As children, we were incredibly curious, and this curiosity played a significant role in shaping our understanding of the world around us. However, as we grew older, we began to lose this valuable trait little by little. Being curious means asking more questions; being curious in your work means understanding your client, your job, and its various aspects more deeply. Curiosity drives you to re-evaluate yourself, your choices, and even your decisions more thoroughly. The following points illustrate the importance of curiosity in your work:
Be Curious in Your Questions to Clients
Be as curious as possible in your questions to your client. Prepare a brief with general questions and rely on it with your clients, but don’t stop there. Develop the questions further and add more curiosity that varies depending on the client and the nature of their work. Ask more before you start working. Early in my career, I made several mistakes by delaying or not asking certain questions at all, and the result was a negative impact on the work, and sometimes it even came to a complete halt. In the best cases, I found myself having to redo a significant part of the work. Curiosity in this case is not embarrassing; it is a duty you owe to your client.
Be Curious About Your Field and Profession
Our field, whether you are a designer, developer, or writer, freelancer, or business owner, is constantly evolving. If you stick to the same knowledge or work pattern you had a year ago, this means you are not progressing, and others have surpassed you. Curiosity about your work means staying updated on the latest developments, viewing more works and examples, and reading books or articles related to the field. This curiosity is a duty you owe to your profession and what you do.
Be Curious About Yourself and Your Path
Are you still on the right track? Do you still have the passion for what you do? Are the decisions you made a year ago still logical and valid today? Try thinking about these questions and reconsider them in different ways. Look at yourself, your work, and your decisions from an external, unbiased perspective. Curiosity in rethinking these matters is a duty you owe to yourself.
Curiosity Equals Empathy
When faced with bad, inappropriate, or even rude responses from someone, try to find out why before judging them. The same applies to clients; not all projects are smooth, and not all clients will treat you with the respect you expect or deserve. Curiosity in these situations can change your response or even your decision. Try being curious and ask why if you can, and if you can’t, delay your response; the whole story might change.
Curiosity in a Small Story
In the book Work for Money, Design for Love, author David Airey shares a short story that illustrates the meaning of curiosity in another way. In 2009, a young designer named Jon Engle mentioned on his website that an advertising agency had filed a lawsuit against him for $18,000 for copyright infringement, even though they were the ones who had infringed on his work. The story quickly spread among designers and news sites, and many began to support Jon without fully understanding the story. However, after digging deeper, it turned out that Jon was the one who had violated the agency’s rights, and his hasty actions caused significant damage to his reputation.
The responsibility doesn’t lie solely with Jon, but also with all the parties who didn’t fully investigate and understand the story before spreading it and bringing it to the media.
Conclusion:
Whether with your client, your work, or even yourself and your profession, just as with anything else in this world, there are always two sides to every story and question. Seek them out and stay curious as much as you can.
Part of the blog is derived from the book Work for Money, Design for Love.