One of the few good things to come out of the pandemic was more time at home with my husband and business partner. Specifically, more time to go outside for walks was a daily highlight. More often than not, nothing exciting happened in these times. Sometimes, we’d walk for over an hour without exchanging words; other days we’d lose track of time and steps engrossed in conversations about someone or something.

On one trip past a home we walked by hundreds of times, I commented on the look of the front door.

“Look at that, Michael. It’s gorgeous.”

“What?”

“The door. I love that colour. Tiffany Blue.”

“That’s not blue. It’s green.” Said in a tone, leaving no room for argument. 

So obviously, I replied, “No, it’s not.” This volley back and forth went on for three more minutes before giving up because this man can list Pantone colours by heart.

I end up acquiescing more times than not. My colour palette is limited to RGB, while his world is full of magenta and chartreuse. I’m the box of 12 Crayola markers, while Michael is the super deluxe set of markers, wooden crayons, and (gasp!) wax crayons.

The ability to see what others fail to see is at the heart of what designers do. One of the many things that will make you successful in business or life is the ability to bridge the gap between these things far better than he and I did in the example above. We want to find the solution to a client’s problem, but that solution is useless if the client can’t see the benefits of what is being proposed.

Being the only non-creative at the office, there are times when the team is excitedly talking about colour palettes, or architecture, or trying to help each other figure something out, and my ability to contribute is muted because of lack of experience and sometimes understanding. It’s hard on some days not to feel excluded. Conversely, I may be able to be the litmus test at times for clients with no experience working with designers with no creative background. Being able to walk through the thought process that resulted in the successful completion of the project is the “design help” that I can provide. It’s also humbling to be around people who get excited about things I do not. Who can look at a PowerPoint I created and immediately point out five things I’ve never considered. 

The ability to be open to feedback makes us all better

Perspective can teach you many things, mainly if you aren’t fearful of seeking out those that differ from yours. The danger comes from our need to be correct. That need prevents the dialogue necessary to explore the issue further as to how two people may have come to very differing conclusions. I try to practice taking the ego out of the argument. There are times to stand up for what you believe to be accurate, and there are other times in creative spaces where there are many ways to solve a problem. 

Explain it sufficiently, make me see what you see, and you’ll likely have changed my mind

I love and respect the dedication Michael has shown to his craft, the development of our staff, and the success of our clients. I may never win the colour battle with him, but we can have a good laugh knowing I’ll never see the difference in all 56 shades of purple.