2025 in Product Design - a Wrap
and what you can do to win 2026 strong
Stop talking about AI slops.
I mean it. I tune out now when a designer complains about AI-generated work. This is the worst AI will ever be. It only gets better from here. At some point soon, 99% of people won’t be able to tell the difference anymore.
If that thought terrifies you, good. It should. But terror without action is just noise.
Hi friends, it’s hard to believe we only have 3 days left in 2025. It’s been a hell of a ride—many lows, many highs. This was my 10th year in tech, and even though it was a roller coaster, I’m deeply grateful.
I got to work with my dream client (Google) and had countless great conversations with friends in the community. I also went through some very dark times with cyberbullying. All of it made me more resilient than I thought I could ever be.
In 2025, we now have AI tools for every step of product design—from discovery to final launch. We’re more empowered than ever. But opposite trends have emerged: a shaky job market, executives ruthlessly cutting jobs, people more concerned about their future than ever before.
So here’s how to win 2026.
Dictate Your Area of Strategic Advantage
Designers must understand that their strategic advantage lies beyond execution. AI can execute. What it can’t do (yet) is understand the messy complexity of human psychology, business trade-offs, and cultural context.
If I were building my career today, I’d spend more time understanding humans, business impact, art history, and growth strategy. Here’s why:
Human understanding gives you the ability to design for unspoken needs and cultural nuances AI training data misses
Business impact makes you indispensable to executives who care about outcomes, not outputs
Art history gives you a visual vocabulary and conceptual framework that creates truly original work
Growth strategy positions you as a business partner, not a service provider
These aren’t nice-to-haves. They’re your moat.
Reach Out to Real Humans in Your Network
At the end of the day, it’s the humans in your network who will pay for your meals, your housing, and your future.
If I were you right now, I would double down on your personal network. We launched a podcast this year to connect with the world’s best designers and founders. It was only the beginning, but we got so many great opportunities because of it.
Please don’t overthink your strategy. You can keep outreach ridiculously simple. I was able to network with some of the busiest people in the industry by consistently sending them one-line check-ins.
I hear so many stories now of people getting hired and promoted through their personal network. Having somebody championing your career is an unfair advantage.
Slide into the DMs of someone you’d love to work with. Compliment them. Ask a question. Say happy holidays. Anything.
Just reach out.
Junior Designers: Focus on Prototyping. Senior Designers: Focus on Influence
I’ve spent over 500 hours interviewing the best designers in the game. They’re all saying the same thing.
To get hired, junior designers must spend their time doing more prototypes. As much as bootcamps love to teach young designers how to draft personas and customer journeys, those are more distraction than necessity right now. Focus on your prototyping skills, and you’ll be very hireable.
For mid-level and senior designers, the opposite is true. The most critical skills are discovery and influence. Senior designers get rewarded when they master these two things.
I’m coming out with more materials on the podcast soon to cover this in depth. Stay tuned.
Personal Fitness Is a Survival Tactic, Not a Nice-to-Have
Here’s the truth: 99% of your career game is the inner game.
My life changed completely when I realized that my physical health and mental health are the foundation of everything I do.
I used to measure my success by how many hours in the day I could work. But as I hit 34 today, it’s very clear to me that if I can just master two essential habits—1 hour in the gym per day and a good night’s sleep—I can conquer anything.
This isn’t about vanity. It’s about performance. When you’re physically strong, you handle pressure better, think more clearly, and recover from setbacks faster. In an industry defined by ambiguity and rapid change, that resilience is your competitive edge.
If you’re anything like me and went through a long aversion to exercise, you need to follow more fit people. The content you consume will determine your habits.
Side note: Have you noticed that many designers you admire have muscles and look extra fit? I have.
Focus on the Seasons, Not the Years Ahead\
I once ask successful people in my network how they handle the kind of pressure they face. People who manage payroll for 1000+ employees. People who determine design strategy for billion-dollar companies. How do they do it?
Here’s the common answer they gave me:
You need to focus on seasons, not years ahead. Nobody can predict the future with 100% accuracy. You can only stack up tiny wins to carry you forward.
Focus on the execution of your next 24 hours. Not the years ahead. Not the decades.
The next 24 hours. Or when you’re overwhelmed by these AI waves, commit your all to the next second.
You’ll be surprised at how much impact you can deliver.
The Ultimate Way to Master Ambiguity and Chaos
Focus is essential. But I often ask: are there more tools in the arsenal to master the chaos and ambiguity of a tech career?
Here’s what I’ve found: People who are detached from the outcome end up being more effective.
When you choose to lead with curiosity and a desire for impact, you end up in a much better place than when you’re focused on outcomes alone.
This is easier said than done, of course. But if you find yourself irritable and unable to focus on the bigger picture, it’s a good sign that you need a good night’s sleep, some time in the gym, and a good dose of great human interaction.
I hope 2026 is your best year yet.
Let’s crack it together.