Being a Designer

Last week, classmate Zhou Feng invited me to join his company and take charge of product design. We had an interview, and it felt pretty good. It’s a startup—opportunities, benefits, all quite attractive. I almost went for it.

Sunday, I played guitar for the hymns at church. Suddenly, I realized my guitar skills are so poor. After nearly two years of learning, I shouldn’t be at this level. The singers might not notice the quality of the playing, but I know it well.

From reflecting on guitar practice, I slowly uncovered a path I’ve been on for years—an imperfect, maybe even mistaken path.

I can’t deny that I know a lot. People around me see me as good at everything, but honestly, I’m just okay at most things.

Of course, I want to focus, like on design. But too many obstacles. When others don’t agree, it’s easy to quit. And there are too many temptations—chasing whichever industry pays more. I can’t settle down.

I love design, but I know what I understand and do now is just scratching the surface.

Honestly, I know nothing about design. Total blank slate. Facing a project, where to start? Piecing graphics together? Stacking colors? Just creating flashy visuals?

I’m planning to dive deeper into understanding design this year.

Lately, I’ve been quite busy. Busy with work, busy with side gigs. They’ve taken up too much of my time. Slowly, I’ve learned to choose and let go.

To let go is to gain.

I want to keep walking this design path.