From zero to hero: how the Design industry can affect your professional confidence
By: Flavio Lee
Tags: Design, UX, Teaching, Careers, Industry

From zero to hero: how the Design industry can affect your professional confidence

A story about how people and the design market can encourage you to constantly improve or condemn you to desolation and despair. Flavio Lee Follow Aug 27 · 8 min read

As mentioned before around here in another opportunity, I started my path in Design through the Visual part of the industry, something like 15 years ago. By that time, my criteria to make this decision was not the best. All I wanted was a career where piercings, tattoos and unconventional hairstyles wouldn’t be a problem.

I have to admit that at least that part happened precisely as planned.

I started as the weird guy arriving at the System Analysis class with a skate and wearing tank tops.

I went next to the Digital Design course and found a job in the area, always wearing the same tank tops.

An insult to many people with traditional views on the work environment, dress code and other related conservatisms.

To work with tank tops, decompression rooms, pool tables and things like that. The wonders, illusions and pitfalls of the design market and the easy-going office life. — Image of Ave Calvar from Unsplash

The counterpart of this small achievement took a long time to be noticed. Very long. The liberating epiphany visited me not long ago.

Let me clarify that.

When you work with Design outside the technology area in Brazil, most of the positions available looks like that: people without a clue about the topic.

Blind about its importance and relevance for a company, product or service who thinks that everything is about pushing pixels around.

Recruiters who mix Art Director with Visual Designer roles, based on the overlapping part of these competencies.

But no one sane calls the carwash asking for help when there is a fire going on just because, as the fire department, they also work with water, right?

My experience might bias me, but I wanted to discover why this lack of knowledge when hiring people. Shouldn’t this be the minimum to expect from a recruiter, leader or manager? As always, when I write around here, maybe this is a topic for another moment.

We need to pay attention to the environment and the quality of work that can develop from this situation.

Maybe I’m too idealistic, but I always expected to be hired to produce with excellence and quality, using everything I learned during my years at the university. The myth of living the glamour for being the great mind behind creative ideas.

However, in real life, I found requests and more requests piling up from old and new customers. Always concerned with the final result, not the quality. “My marketing pieces. My content. My new sales.”

There was no consistency or predictability at all. The stress was always sky high.

Because after all, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve struggled to finish the millions of graphic pieces that make up a marketing or launch campaign.

Your effort to create a concept that makes sense with the brand and the customer’s idea for the product or service doesn’t matter.

When the customer doesn’t like the red colour you chose because it doesn’t match the company’s Feng Shui, that’s a no, period. And who spends nights awake to finish everything on time is you, who knows nothing about Feng Shui, but everything about composition, typography, Gestalt, among others.

And it was running way exactly from scenarios like these that I started to aim for positions that added two letters before the solitary “design”. UX. The good and (g)old User Experience.

A window or even a huge door opened and took me to new places today, far enough from those Feng Shui debates.

But there were still issues to solve.

The firm’s mugshot dream come true. With piercings, tattoos and of course, a tank top. — Photo from personal collection.

With my background, I always felt a little insecure about calling myself a UX designer. I missed delving into user research techniques and methods, all the strategic ways of thinking inherent from this kind of professional.

Over time it became clear that it should be EVERY designer. I just didn’t know yet why only the UX people were privileged to actually work that way.

I studied a lot by myself. Books, workshops, articles from the Brazilian community, chats with other colleagues, but I still felt insecure. Or even worse, confused!

I was lost after realising that what I saw in theory was not generally applied in practice, even in places where my position was called UX Designer.

Problem refinement phases that were ignored entirely, non-existent discovery and deepening research steps, and projects starting with a ready-made solution, after all, managers and bosses in general always know what to do, don’t they?

Your robot-like employees only need to do what they’re told. Even if the order comes most subtly, calling you a collaborator and saying that you are a very important company resource. Yeah, right.

My perspective only really changed when I met someone completely out of the ordinary. My eternal “boss” Alexandra Lugli. That always gave me the courage and confidence to do things as I believed they should be done.

She always gave me autonomy and as a result, one of the most significant learnings I ever had in my career. Trust breeds trust.

And nothing inspires more confidence than being a transparent person. And so was my relationship with her, whom I call boss not because of her position or hierarchy, but as a loving form of admiration, because as the old and wise Brazilian saying goes, “the boss is the boss, my man!”

