Amit P.

The rise of the “Super IC” is THE most exciting career trend I’ve seen in a long time. “Many companies now recognize and value experienced ICs who can drive substantial impact. If you find joy and effectiveness in your current role, leverage this to continue excelling and creating value.” - Lenny Rachitsky (reflecting on an interview with Tal Raviv) A Super IC is defined as a senior+ level (“Staff”, “Lead”, “Principal”, “Distinguished”, “Director”) Individual Contributor (IC) who has no interest in transitioning to a manager role and has the ability to progress in their career as an IC. Historically this was not a viable career path. Traditionally, after reaching Senior Product Designer, if a designer wanted to continue to grow in title and compensation they would have to transition to a manager role. I’ve been fortunate enough to work at companies that understand the importance and business impact of enabling Super IC’s. But I think the broader industry is coming around and will nurture and reward these roles. Let me know if you’ve also noticed this shift and what your thoughts are. #SuperIC #ProductDesign #UX

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wtf is a prototype now?? we've made incremental progress for a decade+ and then everything changed overnight 😳 So I chatted with Nikolas Klein and Holly Li to unpack what it all means for designers (including some tactics I'd never considered) We go deep into: ✧ Rethinking what "high fidelity" means ✧ How Figma Make fits into your workflow ✧ The use cases they're most fascinated by + a LOT more... It's high energy, insightful, and should spark a ton of ideas 👇 https://lnkd.in/gvqWQUjq

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Design metrics shape decisions and lead to better business results. We're getting closer to launching Helio Glare, our open data-informed design framework. A key focus is connecting design metrics to business results. In it, we show you how to use a design metrics tree built with UX metrics. This structures how UX metrics influence broader product and business outcomes. Here’s how it connects: UX metrics as the foundation ↳ UX metrics like desirability, comprehension, usefulness, sentiment, usability, and success act as the leaves of the metrics tree. These represent the measurable aspects of user experience that indicate how well a design performs in terms of user perception, interaction, and effectiveness. Design initiatives as the branches ↳ Concept areas bridge UX metrics and product performance. These represent specific design initiatives: changes, optimizations, or experiments in design that are directly influenced by UX metric insights. Example: If usability scores are low, a design initiative might focus on streamlining navigation or reducing cognitive load. If desirability is lacking, the initiative could involve refining branding elements or UI aesthetics. Product metrics as the trunk ↳ Product metrics are most impactful with multiple design initiatives. They measure how well these initiatives contribute to product success, such as engagement rates, task completion, or feature adoption. Business metrics as the roots ↳ Business metrics ground the design work in measurable business outcomes like revenue, retention, conversion rates, or customer lifetime value (CLV). Great user experiences make products perform better, which leads to business success. A well-structured design metrics tree connects UX efforts to business goals. Design metric trees help teams: → Focus on UX improvements that drive business results → Show why investing in design makes business sense → Continuously improve design by measuring UX We’ve found this approach especially useful for teams to align design with business strategy. We use Helio to collect metrics and ensure the design isn’t just about looks—it’s measurable, impactful, and supports business growth. As Jodah Jensen shared with me, "we’re actually prompting the business to define what success looks like in the first place." #productdesign #productdiscovery #userresearch #uxresearch

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Figma just dropped a game-changer that's about to revolutionize how we approach design workflows. Imagine this: AI that can resize, translate, add text/images, create variations, and change fonts—all while you focus on the strategic vision. No more tedious manual adjustments. No more repetitive tasks eating up your creative time. This isn't just automation. It's liberation. Your AI teammate is always ready to handle: → Bulk editing across multiple frames → Real-time text generation and translation → Image background removal in one click → Font variations and style adjustments → Content adaptation for different formats The alpha spots are filling up fast, but there's still time to secure your place in design's next chapter. What excites me most? This means less lorem ipsum, more true-to-life designs. We can now select layers and make edits using written prompts. The tedious is becoming effortless. The impossible is becoming inevitable. The future is becoming now. Who's ready to design at the speed of thought? 🔗 Join the alpha: https://figma.bot/3IoUGFG #FigmaAI #DesignInnovation #AIDesign #ProductDesign #UXDesign #TechInnovation #FutureOfWork

