Between deep theory and fast practice

It took a lot of work, but I finally did it. Am I a planner, designer, or developer... Looking back, I feel like crying.

Thankfully, many people have suggested collaboration in various ways such as books, lectures, and online lectures. It was a great opportunity, but I also thought that there are already so many great books and lectures in the world. Time is limited, but I thought about how to add something better to the world.

To create something different, I had to find out what only I could do. Upon reflection, I thought I was standing in the middle. I have been working hard to understand both the essential theory behind the phenomenon and the practical work that can produce effects.

From this point of view, I thought that a lecture that could solve various design challenges that can be encountered while working at a startup would be able to create a lecture that is useful in reality while understanding the essence of design.

That's how I created a class that contains how to make a good design I think.

https://designcompass.org/courses/ui-design/

Focusing on the 'design' itself

I thought 100 times what it means to learn design. Until now, knowledge has been conveyed through text and video, but I wondered if I could make a really good design with just that.

In order to make it real my knowledge, I must use my knowledge. And when it's time to explain it to others. It becomes my true knowledge. How can I use my knowledge? How can I explain it to others? I was constantly exploring how ideas could be realized.

Considering the various conditions, it took a lot of people, money, and time. As I spend more time thinking about trivial problems than worrying about the core experience, I thought that I would never be able to make it at this rate. So in the end, I decided to make it myself according to my breathing.

Another reason is that we dream of structures that grow independently. My ultimate goal is for more people to know the beautiful language of 'design' and experience the world in a dense way. It's a dream of the very distant future, but I thought we needed a freer and more sustainable structure to get there.

Unless you are satisfied with yourself, you must create a design for the benefit of the company. For true company profit, we need to create the best design that satisfies our customers. Everyone is already doing well in immersing themselves in running for the success and growth of the company, so I decided to take on the challenge of a service that allows me to focus on the design itself independently of the context of the company.

continue like now

Everyone knows. That I will continue.

For the time being, we want to focus on communicating how to create designs that will have a positive impact on our customers.

This class contains the essence that can be used in practice as much as possible, but it is not an immutable truth. There are many things that have not been filled in and things that need to be made clearer, so we are continuing to refine them. In the future, we will also hold classes on UX design to understand real users and product design that is selected by customers.

Creating a design web magazine. Creating a design class. It's been a long dream that I've been thinking about with my eyes closed since I was a college student. It's thrilling to fill up one by one. I feel swollen that many dreams that I have yet to share will be able to come true soon. I want to continue the fun challenge and fill up the brand, graphics, aesthetics, and art.

Not to get tired of this long and long journey. So that we can make a difference by filling in what we needed but didn't have.

Please support us. thank you

Similar posts

recent posts

The Design Compass was introduced in March Monthly Design in the 537th issue of '11 questions about graphic design education'. Featured as one of 5 online class platforms for design supplementary classes. I still do a lot of 1:1 coaching or corporate consulting, so I'm happy to be introduced as a platform that needs attention!

It was my dream to be introduced in a monthly design someday, but it feels new after being published, albeit in a small way. We will continue to work hard to become a place that helps create better designs. 🙂

Similar posts

recent posts

There are so many people who are ahead of me in whatever they do. 1st place in particular is overwhelming. When you see them moving forward based on what they have achieved so far, it seems like they will never be able to catch up. How can I pass someone who started before me and already has a lot?

So will the company. No. 1 in my industry is far ahead. There are many people who work and have accumulated experience. That will free up your time. You will also make a lot of money by creating a money-making structure. What should I do to make the service and company I created go above and beyond? Should we be satisfied with taking a slice of the market pie?

Even in seemingly impossible situations, there are always superstars. This time, how companies gain value and make a profit. We have summarized our thoughts on how to dig into the weaknesses of a strong No. 1 company and what role design plays in the process.

value and price

The basis of the market is trading. Barter is basically giving what you have and receiving what you want. Since you cannot create all the value you want by yourself, you exchange it with someone else. For a transaction to happen, what each has must be of value to the other.

