There is no such thing as too many questions
My son is 8 years old and asks a lot of questions. Which I think is really good. Often the questions are so different that I have to think really hard or look it up online to answer.
A lot of kids ask questions because that’s the best way of learning new stuff. But when we grow older we tend to ask less questions and think that what we know is the whole truth and that there is nothing more to it. Or at least we don’t want to risk sounding like we don’t know everything already by asking another question.
I think a good method to getting a better product, creating a better design, succeeding with your company or almost any situation where you want to improve things is to ask more and more questions. It should almost feel embarrassing.
I’ve been in situations where my questions are seen as criticism. That I don’t trust what the person or company is doing. Maybe I framed it wrong but what I’m doing is probing and trying to get a better picture of the whole situation. Understanding more is key to handling a problem better.
Asking questions to yourself can also be a method in improving your design.
Why does it look like that?
Does it need to look like that?
Is there other ways that are better?
Who will see or use this?
What can be improved?
If this was designed by someone else what would they have done?
If I could design this without any limitations on budget or time how would the perfect version be?
If this was designed for another group of people how would it affect the design?
If I made this twice as large or half as small what would be the implications?
How would Pollock/Elvis/Jobs/Bowie/Dali/Kubrick/Rand design this?
Can I remove something to make it better?
How does it look with inverted colors?
What if this was made for cats?
What happens if I turn it upside down or inside out?
What would my son ask about this?
Don’t ever stop asking questions. There are no stupid questions. Start asking more questions.
