What is pride? According to wikipedia, it is a double-edged sword. It is one’s sense of personal status, i.e. the sense of where you rank and a tool by which you judge yourself in relation to others. It is also a product of praise, a byproduct of a job well done. Personally, I have been struggling with the issue, and for some reason, I believe that this struggle is unique to design.

First, an admission. I am a proud person. My sense of self worth (not to be confused with pride but definitely informed by pride) has helped me weather many a storm, and I believe that pride is a component of my self worth, an ingredient that I would be foolish to deny. It has also compelled me to reach beyond myself, for if one is good at one thing, why can’t one excel at another? In design, I would argue that pride is essential. If you are not proud of your work, how can you confidently present it to a client? If you don’t take pride in the tradition of design, how can you learn from it and ultimately honor it? Unfortunately, there is another side to this coin.

By ascribing value to your work, you inevitably set a price of entry, and unless you know when to be humble, which is more difficult than it sounds, this price of entry can condemn your work. That is the root of my struggle. Because I am proud, I feel the need to defend my work. It is, after all, a reflection of my process, my thinking, and my intuition. Right!

Actually, I think that these assumptions might be wrong.

As a designer, I don’t exist to defend my work; I exist to advance my work. This complex equation requires a number of harmonious elements, but more than anything, it means that I have to let go and give myself over to the experiment. Pride impedes this process. Pride warrants a series of small battles that are bound to lose the war. Pride dictates that you dismiss the speculation of people who “have no business” commenting on what it means to design something great. Worse yet, pride often excludes those who you are ultimately meant to help, call them customers, clients, or partners.

This is the revelation that compelled the post. Pride, I’m afraid, is a process killer. Like a stop sign in the middle of a highway, pride can be used to halt the advancement of process. Because pride is a point, not a line. And, if you focus on the point, ascribing all value to it, it can stop the advancement of the line.

So, what can a proud person do? Here’s what I think. First, I think that I should be proud of the process, not the end product. The journey, not the destination, is the reward. Second, I should focus my pride on solving the client’s problem. This removes the focus from the end product (the point) and focuses me on solving for need (the line). Third, and perhaps most difficult, I should simply let go. Pride will become fence, and if I let it, it will hem me in, stunting my personal and professional growth.

All easier said than done, since pride has a way of lurking in the depths, only rearing its head when the sting of criticism seems too great. When this happens, I think that all designers should take a deep breadth, step back, and open themselves to the opportunity. At least, that’s what I’ll be working on in the future.