The Complete Guide To Soft Skills Every Designer Should Have

Experienced insight on the communication and problem solving skills that take designers from good to great.

What you'll learn
Learn exactly how to design "The right thing", communicate effectively during the process and win clients and managers on your side with a well-formed pitch.
Understand how to communicate with managers, creative directors, clients and other stakeholders.
Understand how to identify a problem space and learn practical ways to identify the true client need.
Master the art of pitching your work and providing rationale behind your design decisions.
Learn how to handle feedback with ease and use it to propel your career growth.
Learn how to handle "Scope Creep", excessive edits and other difficult conversations.
Learn how to manage expectations of colleagues, bosses and clients.
Requirements
Have an interest in a design-related field.
Feel comfortable with the technical aspects of design and want to expand their soft, interpersonal and client management skills
Description
Technical design skills are essential to becoming a successful designer. But there are other soft skills that you need to stick out in a crowd of technical designers. In this course, I'm going to show you how to communicate your way through the design process with clarity and how it will change your practice.I'm going to break down the skills into a designer's process: Starting work, Doing the work, Reviewing and Iterating.  You'll learn how to hone your communication and problem solving skills to differentiate yourself among thousands. Learn how to understand a problem space and the communication skills needed to start problem solving.Learn how to set your project up for success and how often to provide updates.Learn how to facilitate helpful feedback and how to handle negative feedback.Learn how to constantly improve your practice and level up your design practice. With more than a decade of experience in design process, I'll share with you insights I share with designers I mentor. This course will feel more like an in-depth 1:1 than a textbook. It's the right course for you if:You're early in your design career.Keen to work on your professional development.Interested in sharpening your communication, negotiation and problem solving skills.

Overview

Section 1: What Makes a Good Designer Great? (Introduction)

Lecture 1 What Makes A Designer Great?

Section 2: Starting Your Work

Lecture 2 The Importance of Understanding the Ask

Lecture 3 Listening and Empathy

Lecture 4 Agile story intake

Lecture 5 Waterfall work intake

Section 3: Doing Your Work

Lecture 6 Excellence in Execution

Lecture 7 Maker Schedule vs. Manager Schedule

Lecture 8 Managing Timelines

Lecture 9 Setting Expectations

Lecture 10 The Art of Checking Your Work

Lecture 11 Extra: How to Beat Procrastination

Section 4: Reviewing Your Work

Lecture 12 How Often To Share Your Progress

Lecture 13 How To Facilitate Valuable Feedback

Lecture 14 How To Deal With Negative Feedback

Lecture 15 How To Deal With Last Minute Changes & Scope Creep

Design students who want to jump-start their careers with practiced-knowledge.,Designers 2-5 years in the industry who would like to formalize and round out their set of skills.,Designers in corporate and agency settings looking to level up, deliver value and stand out among peers.,Designers looking to minimize edits, revisions and misunderstandings with clients and managers.,Designers of all types! Graphic Designers, UX Designers, Motion Designers, VFX artists and anyone who makes.