Katherine Wastell’s Post

We fired our most experienced designer last month. And our quality improved by 40%. Here’s the counterintuitive reason why: Let me be clear—firing someone, especially a senior team member, is never easy. We made sure they were well compensated and supported during the transition. The decision wasn’t about their talent but about the direction we needed to take as a team. It forced me to confront a hard truth: great results aren’t about hiring the best people—they’re about having the right approach. For years, I believed that hiring unicorn designers would solve every problem. But the truth is, even the most talented people need clarity on what the brand stands for, what the audience expects, and what success looks like. When I stopped focusing solely on talent and started focusing on approach, everything changed: → I started asking the right questions—What does this brand truly represent? What’s the end user’s perspective? How can we communicate expectations more clearly to our team? → Instead of assuming great talent would figure it out, I prioritized alignment between client needs, team understanding, and execution. → Clearer communication frameworks helped clients articulate their needs better, reducing misalignment at the start of projects. It wasn’t about creating flawless systems—it was about ensuring our approach reflected what the brand and its audience truly needed. Another unexpected benefit was cost savings. By shifting the focus to the right approach, we realized we didn’t need to hire only senior designers with high salary expectations. We started bringing in freshers and less experienced designers, guiding them through this structured approach. Not only did this significantly reduce hiring costs, but it also helped us nurture talent internally. For a business only three years in, this has been a game-changer. The results: 1/ Junior designers started delivering senior-level work. 2/ Client revisions dropped by 60%. 3/ Packaging designs went straight to production without rework. Here’s the lesson I learned: talent alone won’t deliver great results. It’s the clarity and depth of your approach that define success. What shifts in approach have transformed your business? #agencylife #clarityovercomplexity

Have you ever hired a “senior” designer, only to wonder where the impact is? You expected a strategic powerhouse but ended up with endless ideas and no real outcomes. I’ve been there and without a good mentor, it’s hard to know what to look for. Too often, this is what follows: 🔄 Projects stuck in feedback loops 🗯️ Meetings full of debates, but no progress 💥 Stakeholders losing patience, and your credibility slipping “How do you find designers who truly drive your product forward?” That’s the question I always ask myself when hiring. What I am looking for is simple: Design reviews that lead to real decisions Designers who influence strategy and deliver measurable impact Teams that love collaborating with design To succeed, I focus on three broad areas during the hiring process: Hire for influence: Can they tie design choices to business goals? Prioritise strategic thinking: Do they tackle what matters most? Assess execution: Ideas are cheap; delivery isn’t. If this resonates, feel free to reach out. My door is always open to hear your experiences and challenges.

13 Insights into 10 years of hiring designers and leaders: (And the changes I've seen) 1. Where did IA go? 2. Obsession with job titles 3. More emphasis on "player-coach" 4. Design into business functions 5. Personal brand over job boards 6. The rise of design founders 7. Obsession over "craft" 8. The barrier for getting into design is low 9. Move away from UX to Product Design 10. Leaders going through an identity crisis 11. "Design needs a seat at the table" 12. Designers growing in business competence 13. Everyone thinks they can hire designers

Hiring good designers is hard 🤨 Here are 5 things I look for when hiring designers: Will you ever find a designer you can trust? So many things can go wrong... 🔴 How do I read design portfolios? 🔴 How much do I pay them? 🔴 How can I make sure they are good? After reviewing over 400 design applications in the last 2 years, here's what I'm looking for: ✅ Great presentation skills, mainly as a portfolio ✅ The applicant asks questions about the product/service ✅ Great writing skills, especially in the application email or message ✅ Transparent pricing/salary expectations (they know their worth) ✅ Culture fit, familiarity with remote & async work (essential at Grauberg) What else should founders look out for when hiring designers? #hiring #uxdesign

How Did Product Design Hiring Get This Bad? I regularly mentor product designers around the world. Over the past year, every one of my sessions has focused on helping designers navigate multiple rounds of time-wasting design briefs, just to land a job at a company with a Glassdoor score that’s lower than a limbo stick at a chiropractor's convention. Instead of following your fellow design leaders into the fog of decision paralysis, you can do better. Here are some things you should consider instead of adding more poorly thought-out design tasks to your recruitment process: - Don’t waste time—yours or the candidate's. If you can’t make a decision after two rounds (about two hours, including screening), either your process is broken or you haven’t found the right candidate. - Keep your interview formats simple and give candidates guidance on how to succeed. The number of bizarre design tasks I’ve seen with zero guidance is BONKERS. - Repay unsuccessful candidates with clear feedback. AI can summarise your interview notes in seconds. It requires virtually no extra time. Ghosting candidates is pure laziness. Be better. - Streamline your process by getting recruiters to own and optimise your screening. Only interview people you are genuinely serious about. Did I mention I’m on the lookout for a Senior Product Designer in Dublin soon. I can promise you a good recruitment process 😃

