Elodie Kwan - SIC 2024 - Perfectionism Killed the Designer.pdf

The design field is full of perfectionists. From pushing elements pixel-by-pixel to faithfully following the eight-point grid, most of us could endlessly iterate on a single screen if we didn’t have deadlines and constraints to abide by.

But what if the best designs are actually born from imperfection? What if true inspiration doesn’t come from looking at best practices, but instead eating at hole-in-the-wall restaurants or playing dungeons and dragons with your friends? In this session, Elodie will talk through why getting messy, being wrong, and rediscovering child-like wonder are crucial to becoming a better designer.

1. Perfectionism
Killedthe Designer

3. "I think perfectionism is just fear in fancy shoes and a
mink coat, pretending to be elegant when actually it's
just terrified. Because underneath that shiny veneer,
perfectionism is nothing more than a deep existential
angst that says, again and again, 'I am not good
enough and I will never be good enough.'”
Elizabeth Gilbert, Author

6. MAKE A LIST
1:30
What are all the
ways you could 

use a sock?

7. Drain your brain.

8. Source The Artist’s Way

11. STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
1:30
What are all the
ways you could 

use a sock?

12. Build chaos into 

your process.

14. How might your smart home in the
bedroom result in anything but
restoration and peace of mind?

19. LET’S DO THIS AGAIN...
What are all the
ways you wouldn’t
want to use a sock?
1:30

20. Rediscover 

child-like wonder.

21. is an absorbing, apparently purposeless activity
that provides enjoyment and suspends self-
consciousness and a sense of time. It is also self-
motivating and makes you want to do it again.”
Stuart Brown, M.D. in Play: How it Shapes the Brain,

Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul
PLAY

25. sock, bag, 

duct tape, boot
sock, bag, 

sock
ripped grocery
bag, sock
sock, 

ziplog bag
barefoot!
sock, bag, 

boot
sock, sock, 

bag, sockstraight

sock
only boot 

(ran out of 

clean socks)
sock, tennis
shoes

26. If you want to be a better designer,
don’t study design books.
Study sculpture. Study paintings.
Study cars, watches, philosophers,
movies, fiction, music, people.
Study the world.”
Tobias van Schneider

27. Take back your time.

28. “How are you spending your time?”
“Don’t waste your time.”
“Let’s save time and do it this way.”

31. “Have I worked enough to deserve rest?”
“Have I rested enough to do my most 

creative, meaningful work?”

32. Prove yourself wrong.

35. EXPLORE THE OPPOSITE
Commitment 8

36. I commit to seeing that the opposite of my story is as true or truer than my original story.
I recognize that I interpret the world around me and give my stories meaning.
I commit to believing my stories and the meaning I give them as the truth.

37. Is it true?
Can you absolutely know that it’s true?
How do you feel when you believe that thought?
Who would you be without the thought?
The Four Questions

38. Is it true?
Can you absolutely know that it’s true?
How do you feel when you believe that thought?
Who would you be without the thought?
“The client doesn’t know what they are talking about.”

39. Is it true?
Can you absolutely know that it’s true?
How do you feel when you believe that thought?
Who would you be without the thought?
“I have no more ideas for socks.”

40. ONE LAST TIME...
What are all the
ways you could 

use a sock?
1:30

41. Human first,

designer second.

46. Morning pages Drain your brain.

47. Morning pages Chaotic brainstorming Drain your brain.
Build chaos into your process.

48. Morning pages Chaotic brainstorming Play Drain your brain.
Build chaos into your process.
Rediscover child-like wonder.

49. Morning pages Chaotic brainstorming Play Nap Drain your brain.
Build chaos into your process.
Rediscover child-like wonder.
Take back your time.

50. Morning pages Chaotic brainstorming Play Take a nap Above the line Drain your brain.
Build chaos into your process.
Rediscover child-like wonder.
Take back your time.
Prove yourself wrong.

51. we are humans first,
designers second.
elodie kwan | [email protected]