Join 40,000+ designers moving from execution to influence
by femke.design
Biweekly strategies for product designers ready to move from execution to influence. Learn frameworks for stakeholder management, getting ideas approved, and advancing to senior roles.
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Hey Reader
This week’s issue is a mix of practical career leverage and a few resources worth bookmarking if you’re trying to stay sharp as AI keeps reshaping how we work.
In today's email:
When research conflicts: A session with Nikki Anderson on connecting interviews, surveys, and behaviour data so product decisions feel less like debate club and more like progress.
Tools and signals for 2026: Two surveys shaping the state of AI in design, a designer-focused prompt library, and a strong article on how product design is changing in the AI era — plus an icon set that’s great for both product work and presentations.
The promotion gap (that isn’t about your output): Why getting ahead often comes down to visibility, not effort, what “having a point of view” actually means, and three simple places to start making your thinking (and interests) easier for others to advocate for.
Julia will be hosting in my place during my maternity leave
Mixed Methods User Research
If you’ve ever been in a meeting where interviews say one thing and the survey says the opposite, this session is built for that moment. Nikki Anderson breaks down mixed methods research in plain language, how to connect what users say, what they do, and what the numbers are pointing to, so decisions feel less like debate club and more like progress.
Nguyen Le’s AI Design Workshop - Free AI Prompt Library: A curated prompt library built specifically for designers (Midjourney, ChatGPT, and Flora). Great if you want a solid starting point for AI workflows without reinventing prompts from scratch. It's free to browse, with an option to go deeper via the full workshop.
State of AI in Design: A quick survey to help map what’s actually working with AI in design workflows right now (and what isn’t), so we get a clearer picture of where tools and practices are headed in 2026.
Phosphor Icons: A flexible, super clean icon family that works across interfaces and decks. Tons of styles/weights, easy to keep consistent, and a great “default set” when you don’t want to hunt through random packs.
AI Basics: Where to Start. (Maven):A quick, no-overwhelm primer that gives you a simple mental map of the AI landscape Hosted by Christine Vallaure (moonlearning.io).
The Role of the Product Designer in the Age of AI (The Gradient):A sharp read on how AI-native products shift the job from designing screens to shaping system behaviour. It breaks down why modern PDs need more system-level thinking and why prototyping closer to real models/data changes what “good” looks like.
A lot of influence comes down to visibility: having a clear POV, a crisp write-up, and a link you can send after the meeting. Framer makes it easy to publish a polished page (fast), whether that’s a personal site, a “how I work” page, or a one-pager that explains your recommendation.
The promotion gap that has nothing to do with your work
A designer I mentored got passed over for a project that was basically written for them. The brief was everything they'd been quietly working toward. The domain, the scope, the type of problem. A perfect fit. When they asked their manager why they weren't considered, the answer was simple: "I didn't know you were interested in that kind of work." Their manager wasn't being dismissive. They genuinely didn't know. And that's the thing — nobody advocates for what they can't see. The invisible designer problem
I've been there too. When I was at Uber, I went up for a promotion to senior designer. I thought I was ready. I was doing the work, hitting my deadlines, contributing to the team. By my own measure, I was doing everything right. When promotion season came around, my manager told me I didn't get it. The reasons I was given were frustrating because they felt out of my control. Other designers had been waiting longer. There were only so many promotion spots available. And my manager at the time was new — both to management and to managing me. We just hadn't had enough time together for them to really know my work or go to bat for me. I didn't blame them. But I did feel the gap. Nobody in that room knew what I was working toward. What I cared about. What I was capable of beyond my current scope. I hadn't made any of that visible. So when it mattered, nobody could advocate for it. That's what I mean when I say doing good work and being seen for good work are two completely different things. What "having a point of view" actually means It doesn't mean being opinionated for the sake of it. It means people around you know:
What problems you care about solving
How you think about tradeoffs
What "good" looks like to you
When your manager walks into a room without you, can they represent your perspective? If the answer is fuzzy, that's the gap worth closing. Three places to start making your thinking visible
In design reviews — don't just show what you made. Say out loud why you made that call over the alternatives.
In one-on-ones — tell your manager what you're interested in, not just what you're working on. "I'm really trying to get more involved in the strategy side" goes a long way.
In Slack or docs — write a short note when a project wraps. What worked, what you'd do differently. It creates a paper trail of your thinking.
None of this requires a senior title. It just requires showing up with a point of view. The faster way to figure this out
Doing this in isolation is hard. You don't have a reference point for what "showing up with a point of view" even looks like until you see other designers doing it. That's one of the core things I built the Level Up Club around — a supportive peer community where you're alongside other designers navigating the same challenges, plus regular events with industry leaders who've already figured a lot of this out. Enrollment opens in a few weeks. If you want in → get on the waitlist here. Have you ever felt invisible at work despite doing good work? What shifted it for you — or are you still figuring it out? Hit reply and let me know.
Join 40,000+ designers moving from execution to influence
by femke.design
Biweekly strategies for product designers ready to move from execution to influence. Learn frameworks for stakeholder management, getting ideas approved, and advancing to senior roles.
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