Design is a craft. It is an art and a science. It has theory and practice. Some parts are best learnt in a classroom, other parts can only be learnt through experience. A lot of attention has been paid to the teaching of theory, but practical training has been neglected or co-opted by academia. This is where mentoring comes in and fills the gap.

In pre-industrial times, professional crafts were organised in to guilds, with one function being the accreditation of mastery in that craft. It was only through apprenticeship with a master (or masters) that one could become and be recognised as a master. These days, we share case studies, tips and tricks online and at conferences, but in-depth and personal guidance is often lacking. Mentoring is something few people take part in and is considered by some to be a sign of inexperience.

I believe this kind of guidance becomes all the more important as soft skills play a greater role in our work. Soft skills like stakeholder management and design thinking can be developed and perfected endlessly, but are not easily adopted if learnt from a book or even lecture. They need practice and guidance.

Mentoring is somewhat like a long distance apprenticeship. You can touch base with your mentor with specific questions relating to your practice and get an impartial opinion on how you might improve. Rubber ducking is another role that your mentor can play. Simply by talking through a problem, the answer can become clearer. Finally, as well as getting a different perspective or approach to a problem, you may find that your mentor agrees with your solution. Receiving that validation that you are doing the right thing is also very empowering and beneficial.

Although mentoring is a great tool for professional development with unique and compelling advantages, I can't help but think that in some ways it is inferior to a traditional master who watches over your work. Aside from the intermittent contact, which prevents real-time advice, you can't really 'steal from the teacher' by watching how they work. If you are lucky enough to be working with talented peers, then you can engage in some 'stealth' mentoring.

Perhaps the biggest barrier to mentoring is actually finding a suitable mentor (or even any mentor). The supply of mentors rarely keeps up with the demand from mentees. This may partly be because it is difficult to see the benefits of becoming a mentor, while the benefits to a mentee are quite clear. So, let's have a look at the benefits of being a mentor.

Not only does mentoring broaden your professional network and look good on your resume, it also solidifies your knowledge and deepens your understanding. If you have a good mentee, your own ideas will be challenged and you can see things from a beginner's perspective. It keeps your thinking fresh and breaks down your mental models of design that harden with experience by forcing you to return to the underlying principles of design. Mentoring is also a great chance to practise the fine art of giving feedback and critiquing design. The best mentors give hints so that a mentee can make the journey of discovery for themselves and own the solution rather than provide prescriptive solutions. It also happens to be good fun.

Industry is short of senior designers and many designers are the sole designer in an organisation. Mentoring can elevate practical skills across the industry in a way that few other techniques can. Mentoring should be a prerequisite to being recognised as a senior designer, especially when soft skills are so highly valued. We need employers to expect their senior designers to be mentors. There should also be an obligation that mentees become mentors as a way of paying it forward. If we can raise the prestige and value of mentoring, designers and design will be better off for it.