Every time you make the user make a decision they don’t care about, you have failed as a designer.
When I'm hiring, I don't look for credentials, I look for knowledge.
Design is the beauty of turning constraints into advantages.
To the user, the interface is the product.
You can never let your data dictate design. If you do, you end up following what people currently do and never innovating.
Your first try will be wrong. Budget and design for it.