ISSUE 16
Dear Students,
One of the questions I hear most often from students is:
"Is this right?"
My answer is usually another question.
Who is the audience?
What problem are you trying to solve?
What do you want people to notice first?
At first, that can be frustrating.
Students want answers.
I understand.
When you're learning something new, certainty feels comforting.
But over the years, I've realized that becoming a better designer isn't about collecting the right answers.
It's about learning to ask better questions.
There Isn't One Right Answer
One of the biggest adjustments students make in design school is realizing that design problems rarely have a single correct solution.
I actually think that's one of the best parts of being a designer.
Give the same problem to a room full of designers, and you could get dozens of completely different solutions.
And many of them could work.
That's what makes design both exciting and challenging.
The question isn't whether your solution looks like someone else's.
The question is whether it's effective.
Does it communicate clearly?
Does it reach the intended audience?
Does it solve the problem it was designed to solve?
The challenge isn't finding the answer.
It's creating an effective solution.
And that begins by asking better questions.
Questions Reveal Your Thinking
One reason I ask so many questions during critiques isn't that I already know the answers.
It's because I want to understand how you're thinking.
Why did you choose this typeface?
What made you place that element there?
Why does this color support your message?
What alternatives did you consider?
Sometimes students think I'm questioning their decisions.
I'm not.
I'm helping them examine them.
The moment you can explain why you made a design decision is the moment you stop decorating and start designing.
You begin thinking like a designer.
Better Questions Lead to Better Conversations
Asking better questions doesn't just lead to stronger design.
It also helps you explain your decisions.
Early in school, students often describe their work by saying things like:
"I used blue because I like blue."
"I thought this font looked cool."
"I just liked the way it looked."
Those answers might satisfy you.
They won't satisfy a client.
Clients don't hire designers because of personal preferences.
They hire designers to solve communication problems.
Instead of saying:
"I chose blue because it's my favorite color,"
you might say:
"I chose blue because this client works in financial planning. They're asking people to trust them with some of the biggest decisions of their lives, so I wanted the brand to communicate trust, stability, and confidence."
Now you're not defending an opinion.
You're explaining a decision.
That's what professional designers do.
The more you understand why you made a design decision, the more confidently you can communicate it to clients, coworkers, and creative teams.
Good questions don't just improve your designs.
They improve your ability to explain them.
But there's another part of asking good questions that we don't talk about enough.
Who you ask matters just as much as what you ask.
The person you turn to for feedback can shape the advice you receive—and ultimately the decisions you make.
But that's a conversation for next time.
For now, start by paying attention to the questions you're asking.
Final Thoughts
The longer you work in design, the more you realize that knowing the software isn't enough.
Knowing the principles isn't enough.
And having a good eye isn't enough.
You have to learn how to think.
That means getting comfortable asking:
Why am I doing this?
Who am I designing for?
What am I trying to communicate?
Is this decision helping me solve the problem?
The best designers I've known weren't defined by how much they knew.
They were defined by the questions they continued to ask.
They stayed curious.
They questioned their own assumptions.
They explored alternatives.
And they never stopped learning.
So the next time you find yourself asking:
"Is this right?"
Try asking a better question.
"Why is this the right decision for this problem?"
That's where the real learning begins.
In design truth,
Maggie
