Similarities between a doctor and a design

 

Is there a relationship between a doctor and a designer? This is something that perhaps many of you may be wondering when reading the title of this article. The reality is that the process of both professionals is quite similar. Even the process of the designer can resemble many others, however, we will analyze it with respect to a doctor because they can come to be seen as totally opposite.

Initially, a doctor receives your patient in his or her office. Regardless of gender, age or any other socio-demographic characteristic, the process is always the same. Afterwards, he asks the patient a series of questions in order to be told the symptoms that afflict him. Before this, the doctor must listen carefully to what they are telling him so that in this way he can make a proper analysis and make a prescription.

Now, let’s look at the process of the designer. It meets with the client, who can also be of various types: multinational, startup or independent person. In the first approach it is important to ask the corresponding questions that are directed to understand the objective of the project, what is the target audience, expectations and other aspects that will allow to have an overview of the situation. The client tells you all the information he considers relevant to the development of the project and most likely answers your questions so that they are aligned. After that, you analyze all that information, which helps you to establish the steps to follow during the different stages of the project before the objectives are fulfilled satisfactorily.

In spite of this similarity, there is something curious about this metaphor and that can generate some kind of debate, and that is that when a person goes to a doctor, he fully trusts that what the doctor does is right and we don’t usually give opinions about something that we would change. The opposite is true of design, which, perhaps because it is often subjective, prompts people to make comments that are often valuable but in other cases call into question the work of the designer. This is something that will hardly change but that is part of our profession and that we must deal with intelligently.

In general, as mentioned, in broad strokes the process is very similar and this metaphor is very useful to remember the importance of this previous stage of understanding what you have to address without rushing to offer solutions to problems that you have not yet done. Understood and that it can generate negative consequences in projects.