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There’s been a noticeable tension in the design world lately—a quiet undercurrent of uncertainty that seems to be growing louder. Some surveys suggest that over 60% of designers are concerned about their roles being replaced by AI in the next decade. Whether or not those numbers hold, the sentiment feels familiar. The ground is shifting, and many are wondering what it means for their future. A few things feel worth reflecting on. – AI is accelerating quickly, taking on tasks that used to sit squarely in the designer’s domain. It’s generating layouts, images, even lines of code. That doesn’t necessarily mean the role of the designer is disappearing, but it does seem like it’s being reshaped. What we used to call “design” may soon look more like creative direction—curating, guiding, and refining rather than building from scratch. – That shift asks something different of us. It nudges us toward strategic thinking, systems awareness, and storytelling. Less about the pixels, more about the perspective. – And for those learning the craft—whether in school or on the job—there’s a real opportunity to evolve how we teach and train. AI literacy, data fluency, and the ability to work across disciplines might become as important as color theory or typography. Of course, all of this is still unfolding. There’s a tendency to frame these conversations as threats, but there’s another way to see it: as a chance to expand the role of design itself. If AI can take on the repetitive parts, that leaves more room for the uniquely human parts—empathy, interpretation, imagination. The path forward may not be obvious, but it does seem like a moment worth stepping into with curiosity. What kinds of skills—or even mindsets—do you think will matter most for designers navigating this next chapter?

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INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS: features don't make products iconic ——— Every product is a pile of tradeoffs pretending to be a solution. Battery versus performance. Simplicity versus more. Privacy versus convenience. Products that feel coherent aren't the ones that solved these tensions, they picked a side and committed. Kindle's original design had no backlight, no color, slow refresh. Terrible at everything except reading text. Those constraints weren't limitations, they were the narrative. This device believes reading matters more than email. Contrast that with tablets trying to be everything. Great screens, powerful processors, full ecosystems. But when you pick one up, what's it for? No constraint means no story, just capability. Capability doesn't create meaning. It creates a convoluted story. The hard part isn't deciding what to include, it's what to exclude and why. Products without constraints are feature lists. Products with intentional constraints make an argument about what matters. Don’t just design a tool, design a point of view. ——— Create your story → https://craftedby.agency/

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Most designers don’t include case studies in their portfolios—and that’s a huge missed opportunity. A case study doesn’t just show your final design, it tells the story behind it: your process, strategy, and the impact of your work. In this episode, I break down my Case Study Template, a step-by-step framework designed to help designers confidently showcase their projects in a way that attracts clients and job opportunities. Then, we put it to the test! I sit down with designer and friend Tristan Rumery, who recently used the template to improve one of his website case studies. We go through the before and after, breaking down how he transformed his project presentation and what he learned along the way. Finally, we share key advice for designers who want to use this template to its full advantage—so you can start building stronger, more persuasive case studies today. If you’ve been struggling to present your work in a way that truly stands out, this episode is for you! https://shorturl.at/sD1dw

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I sat down with Akbar Mirza to discuss annotations and communicating specs, intent, and knowledge gaps between designers and developers. We walked through more broad communication methods that have worked for us (alignment syncs, video walkthroughs), and more tactical Figma tips for leaving helpful annotations and measurement details. Check out the full video on youtube! https://lnkd.in/ga5RnQ76 #figma #devmode #designertips #developertips #figmadesign #figmadevmode #productdesign #uxdesign

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If you’re in design, you’re probably being asked to use AI tools to make you faster. Don’t fall into the trap of using AI only to support what you already do. The real winners in the AI era will be the people who use AI to *expand* their role.

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Computational Design Logic A Beginner’s Guide to Thinking Before You Drag a Single Component 🧠 Model relationships before geometry. 🔍 Think in systems before dragging components. 📐 Design logic—not just forms. Read it here: 👉 https://lnkd.in/gCCAAhRv #computationaldesign #designthinking #architecture #parametricdesign #logicfirst

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