QA #4: Does my design work have to be new and risky to be great?

Published August 13, 2021

Risk-taking is an inherent part of the DNA of startups and tech companies. It’s how big companies like Apple, Amazon and Google have produced some of the most innovative products of our time.

But while launching the first-of-its-kind product comes with business-related risks, the actual design of the product probably isn’t very risky at all.

Really, great design only seems like it’s taking risks because we don’t know all the work that went into arriving at the output that they did. So next time you deem a product’s design as “risky”, I would argue that, when it comes to design, it’s the designer’s job to make the product function in a way that will resonate with users, even if it’s new or different.

In other words, every design decision that appears risky to us outsiders is deeply considered and is based on LOTS of critical thinking, careful calculation, and often the rules of design have been thoroughly considered at every take.

Remember: it is not a designer‘s job to take risks in what they design, but to eliminate as many risks as possible through a process of validating ideas through research, checking assumptions, considering conventional design rules and never designing on just instinct.