Dear designers, it is about the tools

I’ve read a number of articles talking about how design isn’t about the tools. “Tools come and go…” they’ll say, acting like a wise battle-hardened sage. But I’m here to tell you, it’s kind of about the tools.

Let me start by clarifying, I think the intention behind these comments is good. The idea that good design is about how you approach problems, and how good design can be accomplished on a whiteboard, etc. However, at some point, you’re going to have to sit down and open a design file, probably in Figma, and do the manual labor of design.

And if you’re not very good at Figma, you will have a limited career. (or Sketch I guess…? Does anyone use that anymore?)

Imagine a carpenter coming onto the job site and declaring, “it’s not about the tools!” Well, sure, being able to hammer a nail doesn’t make me a carpenter – however it’d be awfully silly if the carpenter wasn’t very good at using a hammer.

Picture this — A doctor walks into your annual physical, looks at the stethoscope, and says, “I didn’t go to med school for 10 years to be limited by tools.”

Unfortunate side effect

The unfortunate side effect that I’ve witnessed has to do with the way in which junior designers interpret the wise sage’s advice. These new designers coming out of bootcamps will often use a line like this to justify their poor designs. How often I’ve heard, “I’m a UX designer not a UI designer” when a bootcamp graduate is trying…