Design isn’t about avoiding failure. It’s about understanding what success looks like. And success is made clear when contrasted with failure. When you map the boundaries of bad, the territory of good becomes visible.

Your next design challenge is an opportunity to test this. Take just 7 minutes this week and intentionally design something terrible. Sketch the worst possible solution you can imagine. Ask yourself questions that surface the most painful experience. See what it teaches you about the problem you’re actually solving.