Primary design concentration:

Communication/Information/Interface Design

Most preferred tool for designing:

Hand-sketching and Photoshop

1. How and why did you choose to become a designer?

Probably in college—I was majoring in Philosophy when
I stumbled into the field of Semiotics, or the study of
sign systems, which essentially investigates the concept
of communication and its relation to culture. At the same time
I realized I was less interested in art than in applying
visual techniques to problem-solving, and there you go.

2. Challenges you encounter as a designer and how do you deal with them?

1) Clients who think you will take critiques personally—this requires training them out of it; 2) Logistical things like slipping deadlines, which I haven’t fully solved yet; 3) The mixed blessing of being too busy with work, which doesn’t allow for down-time that helps one to reframe how to think about problems—imposed vacations away from work, even if only for an day, usually do the trick.

3. Your definition of an “elegant solution,” that is, good design?

A certain sense of economy (more is not always more); Clarity; A point of view; Appropriateness for its audience.

4. From skills to values, what makes a designer successful?

Curiosity: Being a good listener and question-asker; An obsession over details; Empathy: The ability to take one’s head off and look through someone else’s eyes; A sense of humor; A strong sense of visual language; Delivering on deadlines every time (being reliable sounds boring, but can make or break you).

5. How do you stay motivated and grow personally and professionally as a designer?

After many years in the interface design field, primarily in e-learning, I wasn’t feeling challenged in the right way. It was more about how much client-pleasing work I could turn around than the actual quality of the solution. So I went back to school, which as a mid-career professional, has its own challenges, but I’m surrounded by talented people + interesting ideas and learning new approaches to problem-solving.

6. For those aspiring to become a designer, whatever the discipline,what is your advice?

Use everything you see as raw material—Develop the habit of examining things critically, and develop an understanding why they work as designed objects, services, or practices.

7. What is your quest in design?

Developing a means of “design thinking” may be the single most useful tool to strive for—it’s medium—and industry-agnostic, less about the purely visual than about the overall experience, and focuses on the content and users rather than technology. If I can get the word out about that and find ways to put it to use, I’ll be satisfied.

Ruth Schmidt is a consultant in interface and information design. One of her sources of inspiration is anything she can get her hands or eyes on. She highly recommends that every designer experience Han Rosling’s TED Talk about “Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you’ve ever seen.”

Image courtesy of zazie_ at Flickr

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