The bar to entry is lower. You can now make a decent website or a basic app, design and code both, within a few minutes using new AI tools. Something that previously took more than a month of effort, iterations and study.
Junior roles have dried up. True for coders, designers, many other fields. Its now easier for a non expert or senior to do the tasks that previously needed interns or juniors. Companies know this & are more cautious.
High is the new average. If you were comfy with your skills, you might have accidentally slipped below average. The expectations in the industry are sky high, yet the tools are still in an evolving, experimental stage.
Senior folks are expected to catch up. In a rapidly changing industry, you need to be running just to stay in the same position. Sounds scary, but we are expected to bring AI superpowers to the org and to teams.
Designers from design school had decent design process – but were lacking in the final outcomes, didn't understand how the industry beyond academia worked, would struggle with speed. The gap is now 10x scarier.
Degrees & certificates are useless – companies want real signals of skill. Strong portfolios are now the baseline default, with AI usage as a new expectation. Opposed to AI for ideological reasons? Good luck.
Companies want smaller teams with diverse experience, ideally people that can do multiple things. Building depth is hard though, mastery and expertise can take years to build.
AI tools are good but not great. The tools are getting better every week, but promises outweigh the reality. Good creative work requires depth, resourcefulness & taste, not just better tooling.
The design industry can be unwelcoming for those that don't live in startup hubs or lack connections with the industry. If you want to stand out online, you need to learn how to build relationships online.
Those with a good network grow faster – it can mean higher quality feedback, insider knowledge of how startup teams operate, getting internal referrals or just having other designers to talk to.
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