Career Lessons from Walter Mitty

As designers go up on the career ladder, or just go about their working day...

I remember watching Walter Mitty (officially, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) for the first time back in so many years, maybe ten years ago. I was already a designer, of course, but still daydreaming and trying to figure out what to do with my career and life (hint: I still haven’t figured it out, ten years later).

Walter Mitty, the daydreaming photo editor from the 2013 film, might seem an unlikely source of inspiration for a UX designer. But for me, Mitty's journey of escaping his mundane routine to chase a captivating photograph resonated deeply with the core of what drives many UX designers – a desire to craft experiences that nudge people out of their comfort zones and into something meaningful. On his way, he also exerted himself and went out of his comfort zones, with a few people dissenting him. But of course, he also has people who truly trust him.

Walter Mitty’s story can apply as well to any 9-to-5 worker. Those being the cogs in the machines, but still striving for perfection and looking for meaning out of their routines. Most of us are there, or at least there at some points in our lives.

Walter Mitty inspires me about bridging the ordinary (9-to-5s, being cogs in the machines) and the extraordinary (achieving extra for yourself, your company and the users).

At its heart, UX design is about understanding user needs and crafting solutions that not only address those needs but also evoke positive emotions. We strive to design experiences that surprise and delight, that leave a lasting impression. In a way, we are experience architects, building bridges between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Mitty's yearning for adventure mirrors the UX designer's constant push for innovation. We don't settle for the status quo; we challenge assumptions and explore uncharted territories. Just as Mitty ventured beyond his desk job to capture the essence of life through his curation, UX designers leverage their skills to craft interfaces that don't just function, they inspire.

However, along the way, our efforts are often not being being recognised or rewarded. We face harsh realities of business and conflicting interests that don’t always side to innovation and user experience. Operationally, on a day-to-day basis, we can feel very isolated, sometimes bullied, and exploited.

In Walter Mitty’s case, which aptly represents real UX designer’s life nowadays, the imminent force of layoffs, business finally takes precedence. This is in contrast to what journalism is about: idealism, truth, siding with the audience… the list goes on… but at the end of the day, every business has to make money and survive. Such is the case of Life publication in the movie, that transitioned to digital presence only. Along the way, they were acquired, and the new management simply does not care about idealism, truth, et cetera.

In this seemingly ruthless transition, everyone is confronted by the harsh realities of business priorities, with minimal consideration for those who have dedicated their lives to building the magazine through their craftsmanship and meticulousness.

We are reminded that we’re just cogs in the machines, and our works often (or finally) don’t have any meaning. Walter Mitty believed in the meaning of his job, so he went the extra way to find that missing negative 25 for the final cover, even if it means clashing with his new stakeholders. He believes in his words, and commits to it…

This is very similar to what UX is all about, or any tech career, or any career in general.

We strive to build great things for users. We do user research, spend so much time on Figma perfecting the documentation, create stunning prototypes, work with stakeholders and impress them with our presentations. But at what cost? Sometimes they go live, but more often most of them are shelved, or we get reprioritized, or worse: they get rejected because of some business priorities. After all, designing is the whole set of activities, right? Not only designing on Figma? Or so, they say.

Then, there is this final message from the movie: It just happens that he should have found that missing piece closer that he might have imagined. Turned out that the missing negative has been with him all along, only if he looked closer and took a breather for a little.

This is also very aptly appropriate for us designers: the answers could be all within ourselves. Or, maybe as a team and company, ask ourselves: maybe the answers are already here within ourselves, we just overthink it and try too hard to give shareholders some busywork.

Anyway, rants aside…

The film beautifully portrays the transformative power of stepping outside one's comfort zone. The path that every designer believes to be right, trying to pave and justify their ways through odds, no matter how difficult and unrealistic it is. No matter how often we’re being disregarded as “non-team-players” nor “good employees”. We believe in our cause.

Mitty's journey reminds us that even the most seemingly ordinary tasks for others can have utmost importance for the users, but only if we believe in ourselves.

Don’t forget, too, that there are few people who truly believe in you. They can be really good teammates, or good bosses.

What about you? Have you watched Walter Mitty?