It feels good. It does good.

A personal recipe for beautiful design.

While reflecting on my journey as a designer, I stumbled upon something that feels like a personal recipe for what I believe makes design truly beautiful. It’s imperfect, messy, and full of contradictions—much like the process itself. But it’s mine, and I thought I’d share it.

1. Reflect on Your Doubts

Doubt isn’t the enemy—it’s an invitation to grow. When a doubt arises, it’s not there to hold you back, but to propel you forward. It’s risk-disguised, knocking at your consciousness’s door, asking you to question what you’ve done so far and what you could do better.

Instead of shying away from doubts, I ask myself:

• Where is this doubt coming from?
• What direction is it trying to indicate?

Doubts aren’t signs of weakness; they’re opportunities to explore and challenge the status quo. Mediocrity thrives in the absence of questioning. By reflecting on doubts, I can refine my work, push past the obvious, and explore new possibilities.

 

2. Play with Inconsistencies

Human beings are inherently inconsistent—and so is good design. Instead of obsessing over consistency too early in the process, I allow myself the freedom to experiment with contradictions.

Consistency serves a purpose: it creates coherence for users, making products or experiences easier to navigate and understand. But in the early stages of design, inconsistencies can open creative pathways that we may not have considered otherwise. These inconsistencies aren’t mistakes—they’re part of the creative process, pushing you to explore new angles, challenge norms, and allow for unexpected solutions.

Don’t rush into consistency. Let yourself play with contradictions, for it’s in this stage of exploration that true innovation often lies.

I wasn’t sure whether to write this post. Doubt has a way of creeping in whenever I reflect on my work. Society loves to tell us we should be simple, consistent, and clear. I tried being all those things. Discipline didn’t work. Motivation didn’t work.

So, fuck that.

I embraced my doubts and inconsistencies.

Why? Because they’re not weaknesses—they’re invitations to explore. Doubts challenge me to experiment, and inconsistencies push me to play. And isn’t that what creativity is all about? Somewhere along the way, it seems we’ve swapped play for metrics and KPIs. But designers create through exploration, not formulas.

3. Embrace opposites

The kind of designer I strive to be lives in the tension between opposites: creative yet thoughtful, brave yet prudent. In that space between extremes, I find fertile ground for solutions to grow, not simply be imposed.

To me, democratic design is about collaboration. It’s not creating for people but with them. It’s about listening, mediating, and fostering inclusivity, all while remaining open to the unexpected.

We all exist within social bubbles. These bubbles shape our perspectives and often limit our thinking. But design thrives in the spaces between these bubbles—in the tension between opposites.

Beautiful design doesn’t belong to a single perspective or bubble. It requires stepping outside of our comfort zones and embracing different viewpoints. It’s about leaving your bubble to find that middle ground where real innovation can happen.

The most impactful design finds harmony in opposing forces: aesthetics and function, simplicity and complexity, tradition and modernity. It’s in this balancing act that creativity can flourish.

4. Create With Others, Not For Others

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that design should never be imposed. True design isn’t about creating for people; it’s about creating with them.

The best designs come from collaboration, from listening and understanding the needs of the people who will use the product, service, or space. Design is about mediating between different viewpoints, finding common ground, and crafting solutions that serve everyone involved.

By co-creating with others, I ensure that the design not only meets their needs but also resonates deeply with them. This is where the magic happens: when design feels personal, relevant, and impactful.

But here’s where it gets deeper—you must define who “others” are. It’s easy to think of others as the immediate user, the consumer, or the payer. But thoughtful design requires you to broaden that definition. What about the indirect stakeholders? What about the people around your key users—their families, their neighbors? What about the environment they live in, or the resources your product uses?

This is a complex area to consider, and I know it can feel overwhelming. It deserves its own space to unpack, and perhaps the next article will delve deeper into this. For now, just know that extending your circle of responsibility can help create solutions that truly serve a wider community.

5. Seek, See, and Create Beauty

Growing up in the discomfort of a collapsing Soviet-shadowed society taught me to see and create beauty in everything around me. Over time, this ability became not just a coping mechanism but a core strength in my design practice.

To me, beauty isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about care and emotion. It’s the seamless fusion of how something looks and how it feels. I don’t see a distinction between internal and external beauty; both are essential.

I’ve learned that beauty isn’t a superficial layer or an afterthought. It’s foundational to ethical design. It feels good, it does good—or at least it tries to.

Beauty in design isn’t merely about creating something pleasing to the eye. It’s about creating something that feels good, that serves a purpose, and that is ethically sound. Beauty in design is an act of giving: you’re bringing something valuable and meaningful into the world where it was once missing.

When design feels good and does good, that’s when I know it’s truly beautiful.

Discovering My Pillars

This connection to beauty is the part of my design that comes most naturally, so much so that I used to take it for granted. I thought, “If it’s natural to me, it must be natural to every designer.” Turns out, it’s not.

Amid all the self-doubts that swirl through my mind, this feels like a solid pillar to lean on: beauty as care, as emotion, as ethics in action.

Experimenting to Find My Offer

Right now, I’m working on leveraging that pillar by experimenting with design in different fields. I want to shape what I can—and want—to offer as a designer. My aim isn’t just to produce beautiful things but to align my work with values that matter: playfulness as an act of freedom, inclusivity as real innovation, ethics as simply caring–in one word, beauty.

Here’s to designing with care, embracing the mess, and finding beauty in the unexpected.

If you’ve read this far, thank you for listening to my reflections. I hope they’ve inspired you.

Now, I’m reaching out to you.
I’m looking for like-minded people to exchange these reflections with, challenge each other, and grow together. If you resonate with what I’ve shared, if you’re interested in these kinds of conversations, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Let’s connect, collaborate, and continue to evolve as creators: oxana.tamas@gmail.com.