Companies mainly offer different values to get the other party's 'money'. The person paying the money I buy 'value' when I have a perceived surplus value. In order for a company to grow, the quality of value provided must increase, hidden costs must decrease, and the price paid by customers must increase.

giant blocking the way

1st place will have an advantage over us in all areas. The value you provide to your customers will be high in quality, low in hidden costs, and high in what customers pay for it. It must have been tightly structured so that it could never be won with the same rules. Money, time and people all probably far outweigh us.

Improving the quality of value you provide to your customers requires less money, time, and people. It's too small to reduce the cost of getting it through to the customer. The price customers pay isn't high either, so there's probably no way to get a further discount.

It seems impossible to beat No. 1 in the market the way No. 1 succeeded. So should we wait for the bread crumbs to fall by the side of this giant?

winning game

To beat the giant who has it all, you have to change the rules of the game. It is impossible to suddenly win all areas of market trading. In order to beat the giants and maximize profits, you must find a way that only you can do with a distinct strategy.

• Value creation is insanely unique or
• Value delivery is insanely fast
• Willingness to pay is insanely high

In order for me to win the game, I will have to come up with a strategy that cannot be won with money, time, or people alone. To be insanely unique, you'll need a skill that can produce completely different results with the same resources. In order to deliver insanely fast, the process of delivering value at any scale would need to be short or non-existent. For a willingness to pay insanely high, you'd have to put a hard-to-price value on the design, like its unique charm.

Similar posts

recent posts

You may be familiar with Simon Sinek's The Golden Circle, which describes the concept of work in Why, How, and What. We need How to answer the Why, and we need What, the material to execute the How.

We cross the three circles in a variety of ways. Each organization moves in and out of circles through people or systems. However, we have no choice but to distance ourselves from the Why, as we have the duty to create the What, Design. That's why you constantly ask why.

Many people emphasize Why because it's abstract, vague, and easy to miss. But it's not just the Why that matters. In Why, we looked at the circles from different angles in radiating concentric circles.

You can't build high without a why.

Why is the reason and purpose of existence. It has a big impact on the size of the impact.

To answer the why, we design the how and produce the what. You can set How without Why and create countless Whats. But no matter how many things pile up, you won't be able to reach higher if you don't have a destination, the Why.

You can't go fast without a How.

How is a method and a strategy. It greatly affects the speed of impact.

Design the logic and structure of the What to achieve the Why. Without the How, no matter how many Whats you create, you may not be able to reach the Why. If you create a lot of good designs with good intentions, one day you will achieve your goals. However, resources are limited and success cannot be achieved within limited opportunities.

If there is no what, nothing happens.

What is the condition of impact. It is the most important factor that can have an impact.

With good intentions and good methods, nothing happens. It's fun and easy to come up with ideas where it's fun to find problems. In the end, impact exists only when what is created that satisfies the standards of Why and How.

Align me with organization

When the why-how-what doesn't line up, chaos comes to the organization. For those who think of why, it is frustrating because strange whats are constantly being created, and for those who think about what, it can be frustrating that they keep making noise. A person who thinks of how will struggle to find a way to be in the middle between ideal and reality.

Correcting this is Alignment. Alignment does not imply that individuals are involved in why-how-what. Not everyone can make CEO decisions. I need to understand the context of my circle and align my goals.

'Am I aligned in the circle of the organization?'

We will have to approach the answer to the why by constantly asking questions and challenging the things we disagree with.

Similar posts

recent posts

From a rooftop room designer who was behind in monthly rent to the head of design of a super rookie startup

alone in the universe

I really liked the design. They say that being a designer is a hungry job, but I wasn't even good at designing. After graduating, I barely made ends meet through outsourcing.

I received a 2-month overdue rent reminder text message in the bathroom of the rooftop room, where the sewer burst and became a sea of water. When I faced reality, I thought my life was over.

