine often fails.

What I would like you to do is start considering whether there is anything you find yourself repeating. Do you have a motto or a phrase that resonates with you particularly well I have a few

Im also not encouraging you to read more books. Take one look around where you live and count how many books youve bought over the years and still didnt read. Im going to bet there are at least five or ten unread books there or probably more. This isnt about reading what someone else thinks you should be but relying on what you believe to be true. No one can write or describe how you want your outlook to be so lets leave the books aside for a moment. Note The irony of this message arriving via an article is not beyond me.

Much like reading someone elses opinion on how to live your life Im also not telling you to steal or borrow principles from somewhere else. I cant tell you how to think but I can help get you into a frame of mind to encourage that discovery.

What would it be if you were to boil down what you love the most about your current work into one short statement This is hard for some people because there are moments when it can feel like nothing is enjoyable about work which is kind of the point Maybe its about the moments when you are not working that you enjoy the most and this could form a statement too.

Got there If yes well done you have a principle or at least the beginning of one. You might need to shape and mold it into something catchy that you can remember. Important This isnt a principle that needs to be sold to others its something youd be comfortable repeating often. So if its something like I love it when Im the best in the room no this wont work. Lets think about how this can be shaped into something a little more comfortable meaningful and practical. Perhaps its I love educating others This flips the point on its head and allows you to focus on the part you find enjoyable from an outwardly perspective rather than being insular.

Jot down these answers onto a piece of paper if it helps. Or maybe in a new note on your phone if thats how you prefer to take notes. Again the way you write down things is also something to be aware of.

If this is something youd prefer to do visually Ive shared a resource in the Figma community with some prompts to hopefully get you into the zone. This is something you can do yourself or better yet as a team. Finding these things out together actually offers an opportunity to spot each others strengths and weaknesses encouraging a more open communication style and collaborative atmosphere as a unit.

When running this exercise with your team you should hopefully find each others working styles and spot points where you can improve efficiency together. This encourages ownership by those that want it domain expertise by those that specialize and an acknowledgment of difference this is the most important one.

Youve read quite a few words so far and youre maybe wondering what to do with them from the practical side of things. Hopefully by now youve spotted a few potential principles to align with so the moment has come when you should try to put them to work

Remember the imposter syndrome scenario where you have to present your work to the team and you are simply put frightened Lets think about the principles that we defined earlier.

Ive written about this before and here are the most important things to keep in mind when presenting projects internally to stakeholders

I find that we become stressed most when we are trying to become someone we think other people want and expect remember my point about expectations. By trying to understand who it is that we are as individuals and not trying to double-think untrue expectations set by others it provides us with a platform to shine.

We did it We went through the first pass at crafting personal principles that should or so I hope leave you feeling stronger and more confident in yourself as you think about progressing as a designer in the industry.

The core messages that I want you to take away here are first that you are great at what you do second that sometimes we have to take control of our own paths grabbing opportunities when they arise and third that you probably had no idea that you were that confident about your own methodologies before reading this article. I promised that I wouldnt try to trick you

Id love to hear what principles you did manage to create during this process. You know where to find me either leave a comment here or message me on Twitter.