Hey Reader

This week is about moving faster and thinking a level up — the habits that help you grow into lead roles, plus a few tools that make your day-to-day work smoother.

In today's email:

• ​Watch my newest Youtube video: Five patterns that keep talented designers from reaching lead roles, plus weekly actions to counter each one.
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• Speed and workflow upgrades: Monologue for faster drafting with voice dictation, UI Colors for generating Tailwind-ready colour scales from a single hex, and Navbar Gallery for quick navigation references when you’re stuck.
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• Designing in the AI era: Figma’s State of the Designer 2026 report, two Claude “Designer Skills” prompts for strategy and craft, and a great watch from Jenny Wen (Claude) on what’s replacing the classic discovery → mock → iterate loop.

​⚡ How designers can build strategic influence at work:​ Join Julia (Meta) and Jess (Google) for a practical session on navigating stakeholder dynamics, influencing decisions, and showcasing your value, without waiting for permission. Expect concrete, everyday strategies you can use immediately to make your work matter across teams.

Design gems of the week

• ​Monologue: An AI voice dictation tool that’s built for speed and accuracy: you speak once, and it writes what you actually meant (great for getting drafts out fast without fighting your keyboard).
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• ​UI Colors App: A super handy tool for turning one hex into a full set of Tailwind-ready colour shades (plus you can tweak, save, and share palettes).
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• ​Navbar Gallery: A curated collection of standout website navbars to help you quickly find patterns for layout, hierarchy, mega-menus, and “what do we even put in the nav?” decisions.
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• ​State of the Designer 2026 (Figma): A solid pulse-check on what’s shaping design right now: how designers are using AI, what’s driving happiness, and the workplace conditions that help people do their best work.
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• ​Claude Designer Skills: Two custom Claude skills that push it beyond code generation: one for UX strategy (better framing, tradeoffs, and decision support) and one for visual craft (more thoughtful UI critique and polish).
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• ​The design process is dead. Here’s what’s replacing it (Jenny Wen, Head of Design at Claude): A sharp watch on how AI-era product teams are changing the classic discovery → mock → iterate loop, what designers at Anthropic actually spend time on now, and what “good” looks like when engineering velocity is the constraint.
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Open design roles worth a look

• ​Product Designer II - Consumer (Instacart)
• ​Product Designer (Standard Bots)
• ​Product Designer (Granola AI)

A MESSAGE FROM FRAMER Your portfolio, but shippable this weekend Framer makes it surprisingly easy to turn your work into a polished, responsive site, without touching code. If you’ve been meaning to refresh your portfolio (or launch a new landing page), this is the fastest way to go from “still a draft” to “live link.” ​Get 25% off for 3 months with code FEMKE25​

Why talented designers stay stuck (and what to do about it)

After mentoring over 500 designers, I keep seeing the same patterns show up—patterns that stop really talented people from reaching senior roles.
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If you've been at the same level for years despite doing great work, one of these five is probably the reason why.
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​The 5 Patterns Holding Designers Back​
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​1. Waiting for Permission​
You have ideas but don't bring them up because you've been shot down before. You see problems but think "that's not my job" or "I'm not senior enough." The shift: senior designers don't just have better ideas—they know how to get buy-in. That's a learnable skill.
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​2. Focusing on Outputs Instead of Outcomes​
You spend months on a redesign without clear success metrics. You polish UI when the real problem is a fundamental UX issue. The shift: your job isn't to make things look good—it's to drive outcomes that matter to the business.
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​3. Not Building Relationships Proactively​
You only talk to your PM when there's a deadline. You don't know what other teams are working on, even when it impacts your work. The shift: at senior+ levels, horizontal influence across teams is what differentiates you.
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​4. Avoiding Conflict​
You say yes to every request, even when it compromises the design. You choose education (workshops, documentation) when what's needed is a direct conversation. The shift: productive conflict builds trust. When you push back thoughtfully, you show you care about outcomes.
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​5. Underselling Your Impact​
You're doing leadership work but haven't tied it to business impact. You downplay your role. You assume great work leads to automatic recognition. The shift: no one cares about your career as much as you do. Not even your manager.
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​What's Your Pattern?​
I broke down each of these patterns in detail in this video—including real examples from my mentoring practice and specific strategies you can use this week to start shifting.

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But I'm curious: which pattern resonated most with you? Which one made you think "oh shit, that's me"?
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Hit reply and let me know. I read every response.​
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P.S. If you're recognizing yourself in multiple patterns and want hands-on help breaking through, I'm launching a group coaching program in Fall 2026 for designers ready to increase their strategic influence. Join the waitlist here to be first to know when doors open.

Have a topic you'd like me to write about? Reply to this email and let me know! I read every reply.