I didn't know what design I could do or how I could make money, so I wandered around for a while. From the top left to the bottom right of the design bookshelf in the library, all the effort to read all the books on the shelf seemed to disappear like a bubble.

There was no opportunity to do anything better, and I couldn't cover everything, so I jumped into a startup that could make money right away.

The fear of walking the unknown

Working at a startup, I thought a lot that it would be better to just go back to my hometown.

I prepared the data all night on Sunday and announced it on Monday morning, and I was hit in the face by throwing a wad of papers, asking if I was going to do something like this. I fixed it again and announced it again the following Monday morning, and they said the previous one was better.

I had to sell a product that didn't exist just by design. I didn't know how to do anything except Photoshop, but in a week, I had to shoot a promotional video with a foreign child that could reveal the characteristics of the product without feeling Korean at all.

The company had no money, so it packed tens of thousands of boxes by itself. In the end, we had to answer calls from 30,000 customers who were unable to deliver products by the promised date and were unable to deliver them from morning to night.

I love the company so much, I thought that everything I could see was my responsibility, and I poured everything into it, but my salary started to fall behind, and when I asked if I should change my strategy, my resignation was announced at the general meeting without my knowledge.

Trust in my head and hands

It has been over 10 years since I designed it at a startup like that. It was a crisis wherever I went and it was the first time I did anything. Every moment of frustration came, but I got what I wanted beyond the limit.

At a time when the concept of crowdfunding was unfamiliar, it succeeded in funding in the US and Korea with only the design of a product that did not exist. Among those who used to show off their skills, video and graphic design convinced us what kind of change we wanted to make with technology.

When I first created commerce, I took screenshots of all existing commerce apps and drew them in Photoshop. Within a month, I mastered Sketch App, Apple HIG, and Material Design, and created a user-friendly UI.

When I was in charge of the product, I reviewed the design every morning, had a meeting in the afternoon, and designed 2-3 product pages at night to make sure the experiment was successful. I moved quickly with the thought that if I was 1 hour late, I was 1 week late and 1 month late, and eventually achieved the desired index.

When I became a leader, I filtered from Behance to Korea for my first hire, looked at all projects from start to finish, discovered the best team members, and nurtured them into designers recognized in the industry. And I read all the leadership books and met other leaders to learn how my words and actions impacted the team.

In this way, we have created a team that communicates based on principles rather than people, a team that wins with good opinions for customers, and a team that can contribute to the organization with individual strengths.

Until you reach the star you really want

From a designer who was struggling to design banners because he couldn't even pay the rent, to overseeing all designs for a company with more than 200 people, there were numerous adversities. Nothing has been accomplished alone. But at the most important moment, there was only a problem that only me and I could solve.

I still really like the design. As I always say, even if I am born again, I want to design. There's a lot of work to be done to make a bigger impact with this wonderful language. Designers don't know where to learn to express the design they want. When faced with difficult situations, it is difficult for designers to solidify. It is difficult to create a design that is recognized as a technology and to be recognized in the market.

We are trying to find and implement a way to connect the individual designer's achievement, the company's achievement, and the industry's design achievement. We imagine a better design ecosystem than now with a growing system that is not influenced by good intentions.

Similar posts

recent posts

Designers collaborate with a variety of people when creating design outcomes. In the process, we receive feedback from various people, including designer colleagues, bosses, marketers, developers, POs, PMs, and CEOs.

Feedback is what we get to make our designs better. To get good information, you have to ask well and accept well. Here's a summary of how to give and receive constructive feedback that can lead to good design.

Ask for good design feedback

clarifying the goal

Ask yourself what information you would like to get from others.

When I ask for feedback, I'm usually asking for something I'd be hard-pressed to know on my own. I clearly define what I want to get specifically, such as perspectives I haven't seen, problems I can't see, and solutions I don't know.

ask the right person

I'm looking for someone with the information I'm looking for.

