Hi friends! I’m not sure who might be reading this, but I’m glad you’re here.
I’m Long, originally from Taiwan, and after completing my master’s in New York, I stayed and became a product designer. This blog is my space to share not just my design journey, but also my personal growth. Through writing, I hope to clear my thoughts, find solutions to challenges, and be more intentional in reaching my goals.
For the past 20 years, I’ve gone from drawing to studying industrial design and product design, and now I’m a product designer. Even with all my experience, I’m still not good at giving design feedback in meetings. (Presenting is different; I’m good at storytelling with a script.) Even after meetings, I often get carried away by different feedback. When leadership challenges me, I struggle to stand up for myself or defend my designs. Looking back, I realize that I was taught to be polite, not to question authority, and not to stand out. Now, these habits are holding me back in my career.
After returning from maternity and parental leave, which didn’t really feel like a break, I faced the same kind of challenges I did a year ago. When I read my old notes, I realized that if I don’t deal with these issues, I’ll stay stuck in the same place. I started wondering if I’ll keep working in design for the next ten years. What are my goals? When do I feel fulfilled? Where do I want to go?
I write a lot to clear my mind, but I rarely publish anything online. Maybe I should start a blog to share my thoughts, to stand behind my voice. By doing this, I believe I’ll grow and learn more, instead of just keeping everything to myself.
Recently, I listened to Julie Zhuo on the Design Better podcast, and I realized she started blogging for a similar reason. Early in her career, she would wait for everyone else to speak before sharing her design opinions. She started a blog to practice organizing her thoughts and finding her voice.
For all the questions I mentioned, I don’t have the answers yet, but I hope to figure them out over the next 52 blog posts. My goal, like Julie Zhuo’s, is to hit the publish button 52 times in a year. (Thanks, Julie Zhuo.)
Long
Quote: “I wanted to work on that (writing) because I knew that this was ultimately going to be a barrier, and that if I couldn’t figure out how to get my voice out there, or even to find what it is that I stood for, that was going to hold me back. So I set this goal.” — Julie Zhuo on Design Better https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/rewind-julie-zhuo?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
嗨，不知道會是誰讀到這篇文章，但很高興你來了！
我是 Long，來自台灣，在紐約完成研究所學業後，留在這裡當了產品設計師。這個 blog 是我想分享的地方，不僅關於我的設計旅程，還有我的個人成長。透過寫作，我希望能整理思緒，找到解決問題的方法，也更有執行力去實現目標。
過去二十年來，從學習畫畫，到學工業設計和產品設計，到現在我當產品設計師。雖然有多年的設計經驗，但在工作或會議中，我還是不太擅長提供意見。（發表是另一回事，我很喜歡寫稿講故事。）在會後，我也常常會被各方意見給淹沒。或是當上級質疑我時，我真的是不太會反駁，明明就有很多站得住腳的原因，總是在事後很懊悔為什麼自己沒講好。仔細想想從小被教導要有禮貌、不出風頭、不質疑權威等等，在現在的職場上反而成為了障礙。
今年修完產假和育嬰假回來上班後，我又遇到了和一年前相似的情況。當我重看之前的筆記時，我發現很多問題並沒有真正解決，一邊苦惱時，突然開始思考，未來十年我還會繼續做設計嗎？對於設計，我的目標是什麼？什麼時候我會感到成就感？未來想做什麼呢？
在整理思緒的過程中，我發現其實一直都有寫筆記、寫下各種心得的習慣，但很少公開發表任何思考過程。或許開始寫網誌，將這些思考發表出來，不論設計也好日常生活也好，會讓我更有執行力，也把這當成一個目標去實現。在寫作的過程中，也許我會悟出什麼，或找到解決重複困境的方法也說不定。
剛好，最近聽到 Julie Zhuo 在 Design Better Podcast 中的分享時，我發現她開始寫文章的原因也太像！在她的職業生涯初期，她總是等別人講完後才發表意見。後來，她決定開始寫作，是為了練習組織和清楚表達自己的想法，而她的寫作目標是對年輕時的自己說話。
聽完之後，我決定沿用 Julie Zhuo 的目標，在一年內發表52篇文章。很具體的目標吧！！希望我能在接下來的52篇文章中慢慢找到答案。(感謝 Julie Zhuo)
Long