I've been involved in no fewer than three different initiatives to create a design system in my career. 10 years ago we simply called them pattern libraries. A few years ago, Atomic Design entered the scene and provided a more comprehensive grammar around design systems. Once Google unveiled Material Design in 2014, the concept of design systems had finally matured.

I'm often asked to review designer portfolios from students anxious to lock down a dream job, and young designers looking to move up the ladder. I'd love to review each one in detail, but it takes too long. In both cases though, my feedback tend to be the same, and it's inspired by product marketing principles.

What have I learned over the years that I wish I'd known when I was first starting out as a young designer? The result: A growing list of learnings that I've experienced through trial and error, each of which has served me well during my design career.

When I interview design candidates fresh out of school I always ask them, "When you get assigned a new project, what part do you hope you get to do, and which part are you secretly praying someone else will do?"

There's always that moment during or after development when, inevitably, customer feedback suggests that users can't figure out how to use your product, or features have grown so deep and complex that people are scared away before giving things a chance.