Proof of Concept - Iterate. Iterate. Iterate.
This weekend I caught up with a founder to check in on the progress of her startup. It's been a few months since I caught up with her last and the product has come a long way in the detail and polish. It wasn’t like that when we first met. The product was rough on the design side and needed some love. However, it was real, functional, and allowed a conversation to improve. It was clear the team has been iterating on a new feature but a lot of polish and iteration—super impressive. Iteration is the repetition of a process in order to generate a sequence of outcomes. This can be confused with divergent design, but it’s different. Iteration focuses on repetition which evolves in the final solution. Iteration sparks movement, which builds momentum. It's like pedaling a bicycle on a lower gear instead of the highest. The lower gear won't get you as far but it requires less effort to get moving. My co-worker and friend Izzy once said, "The number one way to be productive is to reduce the iteration cycle." This is true. If you struggle with getting something creative done, reduce the iteration. Write the outline instead of the final draft, and come back to it later. Sketch out scribbles of the app design instead of trying to do it all in one sitting in Figma. Creative work requires stepping away from the work to gain perspective and reflection. In springs of product development teams, this is why they do retros at the end of the sprint—to continuously improve on the work. Give time to complete the iteration cycle. When you commit to an iteration cycle, see it all the way through. Being disruptive in the iteration process can result in flailing and thrash. Give the iteration time to complete to analyze and evaluate. We as creatives and designers can get caught in the myth of our own genius. I love the quote from Austin Kleon's book "Keep going":
Design is not magic. It's a method—a rigorous process of exploration, iteration, and validation until you reach your outcome. There are more days I feel stuck than experiencing a breakthrough, but it's important to show up every day to iterate because each one might result in the breakthrough I was looking for. Ok the good days when you get a good result in the first iteration, imagine how the next iterations can make it great. Tweet of the weekEnjoy this newsletter? Please consider sharing it with friends, or subscribing if you haven’t already. I appreciate it! Sincerely, DH |
Older messages
Gifts for creators
Sunday, December 5, 2021
Issue 69: A curation of various creative tools (nice)
Self-learning and the power of autodidacticism
Sunday, November 28, 2021
Issue 68: Learning in an unstructured environment
Breaking mediums in storytelling
Sunday, November 21, 2021
Issue 67: How starting with the story allows creative exploration in how you tell it
Applying growth design and prototyping to yourself
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Issue 66: How tiny experiments can guide you in your career
So it's come to this: a Proof of Concept clip show
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Issue 65: A look back at some of my favorite things to write
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