Every now and then, I’m reminded of just how fundamental feeling is.
I had a catch-up call with a longtime designer friend. We talked about systems, design processes, all the usual. But we both landed in the same place:
At the end of the day, it’s all about people.
Obvious, maybe. But easy to forget.
Misdirection
Especially when you’re deep in the work.
When you’re focused on the problem. When you’re swept up in the cleverness of the solution. That’s when we lose sight of who we’re solving for. Whose life we’re trying to make just a little bit better.
And it’s not just about the “user.” It’s your team. Your colleagues. Your manager. Your stakeholders. The people you sit next to (or Zoom with) every day.
It matters how they feel too.
Feel Good (Inc)
Feeling good doesn’t always mean happy. Sometimes, often, it means confident.
Confident in the approach. Confident in the solution. Confident in the people doing the work.
Because what is a tech spec, a product doc, a proposal— if not a long-form pitch designed to help someone else feel just confident enough to say:
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
Movement
Feeling is what keeps momentum alive. Especially when timelines feel impossible and the answers aren’t clear.
It’s what carries a team through the long stretches. The work can be tiring, but people can feel energized. Not burnt out. But in it. Together.
When a project works, it’s not just because the solution was smart. It’s because the team felt connected. To the work. To each other.
Where the team’s done just enough to make the impossible feel plausible.
Playing Music
When conversations start to spiral into complexity, when the cleverness takes over and no one remembers who we’re designing for…
I come back to a video of Victor Wooten (a well-renowned bassist in the music industry).
He’s talking about music. But really, he’s talking about everything.
Victor says that feeling is a universal language. We're born with feeling. In music, your job is to play something that would connect with people.
“When you reach someone with feeling, that’s when you can play with less technique… and end up playing more music.”
(If you've got 2 minutes and 30 seconds to spare, I highly recommend watching the whole video, below)
So here’s a reminder to myself:
The next time I catch myself overthinking it—wrapped up in technique, trying to be clever, trying to impress...
Take a beat. Find the groove. And just play something that makes people move.