She was one of the main responsible for me applying for a position abroad, which would completely change my life again.

This time, leaving behind the bitterness of companies that used designers to paint walls or only change burned-out light bulbs, after all, I was going to a Nordic country.

Who has never heard of the wonders of Scandinavian Design? And soon, a scenario of peace, harmony, and work marked by excellence was made in my mind full of expectations.

And as I hope you know, there is always an equal or greater disappointment for every expectation.

And so was my life in the far and cold country for almost two long years, with a hint of burnout and stress on sky-high levels once again. Result of a mix of this “Brazilian stray syndrome” with the usual companies confusion about the value of Design.

And then I was saved by, guess what, a bank! One of the least likely institutions where you would look for creativity and innovation, but there it was. A community with more than 50 designers from all around the world, with a new leader who had some very similar aspects to my late boss Ale (hug and kisses to Adele ❤).

Temporarily saved, of course, or did you think this would be a happy ending story?

Alexandra Lugli is consecrating me as UX Knight. Best boss, yes or for sure? And yes, I am wearing a tank top under the shirt in the photo.

Because let’s face it, we’re talking about a bank. And in this case, one with more than 30,000 employees. If you’re a tech person, I know that the fear of departments war is the first thing that comes to mind. It doesn’t matter if they call themselves agile or not.

And of course, a bank would be no exception to this scenario filled with the most beautiful examples not to follow on how to interact with other people.

Bureaucracy, lack of clarity in communication, rules and more safety rules that delay many processes. But come on! It’s a bank. At least that’s understandable.

And then, like a sip of water on that hot, dry day that saves and refreshes at the same time, I received an invitation to teach.

Me! The guy who, after decades, still wondered if he knew how to do things right!

The surprise with the invitation was not greater than the effort and commitment to preparing the course materials. First steps in the world of UX design. The audience? A select group of bachelor and masters from one of the best universities in the country.

I don’t think you can feel more honoured than that. Neither scared or have more butterflies in the stomach than I did. But with all my courage, I continued.

And the result so far couldn’t be better.

Using the transparency I’ve learned from life and perfected with Ale, taking the classes frankly and maintaining open, two-way communication with students.

I even adapted my content overnight, even though I spent months previously planning and creating everything. I think this is being really agile.

In the end, the positive response from the class, seeing them performing essential steps of the UX work, and the feedbacks thanking me for my effort made everything worth it.

The final feeling could not be different. I got it. I taught complex concepts and techniques in a short space of time. And the message was successfully delivered.

But as said, the communication went two-way. The best part for me was what I learned. My students have no idea, but they also gave me an invaluable lesson. I’m finally okay with my job.

I finally realised that, yes, I know what I’m talking about and quite properly. I managed to lead 27 students from 0 to heroes in the Design world and develop tangible projects during the course. And with the most genuine examples as possible of how the theory is different in practice. How awesome is that?

I felt like I had superpowers. And now, I’m a superhero when I’m working. The “Brazilian stray” feeling gave way to the motto “I’m the best there is at what I do. But what I do isn’t very nice…”

One of the new superpowers was x-ray vision. Now I can see through it all.

I can understand that when I accepted a job where I had certain freedoms respected, I also got a model of work where I was seen as a disposable piece. A button presser. Not someone capable of solving complex problems.

After all, who can’t paint a blank canvas with some colours and “make a beautiful website”, right? That’s what designers do from most professionals, recruiters and leaders perspectives.

This is the reality of a large part of the Design market. Previously I would say the Brazilian market. Now, I dare to say, outside Brazil too?

Companies limiting our capabilities to explore, create and bring the best solutions. To be better. Due to their outdated culture and vision.

Good thing I always had teachers who gave me the tools to find the right path and an Ale who always encouraged me instead of limiting me.

In the end, my students taught me that when we wake up, we always have a question to answer:

Who will you choose to be today? Someone who limits or expands the potential of those around you? The one who demotivates or strengthens those who walk by your side?

As they say in the best places I’ve been, “step up or step out.”

Dedicated to my eternal teachers, Elwyn Correa, Tiago Sotero and Bruno Salomão.

In loving memory of Fabio Palamedi, one of the greatest names of UX in Brazil, who passed away in June. He was responsible with Ale for my opportunity to be part of Pagar.me and for my growth as a professional and person. Another victim of COVID-19 and the chaos that devastates our land.