SVA asked a group at CareerCamp to respond to the following:

So you’re thinking about becoming a designer? If I could tell you only one thing about going into the field, my advice would be ___________ .

“You have to be empathetic to your users, toward your clients, to the people you’re working with on your team”

Jennifer Bove / San Francisco / Principal, Interaction Design / Kicker Studio

“Remember to think about more than just design”

Kevin Cheng / San Francisco / Director of UX / raptr, ok-cancel

“Hire the one who can write”

Jim Coudal / Chicago / Founder / Coudal Partners

“Fully understand the problem before you attempt to solve it”

Whitney Hess / New York City / User Experience Designer / Independent Consultant

“Don’t let anyone tell you how to do your job”

Robert Hoekman, Jr. / Phoenix / User Experience Specialist, Author / Miskeeto

“Have passion—have undying, unending passion for what it is you do”

Jon Kolko / Austin / Associate Creative Director / frog design

“Having a camera, taking it everywhere, and taking pictures”

Michael Mandiberg / New York City / Senior Fellow, Eyebeam, Assistant Professor, CSI/CUNY

“No better high than knowing something you created changed someone’s perspective about their own life”

Melissa Pierce / Filmmaker / Life in Perpetual Beta

“Focus: Find a topic, find a topic, find a method and focus all your efforts on it”

Joshua Porter / Cambridge / Author, Social Web Design / Bokardo

“Seek and out embrace different perspectives from your own and to solve for those perspectives”

Steve Portigal / San Francisco / Design Research and Business Strategy / Portigal Consulting

“Bridge the gap between where your talent is and where your taste is”

Ryan Sims / San Francisco / Creative Director / Virb

“Find the middle ground between clever and stupid”

Jared Spool / Hotel Room / CEO, Founding Principal / User Interface Engineering

“Digital isn’t a one-time shot, but a constant upgrade”

Michael Surtees / New York City / Creative Director / Daylife, DesignNotes

“Plea for a better user experience”

Alissa Walker / Hollywood / Design Writer / Gelatobaby

Tags: inspiration