Why Following a Process Won’t Make You a Good Designer
The power of being an approach based designer and how embracing flexibility and curiosity can elevate your design work beyond rigid frameworks.
Over the last decade, the focus on process has been at the forefront of many designers’ minds. The rise of Design Thinking frameworks has transformed the once-indescribable design process into a systematic, repeatable method of working. These frameworks aim to make the "mystical" activities of design more accessible, especially to those who may not consider themselves creative, allowing them to bring ideas to life.
But, as with all frameworks, over time they can become misunderstood. They morph into a set of rigid rules that box people in, ultimately backfiring. If you’ve hired a design team or browsed portfolios for inspiration, you’ve likely seen the same cookie-cutter process repeated: research, interviews, empathy maps, personas, wireframes, high-fidelity UI. These same artefacts show up time and time again, blending into an indistinguishable mess.
So, where does this problem come from? It starts with terminology. Designers have confused the term "process." Process is about manufacturing—delivering the same consistent product every time. But design isn’t about churning out the same thing over and over. Designers should be focusing on their approach.
Approach is similar to process, but the nuances in these terms are what separate good designers from great ones. Having an approach frees you from the constraints of a rigid process. It unshackles the way you work because you’re no longer tied to following a specific set of steps or deliverables. The design process suddenly stops being linear and becomes fluid.
Why We Gravitate Towards Process (And Why Approach Matters More)
It’s only natural that we’ve swarmed to process. As humans, we don’t like the unknown—it’s unsettling. And when tight project deadlines loom over us, turning to a well-known process feels like the safe, "right" choice. It gives us a sense of security that we’re doing things the correct way. But often, that’s a false sense of security.
The issue with sticking to a rigid process is that not all design problems are the same. So why would we apply the same way of working to every single one of them?
For instance, does every project really require user interviews? Do you always need to create personas, empathy maps, and emotion based user journeys? Some will say yes—because that’s part of the process—but what’s the why behind those activities? Most won’t be able to answer.
It feels like the days of being connected to real feeling and thinking are long gone. Design has, in some ways, become a mindless activity of ticking off boxes. Instead, designers should constantly be asking, “How does what I’m doing now get me closer to the next step?”, rather than, did I complete all the steps following the Design Thinking framework.
Plenty of designers know how to create a persona or empathy map in theory, but they struggle to explain how those outputs truly drive the next part of the project forward. That’s the difference between following a process and having an approach.
Finding Your Own Approach
When asked, I don’t say I have a process. But I do have an approach. As I’ve said, an approach is fluid—it’s a way of thinking rather than a checklist of steps. It’s personal, and it’s something that evolves with experience.
For example, when I’m given a new feature to design, I don’t blindly start doing research for the sake of it because it’s the first step in the typical design thinking framework. Instead, I start by asking myself key questions:
What do I know about this brief?
What do I think I know?
Where are the gaps in information?
Who could I speak to find out more? How else can I gain information?
From there, I figure out what’s the best way to fill in those gaps. Sometimes that might result in research, but it could also involve rewriting my own brief, or perhaps sketching out my gut feel solution. The important part is letting the questions guide the approach, rather than defaulting to a standard process.
Approach is about curiosity. It’s treating a project like a scientific experiment—you don’t know where you’ll end up, and that’s okay. Plotting the steps as you go based on what you uncover makes the journey more organic. You might end up taking unexpected paths, but you’ll arrive at a solution that feels right for the unique problem you’re trying to solve.
The problem with a rigid, step-by-step process—where everything from interviews to personas to ideation is mapped out in advance—is that it can stifle creativity and waste time. You get so bogged down in ticking off deliverables that you lose sight of the actual problem. It stops you from stumbling upon those "aha" moments that often come when you have the freedom to adjust and experiment.
Adapting to What Works for You
I know this might sound abstract. You may be thinking, "That’s not much of an approach—just asking questions and going by feel?" But the truth is, every designer’s approach will be personal. I’m a thinker and a writer. I mull over ideas and problems. Others prefer to sketch, iterate, and experiment visually. The key is finding what works for you.
Your approach should allow you to create your best work. Using someone else’s framework might not suit your style, personality, or even the kind of design you enjoy doing. And that’s okay. Your approach doesn’t have to fit into someone else’s process.
If you’re stuck with certain design thinking tools or find yourself asking, “What’s the point of personas?” you have two options: either research more and experiment with them, or don’t use them until you see a clear need. The point isn’t to dismiss tools, but to understand how they work for you and your specific project.
Ultimately, if you stop obsessing over process and instead focus on your approach, you’ll find more flexibility, creativity, and satisfaction in your design work. So, ask yourself: what does your approach look like?
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