I select people who are most likely to have the information I need, such as those who have thought the most about the problem I want to solve, who thinks the problem is a real problem, and who has a different point of view than mine.

Appropriate prior information cycle

No one can answer without knowing the context.

Convey as much information as possible that affects the problem you are trying to solve. Be sure to share the information you used to make your decision right up to the last step. When you don't know what information you need to make a decision, 'let me know if you have any information'. request.

Ask easy to answer

Hard questions are bound to get hard answers.

Set the limits for your answers. Share in one sentence each what your goal is, why it is asking you, what information you have made in your decisions so far, and what problems you are facing.

Give good design feedback

Empathize with the requester's context

Be in good faith and deeply empathize with the requester's context.

Asking for feedback is not an easy way to show your weakness. You must empathize with the heart of responding to the courage to create better results. Understand the outcome the requester is looking for and focus on areas where you can contribute to achieving that goal.

Distinguishing between subjective and objective

Distinguish between objective and subjective opinions that happen to me.

You may be confused whether the feedback is about design skills or your taste in style. My objective design experience and subjective impressions and opinions are divided and conveyed so that there is no confusion. When my design experience is ambiguous, I turn it into an objective experience by first sharing my subjective reaction and discussing why it happened.

Focus on the design rather than the designer

We focus on the phenomenon of the design output rather than the designer's choice.

We focus only on the design itself, excluding the creator of the design as much as possible. Even when giving and receiving feedback or discussions, it is better to communicate with the expression of design elements rather than the expression of people as much as possible. It's not that 'the color you picked' isn't great, but this 'gray' has a high brightness, so it's hard to read the letters against a white background. It's good to say.

Focus on effects rather than answers

Focus on the effectiveness of solving a problem rather than making a value judgment about the solution.

Requesters have reasons for choosing a design, and it is impossible to match all contexts. Rather than judging right or wrong answers for the requester's design, focus on what works. Suggest alternatives that can prevent side effects or produce better results.

Get good design feedback

to be grateful

It is appreciated that you pay attention to me.

Giving someone an opinion is uncomfortable. The more I have nothing to gain directly, the more likely it is to lose money. If you're not the kind of person who is stubborn and takes the blame to destroy the other person, you're grateful for those who are willing to help.

Separating design and me

I don't live with that design for the rest of my life.

We have to choose a design that solves a problem. Just because the design is wrong doesn't mean I'm wrong. Separate design and me to collect information that can make better designs. Whatever the process, the result is a focus on the designer's responsibility to pick a better design.

just listen

I'm not defending that I'm not wrong.

I listen to feedback as long as I have the authority to accept or reject it, unless someone forces me to do so. Feedback focuses on the recipient of the feedback rather than the person giving it. Rather than focusing on changing the thinking of the person giving the feedback, I focus on getting more of the information I need to create better results.

Get good feedback right away

I can never succeed alone.

No one can achieve great success on their own. If you receive valuable feedback that you would never have known on your own, make it your own quickly. I select persuasive feedback and imagine the results I could get if I accepted that feedback. If you can imagine something really cool, move right now.

Similar posts

recent posts

This year was the time to find the happy me.

I asked what makes me really happy, not what others think is good. I thought that if I repeated what I had done before, the result would be obvious. I tried a lot of things I hadn't tried before, thinking that I would never be able to be happy if I didn't change myself.

new experience

new relationship

Whenever I got a chance, I met new people and actively participated in places where I could share my thoughts. As I decided last year, I wanted to know what other space explorers thought. And I also thought that I could meet more like-minded people if I shared my thoughts more. I still have a lot of shortcomings, but I thought it would be great to be able to share my thoughts with more people in the future and make new connections that I never had before.

new company

I met great colleagues at a company with new opportunities after leaving a good company that gave me a lot of gain. It was a company that had a great impact not only on my job, but on my entire life. It was a company that I had a strong experience with, so I was very disappointed, but I needed a new change for my happiness. I searched for a company that could be a good opportunity for such a long time and met a company I could happily work for.

