The Value of Confusion

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As many of you have heard over the last few months, Squarespace recently introduced a new version of their platform, which they're calling "7.1." (Again, the naming convention has me baffled.) It's a kind of mix of the longest running system version and an all new platform. I have a lot of gripes about the new system (namely the user experience for designers and their inexplicable removal of certain features from the system). It's left me frustrated and confused.

And that's not a bad thing.

Sure, I am irritated, but I also am exceedingly proud of the quality of work we've done having to jump feet first into new software with little prep. We launched ArtHyve's new website using Squarespace 7.1 a couple of weeks ago and it's sincerely one of my favorite website projects in years. Not only do I love what it looks like and how it really speaks to our client's unique mission, designing it (especially in our Design in a Day™ timeframe) was extremely challenging and made me feel like a newbie designer all over again.

There's a cool thing that happens when you feel uncertain or have to learn something new (or at least it does for me)—you get REALLY creative. You can't solve problems the same way, and you're forced to learn. Now I'm the Queen of Systems ??but there's a lot of value that comes from learning new things and coming at problems from a different angle.

It reminds me of why I like going to (you knew this was coming) advanced dog training classes or (you probably also knew this was coming) a gardening workshop on some new to me technique. Every single time, my mind is blown with ways I can apply my knowledge and different angles on a problem. Some traditions call this "the beginner's mind," but whatever you call it, it's worth taking a trip to visit it every so often.

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