As a designer and photographer, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to make everything perfect. We often spend hours tweaking every detail, adjusting every pixel, and making sure every shot is flawless.

 But here’s the thing: perfection isn’t real. 

It's easy to get lost in the pursuit of the "perfect" design or image, but perfectionism can be a double-edged sword, often standing in the way of creativity and productivity. Managing it effectively is key to sustaining your creative energy and delivering high-quality work.

The Illusion of Perfection

Perfectionism is often misunderstood. True perfectionism isn’t about striving for excellence it’s a “theoretical construct imposed to meet the demands of one’s own ego.” This mindset can be dangerous, as it leads to unrealistic expectations, constant dissatisfaction, and burnout. As a designer, it's important to recognize that perfectionism is often about control. You might think, "It’s not perfect yet," but sometimes, perfection can actually hinder progress.

The Balance Between Good and Perfect

Perfection is a moving target. The difference between “just okay” and “perfect” isn’t as vast as it seems, but the gap between “just okay” and “bad” is much more significant. As Medium says, “The difference between just ok is really not that far from bad. To get something really good, that’s where the work is.” As creatives, our goal should be to get something really good, something that communicates effectively, engages the viewer, and solves the problem at hand. The pursuit of perfection often detracts from this goal, causing us to spend unnecessary time on details that may not make a tangible impact.

Tom Kenny reinforces this idea by pointing out, “Pobody’s nerfect.” He explains that even the best designers produce work that isn’t perfect. “Look through portfolios of the best web designers and I’m sure you’ll find some work that isn’t as good as the rest. You can be sure there are also designs they’ve created that haven’t even made it onto their portfolios.” So, while striving for excellence is important, it’s essential to acknowledge that even top-tier designers make mistakes and iterate along the way.

The 80/20 Rule: Striving for 'Good Enough'

One effective approach to managing perfectionism is adopting the 80/20 Rule. As Tom Kenny explains, “The last 20% will take 80% of your effort.” This concept can be applied to design and photography by recognizing that the final tweaks often require disproportionate time and effort, with minimal improvement in the final product.

Kenny advises aiming for an “80% minimum” in your work: “Your 80% is actually better than most people’s 100%. This is because your ideal quality of work is so high that lowering it down to 80% is still a high level.” By aiming for this threshold, you avoid the trap of over-perfecting and creating diminishing returns. This doesn’t mean lowering your standards, just that perfection is often unnecessary to achieve high-quality results.

Knowing When to Stop

One challenge of perfectionism is knowing when a piece of work is "good enough." As Kenny puts it, “You’ll be able to tell when you’ve reached 80% because it’ll be at the point where a design can be unleashed on the world even if it isn’t perfect.” It’s about understanding when a design or photo has reached a point where it’s ready to be shared with the world, even if it isn’t flawless. The goal isn’t to create something perfect but something that communicates your vision and serves the intended purpose.

Kenny further elaborates on this, saying that you’ll often find yourself “in the zone” during that first 80% of the project. That’s when the work flows and feels effortless. But once you pass that point, perfectionism takes hold, and “the anxiety only increases as you try to make change after change.” This increase in anxiety is a sign that you’ve crossed the 80% threshold and should consider wrapping up the project.

Create More, Perfect Less

By embracing the 80/20 Rule, you allow yourself to create more work in less time. As Kenny observes, “Top designers create 4x more work than other designers.” By letting go of the pressure to make everything perfect, you’ll not only complete more projects but also gain more experience and improve faster as a designer or photographer.

Conclusion

While it’s important to hold yourself to high standards, it’s equally important to recognize when perfectionism is getting in the way of your creativity and productivity. By focusing on continuous improvement and understanding the boundaries of each project, you can manage perfectionism in a way that enhances your work without stifling it.

Works Cited

Buckley, Michael F. “The Cost of Obsessing over Design Perfection - UX Collective.” Medium, UX Collective, 27 Sept. 2023, uxdesign.cc/the-cost-of-obsessing-over-design-perfection-c6a63c9c76f6. Accessed 8 May 2025.

Crane, Audrey. “Perfection and Designers.” DesignMap Inc., 13 May 2016, medium.com/designmap-inc/perfection-and-designers-36790819206c.

Mackay, Carol. “Designers and Perfectionism.” Design Business Council - Business Advice for Designers, 12 Aug. 2024, designbusinesscouncil.com/perfectionism. Accessed 8 May 2025.

“Tom Kenny Design | How to Cure Design Perfectionism with the 80/20 Rule.” Tomkenny.design, tomkenny.design/articles/how-to-cure-design-perfectionism-with-the-8020-rule.