Let’s start with the truth. Job security in design is a comforting illusion.
Most of us were sold a story. Get good at your craft. Build a strong portfolio. Find a stable job at a reputable company. Work hard. Be reliable. Say yes. Eventually, you’ll be rewarded with progress. Promotions. Pay rises. Maybe even some respect.
That version of the story might have been true at some point. But it isn’t now.
In the past few years, I’ve watched brilliant designers – the ones doing everything “right” – lose their jobs overnight. Whole teams, quietly let go in an email. Departments made redundant with zero notice. Talented, experienced people forced to make upbeat LinkedIn posts when they’re actually scared stiff.
It’s brutal. But it’s not personal. It’s systemic.
And if you’re still clinging to the idea that your employer is going to keep you safe, it’s time to rethink your strategy.
What’s really going on here?
Design used to be the thing that gave companies an edge. Something to be proud of. A strategic advantage. These days, it’s more often treated as a line item. A resource to be optimised. A department to be “integrated.”
You don’t need to look very far to see the signs:
- Design leaders removed from exec teams
- Creative teams swallowed up into “product delivery”
- Budgets cut, roles merged, headcount frozen
- Layoffs framed as “efficiency improvements”
At the same time, templated tools and AI-powered content creation are creeping into the baseline. They’re not replacing great design, but they are replacing a lot of the surface-level stuff. And companies are noticing.
Design isn’t dead. But the employment model we built our careers on is cracking at the edges. For some, it’s already collapsed.
This isn’t just a job market problem. It’s an identity problem.
For a lot of designers, being part of a team, an agency, a company: that was the goal. You could find your place. Be part of something. Grow inside a system.
Now that system is failing. And when it starts to fall apart, it takes your sense of identity with it.
I’ve spoken to designers with twenty years of experience who are quietly asking themselves whether any of it still matters. Not because they’ve lost their love for the work. But because the way we’re expected to deliver it has become so disconnected from what design is supposed to be.
Design is about solving problems. About context. About nuance. But try telling that to a product manager who wants a Figma file by Thursday.
The old rules no longer apply
The uncomfortable truth is this. Most companies are not designed to protect you. They are designed to protect themselves. That doesn’t make them evil. It makes them predictable.
You can be brilliant at your job, a team player, well-liked, and still end up out the door.
That used to be the exception. Now it’s starting to feel like the norm.
So you’ve got a choice. You can keep hoping for stability from the same system that just made you redundant. Or you can start thinking differently about how you work and who you work for.
Not a hustle. A rethink.
And no, I don’t mean launching a side hustle and becoming a LinkedIn guru.
I mean taking your design skills and using them to build something that actually works for you. Something sustainable. Something future-proof.
You don’t have to go it alone. But you do have to go with intent.
There’s a growing shift happening
Some designers are already ahead of this. Quietly building systems that support their independence. Figuring out how to package their expertise. Working with clients directly, on their own terms. Moving from project work to productised services. From deliverables to direction.
They’re not louder than you. They’re not necessarily better than you.
But they have stopped waiting for permission.
They’re designing businesses instead of just careers.
They’re making design work for them.
If any of this is resonating, you’re not imagining it
You’re not broken. The industry is in flux. And pretending it’s not is a waste of your time and energy.
This post isn’t meant to sell you anything. It’s meant to tell the truth.
The design world is changing. You can either respond with fear or with design thinking.
Because this is still a design problem at heart. It just requires a different kind of solution.
If you’re ready to explore that
I made something that might help. It’s called The Shift. It’s a short, free video series for designers who feel stuck, disillusioned, or quietly desperate for something more solid.
It won’t give you overnight success. It won’t tell you to “crush it.”
But it will give you a way to start thinking differently. And maybe that’s all you need right now.
Watch The Shift – a free video series for independent-minded designers
Final thought
The old model of job security is gone. That doesn’t mean design is over. It means the rules have changed.
You don’t need a perfect plan. But you do need to stop waiting for someone else to write your story.
Start where you are. Build something better. Design your own future.
No one is coming to do it for you.
