Chapter 17 – Don’t Build Yourself Based on an App, OS, or Design System

By Trevor Alexander

Technology and tools are useful and powerful when they are your servant and not your master.
~Stephen Covey

You are a designer. You have excellent taste and are able to craft compelling digital products that help or delight other people. You are able to put together interfaces and paths that help users get what they want while simultaneously achieving a business objective.

You are not an Adobe Illustrator master. There are no long-term career prospects for a Sketch dynamo or Figma champion. Do not build your career based on your effectiveness of one particular app.

“Oh, designing with Sketch is the only way.”

“Sorry, I don’t design with Sketch.”

You are not a salesman for design products; accordingly, you should not shill for one.

If you have spent any time in multiple apps, you’ll know that a lot of knowledge transfers from one to another.

Do you know either Sketch, Adobe XD, or Figma well? Congratulations! You basically know all three! Are there certain details or workflows that vary? Of course! But you know the broad strokes of how these applications function and have an eye to create great works; ultimately, then, it’s not all that important which one you use.

If you demand that you’ll only work with a particular design software or design system, you are creating barriers to being a good coworker and a valuable asset to new teams.

Amazing developers know how to develop. They have expertise around particular languages, but they can take their prowess to other languages and begin to contribute due to their talent. You should be the same with your design systems and software. It’s in your best interest to have some base understanding of multiple tools so you can shift your design process to suit different clients and teams.

In an interview you are asked:

“We primarily use Program X here. Are you familiar with it?”

Imagine hearing the following responses:

“I have used it before, though not extensively. I can definitely pick it up quickly though.”

“No, that software is really inferior to Program Y. You should consider switching.”

Which of these responses will have you welcomed onto more teams?

You are a designer with great taste and strong empathy who can produce solutions that work for the business and the user. Do not allow a preference for one piece of software or the other detract from your prospects.

Don’t build yourself based on an app.

What I’m Not Saying

  • Don’t strive for mastery within particular design processes.
  • Don’t suggest new applications if it suites the project and team.
  • Accept bad or suboptimal applications because it’s “what we’ve always used.”

What I Am Saying

  • Learn a number of design applications to increase your flexibility.
  • Understand that most design applications use similar flows; thus, your skills are transportable.
  • Focus on the output and creating value rather than the tools to get there.