There are many reasons why designers or anyone else person is successful in his work. These reasons are generally related to your performance and a series of habits that such people have acquired throughout their lives that help them measure their performance and plan how to improve it.

While there is no recipe for success, there are several things we can do to improve our performance Here are some of them for you to adopt in your routine.

Be passionate

The most important in the designer's career is passion. This is a hard-hitting industry that requires constant interest and commitment. A designer can hardly grow and become the best if he is unmotivated and does not find his activity attractive.

Criticize your own work

It is essential for designers to have the capacity for constant self-evaluation and criticism. It is not enough to be happy with the project, it is necessary to be demanding and always think that you could have done better. In the long run this requirement will become excellence.

Ask them to criticize your work

Two sets of eyes are better than one, that's why always seek opinions of other people. Try to be selective and not fall into a game of taste, for this seek the criticism of people you admire and be objective to analyze why this person thinks this way.

Don't let them put you under unrealistic delivery times

Ask what is the actual delivery date of a project. Don't let other people determine your priority list by lying about actual deadlines. Ask your clients for a project schedule that helps you understand why they have chosen this date. However, keep in mind the deadlines for each project. These are essential for productivity, since they help us to work efficiently on a project focusing all our attention and then continue with another.

Look for inspiration in everything

The world is inspiring and a creator absorbs the world and reinterprets it. This is what a successful designer does. You know how to take clippings of elements and put them back together into something that becomes functional and / or creatively attractive.

Learn to distance yourself to come back with more momentum

It is wrong to think that we need to dedicate 100% of our time to work in order to be successful. In the face of saturation it is necessary to know when to take a moment, walk away and clear up. In these cases, it is ideal to do physical activity, walk or take dance classes for example.

Find out what you do best

In other words Look for your niche and develop there with great power. Once you have managed to penetrate a market and establish yourself in a specific activity, you can take on new challenges. But first of all keep in mind it is not the quantity but the quality.

Listen and watch

You have to develop listening skills. These are essential to learn how the customer thinks but above all it helps you to empathize with the user of your product and to understand why it is necessary for the product to have such or such characteristics.

Practice, practice and practice

This is one of the most important capabilities of the designer. The only way we are going to become really good at something is through constant practice that leads us to learn what the more efficient ways to do an activity.

Improve your prioritization ability

Understand who or what needs your absolute or closest attention. Only through prioritization will you be able to meet strict delivery times in the most efficient way and thus be able to provide a more personalized service.

Stay up to date with trends

Design is a industry determined by trends And that is why we must always be aware of the trends that influence the different markets for which we work. This will determine the popularity and acceptance that our product will have in the general public.

Go way beyond what you should do

This is very simple if they ask you for 100% you give 200%. Thus you will show the client your commitment to the project and you'll have a better chance of her choosing to work with you again. On the other hand, it will also help you to be admired for the excellence with which you carry out your activity.

Learn to work under pressure

This is a goal-oriented industry. For this reason, most projects they will require an active role on the part of the designer. It is necessary that deliveries are fulfilled on the established dates since our work is a link that will affect the entire production chain and may harm the customer.

Develop multitasking capabilities

If you think that you can be successful developing a project at the same time, you are very wrong. Designers working in major agencies generally have 5-10 projects of varying importance assigned to them alone. If you want to enter the big leagues you will have to have the ability to handle the needs of multiple clients, fast.

Maintain a good organization system

To be able to work independently and be able to lead several projects at the same time is being a great design manager is essential. That is why it is necessary to be clear about the planning and schedule of all projects to carry out the activities on the established dates. For this you can use tools such as Trello o Sleep as an Droid.

Make networking

It is very important for the designer to have the ability to engage relationships with people from different activities and industries. Always remember to carry your personal card everywhere and be interested in building a contact list that contains businessmen, artists, teachers and colleagues.

Know your industry

No one should know your industry better than you. Knowledge will give you competitive advantages over your colleagues. That is why you should try to know as much as you can about everything that is related to your activity. Course you can do, you do; art exhibition you can go to, you go; book that comes out, you read it; design program that appears, you learn to use it.

Become an authority

People are looking for someone to follow, so become one. There is nothing more satisfying for a designer than knowing what it is an inspiring person for others.

Track your customers

It is not enough to just carry out a project but also a subsequent follow-up to evaluate the results that the project has had in the organization. Then, from this, future improvements could be projected and determine what were the made mistakes never to repeat them.

When you're up, send the elevator down

But above all what you do, once you have managed to be a successful designer be sure to help as much as they helped you. It is fair to allow other people to have the possibilities that one has and never forget that one was in that place and needed a hand. We can only continue to grow if we have gratitude and solidarity.