Why Its Called The Accelerated Designer
My first two jobs in UX were very different. I didn’t experience much growth at my first job. After two years, I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to get another job because I didn’t feel like I had learned anything. I didn’t feel like I was better off than when I started.
However, at my second job, I felt I had made up all the time I had lost and then some. What was different? There were several things that were conducive to learning:
I had a broad scope that allowed me to design a lot of different things across the app.
We were releasing updates frequently so I could learn from the outcomes of my design decisions.
I had a mentor who helped me focus on what was important
I started reading a lot and gained new mental models
This taught me that years of experience don’t mean anything. There is a correlation, because you can't learn without time passing, but what matters is how you use that time.
It's kind of like how you can have two people studying a language. someone who has studied for three months with a tutor and full immersion can be better than someone who has been studying for three years but only doing the bare minimum.
So since then, I've tried to be that first person. And that's what this newsletter is all about.
Dan
P.S. I’m trying to read more about the science of accelerated learning. If you have any recs, reach out!