new journey

In the middle of the job change, my wife and I went on a trip to Europe for a month. I realized that travel is very different depending on who you are with. Having been in Europe alone for a long time, I had no idea the experience could be so enriching. The experience of living in a charming city was thrilling. In Paris, Bordeaux, Barcelona, and Istanbul, every morning jogging, eating a delicious breakfast that represents the city, and visiting unique little shops in each neighborhood were precious every moment. This trip made me dream of living in attractive cities around the world.

new happiness

This year, I think I moved to be happier. I just woke up and looked at myself more deeply in order not to go by itself. I asked myself a hundred thousand times what I wanted, and I asked myself a hundred thousand times what I had to do now to get it. I tried a lot of new things in both work and life to get what I wanted.

It was a year when I began to think about what only I could do in my life, the company I work with, and the industry I belong to. It seems that this concern will continue next year. I will find and execute what only I can do for the dream that only I can dream.

design compass

A number of changes have also been made to the Design Compass. So far, I have shared what I have studied and thought in writing. Thankfully, many people read the article. Many opportunities have been created through writing. At the same time, I also felt my limitations. It wasn't easy to make a difference beyond sharing the writing. It takes a long time to write a single article, but it was not easy to create content while working at the same time.

To reduce production time and deliver more of the good stuff, we tried to deliver a few noteworthy design news each day, but this was also a huge effort. Although there has been a lot of growth, individual good will and will alone could not create a greater impact. I thought that I desperately needed a solid foundation and a structure that could grow.

towards a bigger dream

At first, I started writing with the idea that I really knew something only if I could explain it to someone. Now, the design compass has dreamed of becoming a place where anyone can lean on to create better designs, beyond simply sharing design knowledge. I decided to go in an independent direction so that I could make various attempts with my own breathing while making an impact in my main job.

So I moved from brunch to blog because I wanted to write in the form I wanted. In order to freely add more features, I created a website directly from the blog. As planned, we were able to make several attempts. Ads for operation have been installed. We also set up a system to post various events in the community. We have also set up an online class system to spread various knowledge. The foundation has been laid to install various features in the future.

It seems that the tools are more or less in place now. Think about how you can use this tool to create value for your customers for their time and money. I am thinking about creating a structure that is sustainable and can make a big impact even without me.

Still, the goal hasn't changed.

• To enrich the world through design
• So that anyone can understand the language of design
• To enable people interested in design to start designing
• Designers can create better designs

It seems that nothing has changed.

• How to Communicate Good Design
• how to make a good design
• How to connect with good designers
• How to connect good designers with good organizations

Design Compass of the Year

growth of the year

• Hits 219% Growth
• Visitor 195% Growth
• Newsletter 107% Growth
• Instagram 351% Growth
• Medium 204% Growth

Most popular posts of the year

1. Domestic Design Studio 20
2. What is a Product Designer?
3. The timeless design bible
4. 20 things you must check for good UI
5. Microsoft Emoji Goes Open Source

Popular UX articles of the year

1. Microsoft Emoji Goes Open Source
2. Lensa AI Magic Avatar: Portraits drawn by hundreds and thousands of AI
3. iOS 16's Notable UX Interpreted by Designers
4. Google Search on 22 as interpreted by designers
5. Spotify Wrapped 2022

BX popular posts this year

1. Teabing Rebranding: Standing Out with Design in the Fierce Competition
2. ZIKBANG Rebranding: Beyond Home
3. Idotype Rebranding: Weft and Warp
4. Lydie Rebranding: Contains all the stories in the world.
5. Laundrygo Rebranding: Is the G a Washing Machine?

Favorite Program of the Year

1. 2022 year-end review
2. 1 month challenge
3. Designing without a designer class for non-designers
4. Coaching for designers without a shooter
5. Coaching for companies without a design leader

Similar posts

recent posts