Thread by @berkun

1. When designers talk about their craft to non-designers, there are two approaches:

a) Design is hard and done by sorcerers
b) Design is something everyone does in some way (even if badly)

Which u choose depends on goals. What’s your goal in talking about design?

2. The ultimate goal designers have is for the world to be a better designed place. But if that’s true, we’re going to need a zillion more trained designers. And powerful people who don’t design, but see our value.

And if that’s true, who has to do the recruiting? Designers!

3. But there’s fear in the design world - it's preferable for the insecure to make design seem scary and magical - to frighten people away from learning more about design as some weird attempt at job security.

4. But if recruiting designers, and popularizing interest in design, is the goal, then starting from the premise that design is something everyone does (even if badly), is a much better *designed* place to start from. Why? Check the next tweet.

5. If you want to convince people it helps to be welcoming. To invite them in. Ask people how they decided where to put the couch in their living room, or what to wear to work today. Or why they love their car or a favorite pair of shoes. Their answers are design answers.

6. it's not hard to move from a conversation about a person's everyday life experience, in their own words, to a conversation about goals, tradeoffs, user scenarios, constraints, delight and more.

7. Fear often rises here for designers. Fear that saying "everyone designs" trivializes it. But that’s fear talking. “Everyone can make a meal" doesn’t trivialize our best chefs. “Everyone writes” doesn’t make ppl think they can easily be novelists. Often it's the opposite.

8. I used to teach intro to UX to PMs & devs. Often they left the class wishing their team had a designer! They learned how much experience is needed to do it well. They returned to their orgs carrying the design seed. When promoted, odds were better they’d hire designers.

9. But some designers didn’t like that I taught this. They though it trivialized their job. They felt I was giving away secrets, or making ppl think they’d gotten the sorcerer magic. Which makes about as much sense as established novelists worrying about intro to writing classes.

10. The Dunning Kruger effect, where ppl with less ability overestimate their talents, stops only when a true expert shows the way. If your boss or VP or coworker doesn't get design, who is that expert?

No one else will conquer ignorance about design except us. So let's go!