Nate Aguila

“No one’s hiring designers.” “UX is dead.” “AI took your job.” You’ve seen the headlines. You’ve felt the anxiety. Here’s what the actual numbers say. → In MeasuringU’s 2025 UXPA survey, 70% of hiring managers said they would be hiring for UX roles by year's end. → UK public sector alone posted 2,500+ new UX roles in Q2. So what’s happening? The roles aren’t gone—the rules have just changed. Here’s what’s landing real job offers in UX: ✅ Target sectors that are growing → Public, health, finance, education ✅ Specialize with strategy → Show depth and how it ladders up to org goals ✅ Build proof, not polish → Outcomes over output ✅ Pitch like a partner → Ask smart Qs, reference metrics, follow up ✅ Network up → Not just more people—more proximity to opportunity This market’s tough—but not hopeless. And doomscrolling isn’t strategy. 👉 Swipe for the full breakdown. 💬 What’s one shift you’ll make in your job search after this? #uxdesign #uxcareers #careergrowth #remotework ⸻ 👋🏼 Hi, I’m Dane—your source for UX and career tips. ❤️ Was this helpful? A 👍🏼 would be thuper kewl. 🔄 Share to help others (or for easy access later). ➕ Follow for more like this in your feed every day.

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I just reviewed the books for a design agency that thought they’d been “profitable” for 3 years. Turns out they were bleeding $50K annually and didn’t know it. The problem? They were tracking cash in the bank instead of their actual cost structure. Every month they’d see money left over and think, “we’re doing great.” Meanwhile: • Annual software renewals (Figma, Adobe, Notion) weren’t budgeted in monthly P&L • Contractor costs fluctuated 25 to 40% without anyone tracking utilization • They were effectively subsidizing every project by $3.40 an hour Their “profitable” agency was actually just coasting on timing gaps and forgotten expenses - until the Figma renewal hit in December and wiped out two months of “profit.” This happens because most agency owners only see topline revenue and expenses, but don’t track the operational metrics that actually matter. You can have $50K sitting in the bank and still be losing money on every client. The fix took 2 weeks: proper cost accounting, project-level margin tracking, and real-time alerts when software renewals and utilization slipped. Now they’re actually profitable. Not just cash-flow positive. If you’re an agency owner who’s “profitable” but can’t explain exactly why, DM me. I’ll show you the 5 metrics that reveal what’s really happening with your money.

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Good design needs trust. → Trust to explore. → Trust to test. → Trust to make decisions. When designers are treated like pixel-pushers instead of problem-solvers, creativity shuts down and so does good design.

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Making $200K–$250K as a design freelancer feels amazing. From the outside, people think you’ve made it. But on the inside, it can feel the opposite. Everyone thinks you’re flying. You feel like you’re drowning. Here’s the truth: $200K–$250K can be a trap. It’s about the same compensation as a senior full-time job… but with way more stress: 😬 Chasing clients 😬 Worrying about dry spells 😬 Working double the hours To really compare running your own shop vs. getting a job, you need to get closer to $400K–$500K. That’s when you can honestly ask: 👉 Do I want to work twice as hard for twice the money? 👉 Or half as hard for half the money? Here are 3 ways to make that jump: 1️⃣ Stop selling your time. Clients buy hours because everyone else sells hours. It‘s hard to charge differently for something that everyone else is also selling. 2️⃣ Talk to your existing network before you start doing cold outreach. It’s way easier to work with people who already know and trust you than to generate trust from scratch. 3️⃣ Build repeatable systems. Most design businesses need 5×–10× more leads than their capacity in order to be reliably busy. We’ll dive deep into these at the AIGA New York event this month. No slides. Not for beginners. Just conversation and Q&A about pricing, pitching, positioning, and process. It’s a dedicated time for freelancers and agency owners ready to break past $200K. Only 40 seats. Applications required. The link to register is in the comments below. 👉 Which of these 3 shifts feels like your next unlock? P.S. I’ll pick 5 attendees for a special dinner with me after the event so we can go even deeper on their business.

