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Hey, what’s up? Welcome back.
In this video, I want to talk about a question that came up in the Design School Discord community.
Someone shared that they recently watched a video about why designers shouldn’t jump straight to conclusions or solutions.
They said they understood the idea, but as an engineer with six years of experience, they are naturally wired to think in solutions.
Whenever they start a project, they can immediately see a working solution—but they feel that this mindset introduces bias into their work. Their question was simple and honest: How do I start thinking like a designer?
That’s what I want to unpack today.
I’ll share strategies to help you think differently and develop a more design-led mindset. And here’s the important part: everyone starts UX the same way—reactive.
It doesn’t matter if you come from engineering, mathematics, social sciences, or a hands-on service background.
At the junior level, people react because they don’t yet understand when to diverge, when to converge, and which tools are appropriate for which problems.
That understanding only comes with time.
I’ve mentored, coached, and worked alongside designers at various stages, and they all follow the same journey.
Juniors often jump into solutions too quickly—or swing the other way and become overly hesitant because they’re aware of their gaps. Interestingly, this mindset is very similar to how stakeholders think.
When a business owner says, “Just make me an app,” they’re reacting based on what they know. If all you know is app design, that becomes your default solution.
The good news is: you can overcome this.
Growth takes time
Thinking like a designer isn’t something you unlock overnight. As you grow—from junior to mid-level to senior—you start to understand when to zoom in, when to zoom out, and where to focus your energy.
The difference between junior and senior decisions may not look dramatic from the outside, but senior decisions are more calibrated. They’re more likely to lead to better outcomes for both users and the business.
That calibration comes from patience. You don’t need to act like a senior before you’re ready. Give yourself the time to grow.
Pair up with seniors
One of the fastest ways to develop is by pairing up with people who’ve been there before.
Not just other juniors—because they’re often facing the same struggles—but seniors who can pause you and ask, “Do we really need to jump into a solution yet?” or “Should we explore this a bit more?”
This doesn’t have to be formal. It could be someone you reach out to on LinkedIn, someone you follow online, or someone in a design community like Discord.
The key is to actively seek guidance rather than waiting for it to come to you.
Fight premature convergence
Jumping to solutions too early is a classic case of premature convergence. In frameworks like the Double Diamond, divergence is where you explore multiple options, signals, and perspectives before narrowing things down.
This exploration—especially when done collaboratively—leads to stronger solutions.
Even if you’re working solo on case studies or early projects, you still need to force exploration before committing to a single answer. Slow down. Explore more by default. Then converge with intent.
Ask “why” relentlessly
One of the most powerful shifts you can make is asking why about everything you assume.
Many people default to building apps simply because that’s what they know how to design. But an app is just a hypothesis—not a guaranteed solution.
Ask yourself:
Why this solution?
Why now?
Why this format?
Sometimes the right answer isn’t another app. It might be a service, a process, a system, or a combination of multiple touchpoints.
Real experiences live inside people’s lives and business realities, not just screens.
Explore safely
If you’re not currently working in a high-risk environment, use that freedom. Try different frameworks, research methods, and design approaches.
Apply them to self-directed or conceptual projects. If something doesn’t work, discard it—but learn from it.
Over time, your toolkit expands. You start recognizing patterns. You see why seniors don’t use every framework on every project—they choose what fits the problem.
And that’s the real shift.
There are no shortcuts to “thinking like a designer.” Design thinking frameworks can guide you, but they won’t tell you exactly how to think. That only comes from learning, applying, reflecting, and repeating.
So be patient with yourself. Explore widely. Ask better questions. And most importantly—keep going.
If this gave you something to reflect on, feel free to leave a comment, like the video, or subscribe. I’ll see you next time.