By: Sharon Adekanye
What is Imposter Syndrome?
The common dictionary definition is the anxiety or self-doubt that results from persistently undervaluing one’s competence and active role in achieving success, while falsely attributing one’s accomplishments to luck or other external forces.
The tendency for designers to get caught up with imposter syndrome especially young designers is high — this struggle in the design world is real. As a young designer, submerging yourself deeply into the design space can put so much pressure on you that you might begin to undermine your work because you don’t think your designs are good enough or up to par with other designers.
It is mostly common among junior designers, especially the ones that are self-taught via YouTube, online courses or through the help of a designer friend. Imposter syndrome has a way of making them feel like they aren’t a real designer — they most times find themselves not happy with their designs when they compare it to other designers even if their design looks good enough. It makes them believe that they aren’t good or competent enough to become a good designer.
If there is one thing you should know right now about Imposter Syndrome — YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
A lot of designers, even senior designers, deal with imposter syndrome — It is one of the major hurdle you need to cross on becoming a great designer. Even beyond design, its one of the major hurdle you need to cross if you want to be successful in anything you do in life.
Here’s what imposter syndrome can do to you if you don’t handle it well:
- Imposter syndrome won’t let you see the best in yourself and that might lead you to keep undermining your work, of course, this would make you lag behind others.
- Imposter syndrome would make you hide your best ideas because you don’t think they are good enough .
- Imposter syndrome won’t make you see that you’re working hard enough and putting in all the work.
- It will prevent you from taking up opportunities that you deserve.
How to deal with imposter syndrome in a good way
- Rather than comparing your designs with other designers, let imposter syndrome push you to want to do better and go beyond in your design game.
- Always encourage yourself, and tell yourself that you’re getting better everyday and you’re on a design learning process. We are all work in progress, no one knows it all.
- Get designer friends, find your design community. For example, Perxels community — they would help you at every design process and let you know that you aren’t alone
- See criticism in a good way, be open to criticism and make corrections, they really help you move forward and lessen the effect of imposter syndrome
- Appreciate designers with amazing works that appeals to you, rather than running into your shell when you see their design works.
“I think what most people consider imposter syndrome is a feeling of learning — of growth. It’s the discomfort that comes with being responsible for a difficult challenge with no clear path to success.” (Ben Huggins)
If you deal with imposter syndrome with the right mindset — that is seeing it from the perspective of pushing yourself to be better for yourself, you will become a great designer and a better human being.