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I built Musemind to fix one thing in the design world. (It’s not my bank balance, I promise.) I wanted to fix how people treat designers. They’re the backbone of digital products: But rarely get the respect they deserve. So I built a system to flip that. Here’s what that shift looks like at Musemind: 1. Design Comes First At most companies, design is step 7. At Musemind, it’s step 1. Before code.  Before business goals. We start with: - Empathy - Storytelling - Real user pain Because good design is good business. 2. No More “Make it Pretty” Briefs We banned vague feedback. No more: “Just make it pop.” “Can you add some jazz?” "Use that color everyone likes." Instead… We built an internal system that aligns every project with: - Design intent - User needs - Business value Designers lead with clarity.  Clients get results. 3. The Anti-Agency Agency We don’t burn out our designers for speed. We give them: - Breathing room - Actual research time - Real creative freedom That means better work, better outcomes, and better mental health. Simple. 4. Respect Built Into the Process We don’t tuck design behind dev. Our team has designers presenting to clients. Designers setting direction. Designers leading strategy. Because when designers lead, products win. 5. No Egos. Just Ecosystem. At Musemind, designers aren’t just executors. They’re partners. They collaborate with devs. PMs. Clients. CEOs. They speak up. They push back. They shape the product. Exactly how it should be. Here’s the real punchline: We didn’t build Musemind to be another agency. We built it to be the agency that finally respects design and the people behind it. It’s not about better portfolios. It’s about better treatment. So let me ask: What’s ONE thing you wish every client knew about designers? Let’s talk 👇

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Designers don’t just design. They manage complexity. UI. UX. HTML/CSS. Webflow. Prototyping. And yes Revenue pressure too. While clients often focus on one outcome, designers are holding multiple responsibilities together making sure everything moves in the same direction. This isn’t complaining. It’s context. Great design isn’t about “one skill.” It’s about balance, decision-making, and problem-solving under constraints. If you’re a designer reading this you’re not “doing too much.” You’re doing what the role actually demands. And if you’re a founder or client the best results come when designers are trusted, not stretched. 👇 Curious to hear How many “leashes” are you holding right now? #DesignThinking #UIDesign #UXDesign #ProductDesign #Webflow #DesignLife #DesignersOfLinkedIn #StartupDesign #CreativeProcess

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Most companies hire designers backward. They obsess over resumes and run generic interviews. Here's the system that helped us hire 3 top designers from one posting: Great designers often have messy resumes. The best portfolios come in random formats... Traditional interviews often miss what matters. We discovered this after years of costly hiring mistakes. Design is about judgment and clarity, not credentials. It's about thinking under constraints, not interview performance. So, we built a system that reflects how design works: Step 1: Portfolio first. Always. We ignore resumes initially. Just the work. Figma files, Notion docs, Google Drive decks - the format doesn't matter. Step 2: Filter out, don't select in. Clear criteria to disqualify saves time. No B2B SaaS experience? We move on. Step 3: Give context before we take time. Candidates get a video explaining Pixel One first. The interview focuses on their thinking, not us talking. Step 4: Only interview candidates we're genuinely excited about. If their work doesn't excite us, we pass on it. Keeps the bar high. Step 5: Paid exercise with a time cap. We respect their time by paying for it. Clear constraints, real problems. Demonstrates how they operate under real-world conditions. We watch for: • How they structure thinking • How they factor client needs • If they explain choices clearly • Whether they consider business logic Step 6: Trial first, then full-time. Every offer includes a 3-month trial. Both sides evaluate fit before going permanent. The results? From 200+ applicants, we hired 3 of our top 4 candidates. All three are still here 18 months later. Our designer retention jumped from 60% to 95%. New hires ship work 3x faster. Client NPS increased by 40 points. Do you want the exact design exercise we use to spot top designers?

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It’s a common problem for freelance motion designers: Most direct clients don’t actually know what motion design is. They know they need a video. They want to explain something complicated. Or they’ve got a product to shout about. But motion design? No clue. So if you walk in with “I do motion design,” you’ll lose them fast. You have to meet them where they are. Here’s one way that works: Include a short case study in every proposal. Pick a project from a similar industry. Show what the client needed, what you made, and—most importantly—the results. Break it down in simple steps: ✅ The brief: What the client wanted ✅ The process: What I made ✅ The results: Here’s the impact it had Keep it focused on what actually matters to them. Less “cool animation techniques.” More “here’s how this video got more signups.” The change is subtle, but it’s powerful. People don’t want to learn the technical side—they want to know if you can solve their problem. What’s your go-to move when a client asks, “What does a motion designer actually do?” P.S Join my newsletter for more practical and actionable steps to grow your motion design business. https://lnkd.in/e32fkqi6

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One of my favorite parts of design work is figuring out what clients actually mean when they describe something. They’ll say things like “This section feels heavy” or “Can we make this a little happier” or “It needs more energy.” None of those are technical terms, but they always point to something real. “Feels heavy” is usually spacing or hierarchy. “Happier” is often color or tone. “More energy” might mean contrast, pacing, or flow. Just like their customers, clients aren't dissecting the specifics, but they know exactly how something should feel.

