There is often a feeling when the product you designed finally launches, and you think it could’ve been better.
It could be if you spent more time on it.
I always learn from iterating a bunch of ideas. The first one is often the worst, but I iterate, keep iterating, copy-paste frames, and move pixels. Eventually, I find a good one.
When I have a creative block, I sit and look at my design. Sometimes, I don’t even think about the problem; I just observe it.
Strangely, almost every time, the great ideas hit when I don’t think about them at all.
All I do is look at the design, feel the connection between the elements, then take a break—maybe walk outside. When I come back, things start to make more sense.
One ritual I always find helpful for iterating a design is looking at your old iterations as principles.
Sometimes, the first iteration is all about balancing the layout.
Then the next one is about strengthening the typography.
Next, you make icons that suit the labels.
Then you realize, “Oh, my design should incorporate some accents for attention.”
All those iterations should not become archives but rather a set of ingredients every time you iterate your design.
The more you iterate, the more ingredients you get. With more ingredients, you create a better design.
There’s a saying, “Seeing inspiration is like sugar: you add a bit, and it tastes good; you add too much, and it makes you sick.” But we’ll talk about that later.