A quick exploration into the delicate balance between relying on instinctive understanding (intuition) and gathering deep understanding through analysis and observation (insight) in digital product design.

In our industry, the allure of the "design process" is undeniable. For every problem, question, quandary or goal, there seems to be a ready out-of-the-box framework, model or procedure. We gladly workshop any idea until we're absolutely sure it's perfect, until everyone put their two cents in. Guided by the elegance of statistics and metrics, we move forward towards final designs only when we’re certain of success.

Outside of big corporations and big budgets, among startups, grassroots initiatives, it doesn’t work that way. More often than not, there isn't time to go through a proper design process, data available is either scarce, old, unusable or just non-existent. Research is whatever we can do during our lunch break. Budgets don't include testing. And yet, we create.

How to walk that thin line between being a craftsman and an artist? When to dig for data and when to trust your gut? Learn from my mistakes.