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Don’t be afraid to talk to strangers. You never know who the person you’re sitting next to just might be. Designers get so stuck in the digital world, trying to find work online. There are tons of people you cross paths with every single day! And guess what, they don’t know the first thing about the design industry. They have businesses, they have ideas, they have a vision. But many don’t have the first clue about where to start. They’d love to have a designer with half of your skill set and knowledge at their disposal. They don’t know what they don’t know and you’ll be their beacon of hope. Imagine designing something for them that could help them fulfill their own vision? It’ll never happen if you don’t have that conversation.

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iOS 26 turns a page on Apple’s legacy frameworks UIKit + SceneKit. SceneKit is now soft deprecated. RealityKit is intended to take its place but has a distance to catch up to SceneKit which was already far behind today's popular 3D/game engines. If Apple wants developers to take them seriously on 3D & Spatial, they desperately need to level up their tools & frameworks.

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𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗽 𝗮 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Slides fail before design starts. The problem is unclear story. So I map the narrative first. No tools opened. No layouts chosen. Only thinking on paper. I start with one sentence. This sentence holds everything. If it feels weak, I stop. Then I map key beats. Five to seven moments only. Each beat earns its place. I place them side by side. Left to right flow. Like a clear journey. Next comes emotion mapping. Where tension builds. Where it drops. Where it resolves. I draw a simple curve. Peaks show attention points. Valleys show breathing space. Then I speak it aloud. No slides allowed. No visuals to hide behind. If it drags, I cut. If it confuses, I rewrite. Only then, visual hints. • One icon per beat • No colors yet • No typography choices Slides come last. Story comes first. Always. This reduces edits. This saves time. This builds trust fast. Try this once. You will not go back. #presentationdesign #storytelling #slidecreation #communicationdesign #visualthinking #Vgdsglobal

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Good designers place your content. Great designers read it. (You’d be surprised how often this *doesn’t* happen.) When a designer actually takes the time to read what they’re designing, it elevates the entire project. It means: -Catching errors the client might have missed -Making smarter design decisions: like choosing better callouts, imagery, or layout -Ensuring consistency by formatting times, dates, and URLs to match brand standards (even when the client doesn’t) The little details make the biggest difference — in process and deliverables. This is what separates a designer from a true Brand Partner.

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All the people trashing Apple’s new “Liquid Glass” UI have one thing in common... They have no idea what they’re talking about. “It’s blurry.” “It’s hard to read.” “It looks like Jell-O.” Cool critique, champ. Next time try reviewing something you understand. This isn’t just a visual trend, it’s an intentional, systemic shift. Apple is designing an interface that works not just on a phone, but in front of your face. In real space. In motion. In AR. This is what it looks like when a company designs for the next platform before most of the industry even realizes it’s coming. You think they’re making buttons look icy or frosty for fun? No. They’re building a unified, consistent layer between your eye and the digital AND physical world, one that plays nice with both pixels and reality. But sure, let’s keep obsessing over font weight on your settings screen. Remember when people complained about skeuomorphism (visual elements that mimic real-world objects and materials)? Apple used it to transition millions from physical buttons to touchscreens. It wasn’t about taste. It was about familiarity. It was strategy. This is the same playbook, 15 years later. Now it's spatial computing instead of touchscreens. The significance of this update won’t land for another 6–12 months, maybe more). By then, the same people hating on it now will be pretending they always “got it.” Apple has always shipped things people didn't realize they needed until they figured out why... much, much later. By then, the same people hating on it now will be pretending they always “got it.” They didn’t. Apple is shipping the future. Beware - all the haters in your LinkedIn feed are just trying to sound like design critics, but they're still reviewing the past.

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This is why typography matters For anyone who thinks typography and kerning (letter spacing) isn’t important … Here’s the difference between going to a reputable business or… this guy. Hire a designer. Not AI. Your brand (and reputation) depend on it. #DesignFails #TypographyMatters #GraphicDesign #animateEverything

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