The hardest part of transitioning from a designer to a manager is stopping myself from meddling with the designs using my now non-designer hands. As usual, the client sends a comment asking to move, for example, a button. I think, “Oh, this is quick; why distract the person?” I can do everything myself. Here’s the layout, here’s the button, just 5px to the right. It’s all simple—what could go wrong? It turns out, quite a lot.

Moving buttons is not my job. There’s a designer for that, who can handle this task better. They will notice that if they move the button a bit, they’ll also need to shift another element, and in this case, it’s even better to remove this thing altogether. If changes need to be made, I inform the designer.

There’s a lack of trust in the designer as a professional. This can lead to a decrease in motivation for the person. Why bother doing anything if someone will just come in and mess it up anyway?

It creates an illusion of work. Such changes can easily consume half or even my entire workday. In the end, I worked, but there’s no result from my work; instead, I “helped” others. So, why do we need someone as smart as me? I might as well focus on my own work, like replying to emails.

I used to do this, but I won’t anymore, and I recommend you don’t either. Guys, I swear, I won’t do it again!

At one of the meetings with a psychotherapist, we discussed how to help a child become more independent. The main thing I understood from the conversation is that you need to allow the child to do what he wants and can by himself.

The psychotherapist suggested an interesting method – the ‘lazy dad’. This means that the adult participates verbally but gives all opportunities for action to the child. For example, if the child asks to make a sandwich, instead of doing everything themselves, the adult becomes ‘lazy’. They ask the child to get the products out of the fridge, cut the bread, and cheese. As a result, the child has their desired sandwich and the skill to prepare it.

I first consciously applied this approach during the summer when my finger was broken. We were on vacation at our country house, and Vlad wanted to take an inflatable mattress to the river. But the mattress was deflated, and I would have inflated it myself, but at that moment it was difficult for me to do so. Instead of refusing, I said: “If you want, inflate it yourself, the pump is in the car.” I only helped with words: explained how to connect the pump. Then my son did everything himself: connected the pump, started the car, inflated the mattress, turned off the pump and the car, returned everything as it was. And, feeling proud of himself, went swimming on the mattress in the river. And I was proud of myself because I taught him how to use the pump with such a simple method.

P. S. This approach also works with adults. You just need to step aside and give people the opportunity to show themselves.

There is an exercise where you need to write down 100 of your wishes. Coming up with the first 10 or 20 is easy. It gets harder after you’ve listed the obvious ones like a phone, a car, a house, and a yacht. What comes next? Next, you have to think harder and tap into your imagination.

In design, solving a problem works the same way. The first solutions are simple and obvious—they just warm up your brain. Things get more interesting after the first ten. That’s where ideas are born that wouldn’t come up otherwise.

Don’t hesitate to duplicate your artboard and think through another option. It will only work in your favor.

Every morning, my Apple Watch sends me a notification about my activity from the previous day. And when I haven’t closed my rings, they tell me: “Don’t worry, today is another day.”

It’s a great attitude towards everything you didn’t manage to do. Didn’t finish something yesterday? Don’t worry. Today is a new day, take action. The most important thing is to keep moving forward and not stop. This wording is much more motivating than if they scolded me every time I missed something.

Encourage yourself, don’t criticize. The key is to keep moving forward.

We’re not just about creating design, but something deeper — education. It’s a challenging yet captivating process. Each of our projects is a form of education. Designers aim to educate not only their clients but the entire market audience.

We teach clients to develop their taste, broaden their horizons of perception, and see beauty in the smallest details. We involve them in the creation process, helping them develop their own style.

But it’s not just about clients. We also aim to educate the audience, inspire them with new ideas, and change their view of the world through design. We create not just products, but stories that reshape the concept of beauty and functionality.

Design is not just a tool to meet needs but a means to cultivate new perspectives and ideas.

When we have an idea, it may seem so bright and clear in our mind. But to turn this idea into reality, it is necessary to clothe it in words.

Clarity. By clothing the idea in words, you make it more specific and understandable. This helps you better understand what you want to achieve and allows other people to more easily grasp your idea.

Communication. When you express your idea in words, you can share it with other people. This opens up opportunities for collaboration, feedback, and new ideas. You can also use words to create action plans and strategies.

Development. You analyze it and further develop it. You can identify weaknesses and find ways to address them. You can also come up with new ways to implement your idea.

Motivation. You make your idea more real and achievable. This can be a powerful source of motivation for you and other people who share your idea.

Evaluation: You can assess its effectiveness and results. This will help you determine which aspects need improvement or change.

Recording your ideas is an important step towards their realization. It helps make the idea more concrete, allows you to share it with other people, and motivates you for further development. Therefore, do not hesitate to express your thoughts in words and share them with the world.

Just like I did with this note!