OCD: Obsessive Compulsive Designer

How being a Designer can push you to excessive judgment and criticism.

If you find yourself obsessing over perfection and the general order or state of things, you might relate to this.

Designers are creators. Not to make them sound like Gods, but they do have a very important role to play in society as indirect influencers. It’s arguable that whatever product, service or system you have used till date was inevitably made by a Designer (yes, Architects, Engineers, etc. are Designers too). Being in the shoes of a Designer is no easy task because it comes with the added responsibility of not only trying to solve a problem, but also in making a difference and influencing and helping people in the best way seen fit. This can put immense pressure on a Designer to perform. Luckily though, in most cases, that’s more of a motivation factor than a performance anxiety factor. However, somewhere this deep-rooted obsession for perfection can get to the ‘maker’. Over time, the deeper the Designer is entrenched into this role, the tighter its influence is on the Designer. Further down, the obsession ceases to have limiting boundaries, spilling into personal life from professional life. As time and experience solidify this thinking it is embedded deep in the psyche; where it becomes one philosophy that fits all purposes.

…somewhere this deep-rooted obsession for perfection can get to the ‘maker’.

Redundant alarms reminder us that life is incredibly complex. From the perspective of a rational thinker, the sheer volume, number of factors and elements in ‘life’ are mind boggling (to a Designer these elements appear to be malleable that have potential to be optimized, that are simply waiting to be ‘better’ designed). But you might see how easy it is to have a hearty laugh at the people pretending to be in perfect control of it all. Yet, knowing so, we opt to struggle and obsess over achieving this so called perfection. It’s probably part of the human condition. Or perhaps more likely can be attributed to our societal conditioning. But the reality is such that we may never really see perfection like we imagine it to be. Nevertheless, mirroring this collective thinking, our idea of Design vehemently seeks perfection, and compels the Designer to push harder to achieve it (like a manipulating Girlfriend or Boyfriend who has falsely convinced you that you love her or him) — even though in a sense, somewhere deep inside we might feel that it’s a dying cause.

But the reality is such that we may never really see perfection like we imagine it to be.

This ingrained thinking pattern makes a Designer susceptible to being infected with excessive judgement and criticism. On the upside it cannot be denied that this judgemental and critical outlook does come handy with problem-solving. But on the downside a compulsive obsession only comes in the way of the individual, clouding the Designer’s prized intuition, underplaying happiness, and eventually absorbing the Designer into a dystopian world born from this self-inflicted delusion. This is true because over-criticising and obsessing over something drains the joy out of even its brighter side. The deeper the roots go, the harder it becomes to find gratitude in everyday life. Things get taken for granted and the small pleasures in life transform to jurassic irritations. It can be a downward spiral of negativity. Clearly not a desirable way to live.

So, am I suggesting a solution here? Maybe not. Am I implying that Designers are doomed? Definitely not. It’s a matter of personal choice really. If you find yourself doing a balancing act, you already manage this pretty well. Perhaps obsession isn’t really the problem here. Maybe it’s as simple as artfully juggling judgement and criticism, while at the same time being grateful for the strangely meaningful imperfections. Or is it as simple as it sounds?