🎮 Play as a Design Method
Some of the best ideas don’t start with a formal brief. They start with messing around. Treating tools as toys – building a quick AR filter, a scrappy prototype or an interactive portfolio – often reveals insights that structured processes miss.
👉 Try this: Set yourself a 48-hour rule. Build something small, fast and imperfect. The goal isn’t to ship – it’s to uncover possibilities.
🧩 UX of Identity
A popular AR filter on Instagram called Beauty3000 created by Johwska went viral because it allowed users to playfully express a different side of themselves. This highlights that design resonates most when it helps users showcase their identity. Every interaction carries not just functionality but also emotion and cultural significance.
Ask yourself:
– Does this design let users show who they are?
– What feeling does it spark when they interact with it?
– Does it reinforce or dilute their digital identity?
🔄 Flexible Design Processes
We’ve all seen projects dragged down by endless feedback cycles. Too much rigidity kills good ideas. UX/UI work benefits from structure, but also from space to adapt.
Try mapping decisions into three buckets:
– Non-negotiables: fixed requirements.
– Flexibles: areas open for iteration.
– Kill switches: signals to pivot or stop.
This simple framing keeps projects moving without squeezing the life out of them.
💸 Balancing Creativity and Business
Some projects feel rewarding but don’t pay well. Others pay well but lack meaning. Building a sustainable practice means finding balance between the two.
Simple method: Plot your projects on two axes – creative fulfilment and financial impact. Over time, patterns will emerge that guide which work is worth repeating.
🌱 Designing for Wellbeing
Visibility, pressure, deadlines… it’s easy to burn out. A sustainable design practice means looking after your own energy as carefully as you manage the product.
Checklist to stay balanced:
– Keep client load realistic.
– Block time each week for personal experiments.
– Collaborate with peers to avoid working in isolation.
Great UX/UI goes beyond polished pixels. It creates experiences that feel authentic, supports digital identities, and helps designers build careers that are sustainable in the long run. Play a little, stay flexible, and the best ideas will follow. 🙌
