We talk a lot about design debt like it’s something we accidentally inherit.
Past decisions we’re stuck with. Old flows. Rigid layouts.
But the truth is: some of that debt? I chose it.
Not out of carelessness.
Out of clarity.
In product work — especially when you're working on something large, fast-moving, or complex — you learn pretty quickly that you can’t perfect everything.
You have to prioritize momentum over polish.
Outcomes over obsession.
And that means letting go of certain things, on purpose.
I used to obsess over every spacing irregularity. Every misaligned pixel.
Now, if it doesn’t affect comprehension or performance — I let it slide.
I make a note. I fix it when it matters. But I don’t let it block me.
Could this component be more reusable? Probably.
But is it working? Yes.
And is a merchant or end-user suffering because of it? No.
I choose not to over-engineer the system just to feel like it’s “clean.”
I used to chase every possible “what if.”
Now I ask: is this likely? will this happen at launch? can we handle this with defaults?
Designing for edge cases too early creates bloat.
Sometimes it’s better to learn from usage — and build backwards from real pain.
Designers are great at seeing friction before users do.
But that’s a double-edged sword — because it also means we fix things that might never happen.
Sometimes I sit with the discomfort of leaving a “maybe problem” alone.
Sometimes we never need to come back to it.
Early on, not everything needs to be systemized.
If I’m in exploration mode or mid-shift on product direction, I keep the docs light — otherwise I waste time rewriting them every two days.
Design debt isn’t inherently bad.
It only becomes bad when we don’t know why it exists — or when we pretend it doesn’t.
I don’t ignore these things out of laziness.
I ignore them because I’ve learned to respect trade-offs.
Because I value team velocity, product goals, and clarity more than getting everything “just right.”
And when it’s time to clean up — I know where to look.
These are the signals that tell me: okay, now it’s time to pay off that debt.
Until then?
Some debt is fine.
Some debt is the cost of building.
Just make sure it’s a debt you meant to take.
