Miranda Slayter’s Post

Ever wondered why some projects feel effortless — and others make you question your entire career? This chart explains it perfectly. Every designer has met these four types of clients: Know what they want + trust you → Successful projects Know what they want + don’t trust you → Smooth but stressful Don’t know what they want + trust you → Fun, creative chaos Don’t know + don’t trust you → Why am I even a designer? It’s funny — but also true. The success of a design project often depends less on design skill and more on trust and clarity. Because when clients trust the process, design turns into collaboration — not correction. What’s your favorite (or least favorite) client type from this list? #UXDesign #ProductDesign #DesignThinking #ClientCommunication #CreativeProcess #DesignHumor #DesignLife

Not every problem needs a design. I’ve learned this the hard way. What often looks like a “design issue” is actually something else entirely. A designer’s job isn’t just to make things look good — it’s to understand what’s really wrong. Is it a communication gap? A product issue? Or maybe something deeper in the business itself? Design helps communicate better. But if the core problem lies in the product, the service, or the overall customer experience — no amount of great design can fix that. The bigger challenge? Most people don’t know what the real problem is. And many business owners don’t want to admit it. So when things don’t work, the blame goes straight to the agency or the design. But the truth is — design is not always the solution. Sometimes, the real work starts before design even enters the picture. Look deeper. Find the real problem. Then decide — does this even need a design?

Whenever you’re called to work on a project someone previously worked on, understand the task and solve the real problem, not prove a point Designers make this mistake alot😮💨 we just jump into the file and try to prove you are better listing 1000 things you would have done better... That's Not The Goal 20 mins, you are done with the homepage👨💻 As how na🤷♂️ I've seen this numerous times... and this is the mindset you'll carry into design competitions. abd you'll flop There's a lot that goes into redesign... let me list a few 📍Research 📍Understanding the previous design 📍 Understanding what’s not working 📍 Research again on how to make it work 📍Understanding clients goal 📍Researching again how to combine everything together I said a few😁 let me stop there All these goes into consideration even before designing Because the goal of a redesign is not to outshine another designer, it is to make the product work better for the user.

𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗜𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲 If you hear someone say they will handle the design part later, just know that they don’t fully get what design really does. Design isn’t the final coat of paint. It’s the architecture beneath the paint. It’s the strategy hiding in plain sight. When design is done right, it makes decisions clearer, and shape how users move, how they feel, and how they trust. The layouts, flows, and words in the UI are all business decision dressed as pixels. They determine whether users stay, convert, recommend, or bounce. Here’s what I’ve learned over time 👇 ✅ 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 You can’t say your goal is trust and then design something that feels confusing. ✅ 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲-𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀 More options equals more confusion. More steps means fewer conversions. Good design simplifies what the business wants to say. ✅ 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 If a team can’t explain why a certain element exists, it usually means the strategy isn’t clear yet. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦. That’s why the best designers think like strategists and the best product managers think like designers.

Designers are becoming the most versatile people in the room. We’re trained to move between worlds — visual, technical, strategic, emotional ... and make them work together! / We understand marketing, because we design for attention, emotion, and clarity. We know how people decide. / We understand growth, because we think in funnels, friction points, and conversion loops. Design is performance. / We understand development, because modern design is built on specs, tokens, and systems. We speak both human and code. / We understand business, because every layout, color, and headline is a small bet on outcomes. We measure impact by results. I’m genuinely happy to see companies finally turning to design-first thinking.

Absolutely, I couldn’t agree more! ✨ It’s great to see design-first thinking getting the recognition it deserves. When design leads, it not only shapes the user experience but also drives clarity in strategy, communication, and execution. A design-led approach helps teams align faster, make better decisions, and build products that truly connect with people.

Most redesigns fail because they solve the wrong problem I’ve seen it too many times. A brand wants a “fresh look,” spends weeks on mockups and moodboards, and ends up with a site that looks better but performs the same. Why? Because the problem was never the design. The real issue is usually: 🟤 Weak offer 🟤 Confusing structure 🟤 Unclear messaging 🟤 Slow performance But instead of fixing the core, teams jump straight into visuals. They redesign the surface without rethinking the system. A redesign shouldn’t start with “what should it look like?” It should start with “what’s not working?” Sometimes, the best design decision isn’t changing colors or layout. It’s changing copy, structure, or how the offer flows. ⸻ Here’s how to make redesigns actually work: ✅ Audit performance before redesigning ✅ Identify real drop-off points ✅ Fix clarity before visuals ✅ Align design around data, not aesthetics ⸻ Good design makes things look better. Great design makes things work better. 👉 What’s one redesign mistake that hurt performance instead of helping it?

I Don’t Design for Clients Anymore I stopped designing for clients. Now, I design for their customers. Once I made that mindset shift, everything changed: Clients stopped micromanaging My work gained clarity I started making impact, not just visuals Because when users are happy, clients automatically are too. So before I start any project, I ask one question: “What would make this user’s day easier?” That’s where great design begins. Do you design with the client or the user in mind first?

💡Design skills open doors, but power moves build your legacy. This post nails what separates good designers from impactful ones — clarity of purpose, business awareness, and the ability to influence beyond pixels. If you’re serious about growing your design career, this is the mindset shift you need. 👇 #DesignStrategy #UXDesign #UXCareer #ProductDesign ©️ Matt Przegietka

Product Designers, please don’t be so polished all the time. Show some of the chaos in your portfolio. 🔥 Of course, hiring managers want to see your awesome design skills. That’s a given. But, what got you there? What’s the story? 📖 Think about including: 💡Some ideas that didn’t make the cut. Why not? 🚫 Your incorrect hypothesis. What did you learn? 🎨 A few of the shoddy sketches from your notebook. What was your process? Design is messy. Scope changes, ideas aren’t always the right ones and no one is perfect. It’s okay and frankly wise to show that side sometimes. Hiring managers want to see how you shine, but also how you deal with real world hiccups that happen to us all. Just remember to please keep it brief. Part of showing design talent is in the way a portfolio tells a multifaceted story succinctly. That can be a challenge, but you can do it. 👍🏻