Choose obvious over clever every time.
Rarely stand their ground.
Are Practical.
Value Laziness.
Lead the team.
You’d think with all those traits, the boring designer would get run over or ignored most of the time by their teammates and fellow designers. This turns out very rarely to be the case. Most people come to the boring designer first with questions about their work or plans. They trust the boring designer to look at their goals and problems with a practical eye. If there’s The Big Idea, the boring designer is fantastic at finding a reasonable step one instead of making The Big Idea the starting line.
The boring designer is trusted and valued, because people know they’re in it for the product and the user. The boring designer asks questions and leans on others’ experience and expertise, creating even more trust over time. They rarely assume they know the answer.
The boring designer is capable of being one of the best leaders a team can have.
So be great. Be boring.