As I recall back to the first few years of my design career. It is often the daily struggle of a young designer, like dealing with harsh criticism, trying to gain respect and trust from co-workers and clients, and at the same time controlling manner, trying not to piss them off when they ask me to move a few pixels here and there.

As I grew older, those struggles never disappeared – they just kept coming at different points and aspects – the only difference is that I’m aware of it and started to wonder. I’ve learned that Ego caused me suffering and could hinder my ability to create good work.

So, what is Ego?

Ego is a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance. It is the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious, and it is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.

– Oxford Dictionary

But I like the Buddhism version better.

Ego is the false sense of self. Ego is caused by the illusion of identity or obsession with that identity.

When you feel defensiveness, righteousness, an unforgiving attitude, or seeking attention or approval, your ego drives your life.

But then, what is Identity?

(a) The distinguishing character or personality of an individual: individuality.
(b) The relation established by psychological identification.

– Merriam Webster

It is said that the collective distinguishes the personality or character, including your behavior, your attitude, and the way you work – it is your identity.

However, in our consumer society, we were all purposely painted a false sense of identity by media and profitable organizations; by using gender, social position, assets, etc…Things like I am a man, an Artist, holding an MIT degree, owning a Porsche, I am a Redsox fan, I am White, I am a Democrat, I am from Europe, etc. These false senses of identity are called Illusions of Identity or Ego.

So, being who you are in that false sense could be a considerable obstacle to preventing me from taking critics, empathy, or collaborating with others.

Since Ego is the false sense of an individual’s self, on a much larger scale, as a group of individuals who has a similar ‘identity,’ it becomes the Ego (or the false sense of identity) between groups, teams, organizations, and nations (nationalism).

Don’t get me wrong. Ego is not necessarily bad, although it undoubtedly could interfere with our design process.

Ego can help designers overcome impostor syndrome and recognize where their strengths are. However, unless coupled with a healthy dose of self-awareness, ego can easily lead you to the wrong path where you are the center of the universe instead of Human-Centered Design practicing.

Ego is an Illusion or Obsession of Identity

– Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra

Ego is driven by either of two factors – Illusion or Obsession with Identity. It is simply false thinking and the attachment to our own identity.

The Illusion 

Sometimes, I invested time, effort, and even emotion into my work or design. It causes suffering to see those works being criticized or being changed. The illusion had tricked me into thinking that my works were my identity. If you found this familiar, then this is your mantra – Remember, you are not your design, and your design is not a piece of art. The reality is that your design is a process, and changes are a part of that process. Your design does not stand for you as a person. However, the way you work, attitude, and behavior stand for you as a person.

The Obsession 

Many of my friends have the beginning of a design career after Art School, and some of them are both designers & artists themselves. The mindset of an artist could be a long-time companion in their job. Artists have long had a reputation for being inconsistent and self-involved professionals. Their primary audience and focus are always driven by self-expression or presenting their unique point of view. Their Ego is therefore worsened since their work is, after all, their particular vision, unobstructed by requests, perspectives, audiences, or influences.

On the other hand, the designer workflow naturally shares space with the Client and Stakeholders. In the end, the center of the universe is not about the Designer, Client, or Stakeholder, but rather the End-user.

Who is the center of the universe?

Someone says Love (in a much more significant meaning, juvenile!) is the anti-dose of Ego, and I think it makes sense. Because of Love, we generate Compassion, Empathize with others, listen to others, and become more humble. So, how to deal with your Ego? Indeed, it is not an easy battle against yourself, but it doesn’t mean it is impossible.

    1. Repeat everything below as a chanted mantras – Yes, repeating. Isn’t it the same method they trained our minds or brainwashed them? How often have you seen that McDonald’s commercial repetitively appears on TV?

    2. Identify and remind yourself who is at the center of the universe in every design project. Asking yourself, your co-worker, your stakeholders, and your client – Who is the Primary User? Who is the Secondary User? Who is the rest of the universe? By repeating those mantras on every design decision we’ve made – we left ourselves no space for our Ego to grow.

    3. More ‘We’ and less ‘I’ -, as it says, use ‘We’ more often. Since we are all working together as a team, it doesn’t mean that we cannot say ‘I,’ but we need to be aware when expressing our perspectives in some cases.

    4. Kindness gesture sparkling others – Go out of our way to do something nice for our team member or even a stranger on the street. We are giving compliments and shoutouts to others. A random act of kindness will not just make you feel good and appears to be a bit more humble in front of others. It would probably generate a positive vibe and bond among the team.

    5. Listening – I mean listening, don’t just listen to reply, but rather to understand – would help you learn new things and benefit your Empathy skill in the Design Process.

    6. Accepting – Accepting the fact that ‘change is the only constant.’ It would tremendously be helpful to go thru the design process with the mindset that things will change. There is nothing permanent, right? Name me one? The design you’ve worked so hard to deliver today will fade out one day and will soon be replaced by a newer version. So, don’t be attached to your design but rather be linked to the right problem-solving.

To be fair – you will never really be able to fully let go of your ego (unless you choose the path of enlightenment and become One with the Universe 😁). Your Ego will always be there as long as we have a sense of identity in our consciousness. It makes us who we are. It’s not a bad thing. Like everything else in this world – too much of anything is never a good thing. Have a healthy dose of ego, but moderate.

Design Philosophy