New UX Designer's Obsession with Tools & My EGO
Jun 20, 2022
How’s your week going? As a jiu-jitsu lover, my week is going great because I got to go to a tournament! There were all different levels competing and it was so interesting to see some of the characters that were there.
The most badass guy I saw there was a doctor - pretty sure he’s the most jacked doctor ever - who was also competing as a black belt. This guy was amazing. If you think about it, he could kill someone and save someone’s life on the same day! That is a whole new level of goals.
Why I Love Jujitsu
I’m a huge jiu-jitsu fan because this practice has changed my life in so many ways. It’s taught me to focus, helped me mellow out my temper, keeps me disciplined, and increased my confidence. It really helps me put life challenges and stresses in perspective. So I highly recommend it, especially if you’re struggling with insecurity.
I promise: once you’ve gotten voluntarily choked out on a mat on a Friday night, you’ll worry a little less about what some random person on the street thinks of you.
Story Time
A high-level competitor was at this tournament, Tex Johnson. To be honest, we were scratching our heads a bit wondering why he came to this tournament. It’s kind of like seeing Brad Pitt at Red Lobster, it makes you wonder why on earth he’s there!
Tex was winning everything, until he grappled with another amazingly-jacked guy who I’m going to call “Fabio.” Fabio would not let up, and then Tex kept going even though he knew he was out of bounds. These two guys hit the wall HARD. Fabio’s back got slammed and the sound was like a car crash.
I honestly don’t know why Tex would do that at a small competition with a small prize, especially when he was already out of bounds. But the smirk on his face gave me some clues. So here’s my guess: this was all about ego.
Tex going that hard was so unnecessary, and it really did seem like he was just showing off. Speaking from personal experience, training in jiu-jitsu is very anti-ego. And if you’re training with a partner who is ego-driven, it’s very counterproductive. They might be a beast in competition, but it’s hard to work with them.
Check Your Ego at the Door
The same thing goes for people in the workplace, or really any area of life. People who are driven by ego are so stressful to be around! They always need to have the last word, do the best work, and anything that threatens that ego becomes their enemy.
When I first started at my new job, I struggled with ego myself. Usually this meant that I was a little too close to the project, to the point where I was forgetting to present as a friendly person who was open to feedback. Not good, especially on a team!
Thankfully, my manager gave me some tips on how to be more approachable. Combine that with the work I had to do internally on my own ego, and things are a lot better now. Being honest with myself was key: sometimes I am the problem, sometimes it’s just how I’m presenting myself that affects how I am perceived! And these are soft skills that matter no matter what field you’re in, so it’s always good to work on these things.
Going back to the Tex Johnson situation, it seems like his ego was in the way so badly that he was willing to hurt the other contestant. Not hurt them on the mat, as part of a fair fight using the right techniques. More like spear the guy through a wall like freakin’ Juggernaut! Not a good look.
Designers’ Obsession with Tools
Let’s make a hard turn into the other topic I wanted to discuss today: designers who are obsessed with tools.
Everyone has favorite tools for their trade, and UX designers are no different. But people who are new to UX do seem to place a really big emphasis on tools. Maybe that’s because they need a bit of extra validation, because they’re not confident in their work yet?
From my perspective, functionality is the name of the game. If a tool helps you give your users what matters, that’s the right tool. Is it Figma? Is it XD? Is it Sketch?
Sure!
At the end of the day, pick the tools you can work with, the ones that give you your desired result without extra hassle.
Comparing Tools
Out of curiosity, I found a list of tools that are supposedly the most useful UX/UI tools (don’t even get me started on combining UX and UI in the title!):
Sketch (useful, but IMO pretty frustrating)
InVision Studio
Axure
Craft
Proto.io
Adobe XD (my personal favorite)
Marvel
Figma (another favorite)
Framer X
Origami Studio
WebFlow
FlowMapp
Balsamiq
VisualSitemaps
Treejack
Wireframe.cc
Optimal Workshop
I’ve heard of a lot of these, but some were completely new to me. Here’s the question. Does. It. Matter?
It just doesn’t matter, because as Jay-Z puts it, “output is income.” If the dang tool works, use it! You have my blessing.
Making the Switch
Back when I was taking the Springboard bootcamp, I dabbled with some tools and tried to figure out what the best software was. I already was an Adobe user (I practically lived full-time in Adobeland), so I really liked what I saw in Adobe XD. Plus I could use it on both Windows and Mac, unlike Sketch.
But then I was told to try Sketch, and that this was a more popular program. I opened it up and I hated it instantly. Sorry Sketch fans, just trying to be honest! Long story short, I had to learn it in a week for a manager who didn’t want me using Adobe XD.
How’d it go? Pretty well! That’s because even though I didn’t want to use Sketch, at its core it’s really not that different from the other comparable programs.
So I really, truly, don’t believe it matters much which program you use. The knowledge you have in one will mostly transfer over to the other, with some small adjustments as needed. They’re basically interchangeable.
Don’t get bogged down in program choices, just find one you like. Learn it, and be open to trying a different one in the future if you have to. Job descriptions usually tell you what programs you need to know, so you’ll have a head start if you need to play catch up.
Tools vs. Skills
Here’s something I can’t stress enough: even if you use the same tools as me, that doesn’t mean you can make the same things as me.
Does that make me sound like a jerk? That’s not my intention. I just want to make sure you understand that there is no substitute for practice and skill. And that doesn’t even take individual creativity into account!
The Importance of Visuals
Recently, my team and I had to pick between two designers: one who was better at UX, one who had better visual design. Guess who we picked?
Even though I’m a UX designer, the fact is that we can teach UX but it’s a lot harder to teach someone to have a good eye for visuals. So we picked the designer who has awesome visuals. They might need a little extra training, but at least we know they won’t lose sight of the final visual outcome.
So keep that in mind when you’re submitting applications! Your visuals should be on point, and not overwhelming. Pick the most relevant examples, because I promise you that a few solid visuals has way more impact than a cluttered stack that no one will actually read through.
Where to Focus
Your best move is to develop your abilities, no matter which tools you end up using. No need to hunt for the best or most perfect program. You’d be better off spending your time on things like:
Brushing up on your design skills
Mastering one of the top programs (again, it doesn’t really matter which one)
Finding ways to make an immediate, positive impact on your team
Working on your soft skills
Taming your ego
There are times where any one of those factors will make or break your chances for a job or a project. Being the best UX designer is great, but being a person that people can work with, who’s willing to learn? You’ll be golden.