Design artifacts are not the destination

Be obsessed with the users more than the artifacts.

“Your website is not the center of your universe. The customer is the center of your universe."

~Bruce Ernst

Design artifacts are just vehicles for manifesting solutions to the problem you are solving, but they are not the end goal. Your goal is to bring the solution to life and have it used by people.

Don’t be too obsessed with polishing your artifacts.

Get obsessed with your artifacts only if they will help you synthesize all the information you have gathered, manage everyone's expectations, and communicate your ideas to others.

Don’t keep the artifacts for yourself.

Find out how to use wireframes, user journey maps, or any artifacts to share progress, clarify concepts, foster understanding within your team, and craft the best solution.

If communicated well, your scrappy wireframes and user journey maps can be powerful, even more so than high-fidelity mockups.

Don’t just present them.

Use them as tools to seek advice and to collaborate with others.

Yes, we are designers; we love pixel-perfect design. But remember: Our obsession with achieving pixel-perfect precision is only a fraction of the giant process of manifesting a solution.

Your work won’t stay as Figma files forever.

Don’t just spend all your time on Figma.

Here is a mindset to adopt: be more obsessed with the users than the artifacts because, ultimately, your goal is to see the solution in the hands of users.