The recent market correction is not a temporary dip but a sustained, permanent course correction. Companies are now expected to maintain an "early startup" efficiency mindset—doing more with less—throughout their growth stages. This shift is reinforced by the industry's focus on AI-driven productivity gains.
Unlike junior designers who can specialize, Staff and Principal designers must be ambidextrous. They are expected to operate at a strategic level—understanding ROI and influencing leadership—while simultaneously possessing the hands-on technical ability to build advanced prototypes that bring their vision to life.
In fast-paced environments, the primary concern isn't that craft will suffer, but that teams will cut the crucial time needed for strategic alignment. In cultures where high craft is a given, like at Vercel, the real risk of compressed timelines is building a beautiful solution to the wrong problem.
An emerging trend sees senior design leaders, including VPs, stepping back into Individual Contributor (IC) roles. The pace of change in design tooling, particularly with AI, makes it nearly impossible to lead effectively without direct, hands-on experience. This move is a strategy for staying relevant and empathetic.
Showcasing a side project in a design portfolio has shifted from a "nice-to-have" to "table stakes." In an era of rapid technological change, these projects are the most effective way to prove you can learn new tools, embrace new processes, and quickly execute on an idea outside of formal work constraints.
AI prototyping tools have broken the traditional link between visual fidelity and process maturity. Designers can now create highly realistic, functional prototypes on day one. This makes it challenging to signal to stakeholders that a concept is still early and exploratory, leading to feedback on pixels instead of strategy.
The traditional, week-long design sprint is obsolete. The modern version minimizes synchronous collaboration to brief daily kickoffs, with the bulk of time spent on independent, asynchronous prototyping. With new tools, prototyping now happens on day one, not day four, and some sprints are condensed into a single day.
While it can feel frustrating, mandating that teams use AI tools daily is a "necessary evil." This aggressive approach forces rapid adoption and internal learning, allowing a company to disrupt itself before competitors do. The speed of AI's impact makes this an uncomfortable but critical survival strategy.
Vercel's hiring process for design leaders includes a take-home assignment, a practice typically for junior roles. This lets candidates demonstrate real-world problem-solving and buy-in strategies, which are difficult to assess from a portfolio of team-led projects, while also helping the candidate evaluate the company.
The traditional management philosophy of “hire smart people and get out of their way” is obsolete in design. Today's leaders must be deeply engaged, providing significant support to senior designers who tackle ambiguous and politically complex projects. This hands-on guidance is crucial for shipping outcomes, not just outputs.
Designers who excel at product thinking but struggle with visual craft face a choice: commit to learning modern craft skills, which are now essential, or pivot to a product management role. Their design thinking background would make them highly effective PMs on a design-centric team, where they often earn more.
The conventional 90-day onboarding plan, where new leaders spend the first month on a "listening tour," is no longer viable. Today's tech environment demands that leaders build trust, make decisions, and show tangible outcomes within their first 30 days—shifting from observation to immediate action and impact.