Companies trying to hire design the same as other roles, Which is wrong. Here is why. In today’s competitive landscape, hiring the right talent is crucial. But here’s a truth bomb: hiring for design roles shouldn’t be approached the same way as other roles. Here’s why: 1. Creativity Over Credentials: While degrees and certificates can be important, a designer's portfolio speaks louder. Look for creativity, problem-solving skills, and a unique style. 2. Diverse Skills and Thinking: Design isn't just about aesthetics. It’s about understanding user experience, psychology, and sometimes even coding. A designer’s toolkit is vast and varied. 3. Cultural Fit Matters More: Designers often work across multiple teams, translating complex ideas into visuals. I think it's important that they fit into your company culture and can communicate effectively. 4. Iterative and Agile Mindset: The design process is iterative. A great designer thrives on feedback and constantly evolves. Look for someone who’s flexible and welcomeschange. 5. Showcase, Don’t Just Tell: Instead of traditional interviews, consider design challenges or collaborative projects. This gives you a real sense of how they think, solve problems, and work under pressure. 6. Value of Personal Projects: Personal projects and side hustles can be a goldmine for assessing passion and creativity. Don’t underestimate these in your evaluation. 7. Communication is Key: Designers need to convey their ideas clearly and justify their choices. Assess their ability to articulate design decisions during the hiring process. Remember, a star designer can transform your brand, product, and user experience. So, rethink these hiring strategies and find the creative minds that will drive innovation forward! #DesignThinking #Hiring #TalentAcquisition #CreativeMinds #Innovation #CompanyCulture

🚨 To recruiters who spend just 3 seconds on a UX portfolio: You’re doing it wrong. 🚨 As a UX designer and a co-founder, I am deeply concerned by the trend of recruiters spending only 3-5 seconds on a UX designer’s portfolio. It’s baffling. What can you possibly assess in 3 seconds? Aesthetics? If so, you’re clearly not hiring for a true UX role. A portfolio is more than just visuals. It represents countless hours of effort, creativity, and problem-solving. Giving it a mere glance is not only disrespectful but also ineffective. How can you understand a designer’s process, their thinking, or their problem-solving skills in such a short span? If you are looking at just the aesthetics of a UXer’s portfolio, you probably don’t understand what UX is. While I understand that you probably get hundreds of applicants, take at least a few minutes to understand the person behind the portfolio, and then see if they are suitable for the role or not. Respect your applicants as you would your customers. If you hire based on a glance, don’t be surprised by high turnover rates. In the words of Ted Lasso, “Be curious, not judgmental.” Hiring is one of the most crucial tasks. It deserves more than a fleeting glance. Let’s do better, for the sake of our teams and the talent we hope to attract.

Being a product designer is not easy. It gets a bit harder every day. It seemed to be easy during the pandemic, though. Businesses rapidly shifted to online. E-commerce boomed. Cloud services, digital entertainment... everything was growing rapidly. Companies expected this trend to continue long-term. They were hiring aggressively. Fighting for talents. Everywhere, remote work became a standard. Starting new projects daily. Building big, diverse design teams. Teams of specialists. Each part of the design process had a dedicated role. Everyone and their mother needed a designer. That situation was an anomaly. What we see today is the industry self-regulating. I believe that people who started their journey in product design during the pandemic may have a misconception about it. Besides the obvious design skills, there's much more you need to consider if you want to be a good product designer. Check the attached carousel. ↓↓↓ ✌️ P.S. If I missed anything, please let me know in the comments. Also, let this post be just a reminder of how broad and complex product design is. There is a lot to learn! 🙂 #hr #hrcommunity #recuiters #design #uiux #uxdesign #uaejob #uaehiring #hr #remotejob #remote hiring #designcommunity #hiringdesigners #hiring #hiringalert #hiringnow #colorgrading #colorcorrection #colors #uxdesign #uidesign #uiux #uitrends #uiinspiration #userexperiencedesign

Portfolios are being commoditised. They are overhyped, as they only tell half the story. In today's world, a portfolio is a made-up commodity and a trending business idea. Many design curators are selling their online courses in lieu to helping aspiring designers make their perfect portfolios. In 2024 itself, 100+ new no-code portfolio building websites have been launched. Why?? Credit goes to companies asking for more and more refined portfolios, because they don't wish to invest time in hiring. Results? Portfolios becoming a fear mongering commodity. A portfolio is a curated snapshot, showcasing the end results—not the messy, complex process that gets you there. It doesn’t show how a designer navigates real-world challenges, collaborates with teams, or iterates based on constant feedback. We don’t ask CEOs or CTOs to walk in with a deck of past projects. We assess them based on their mindset, leadership, and ability to drive results. So why should designers be judged solely on visuals? The truth is, a beautiful portfolio doesn’t guarantee problem-solving skills, empathy, or adaptability—things that matter far more in the day-to-day grind of design work. Tools and trends will always change, but the right attitude, thinking, and ability to grow can’t be taught by just looking at a pretty interface. Design leaders and recruiters need to challenge this norm. We need to hire for how a designer thinks and adapts, not just how their work looks. Real magic happens in the process, not the portfolio. #designhiring #hiring #designers #uxhiring #design #uxdesign

Why hiring designers is like trying to find a unicorn (Spoiler: It’s not working) Let’s be real – hiring designers has turned into a bit of a chaos. There are so many fancy titles now that it’s impossible to know who does what anymore. Is it a UX designer? A graphic designer? Or maybe they’re supposed to handle your social media, code your website, and design your app too? And when it comes to leadership roles, there’s Head of Design, Head of Experience, Head of... pretty much everything. It feels like there’s a new “head of” every day. Maybe the real issue isn’t the designers, but the unrealistic expectations and endless titles. The “one-size-fits-all” hiring approach isn’t just outdated – it’s setting teams up to fail I've just read a great article about this called ''The state of design recruitment in 2024'', and here's the link if you're interested #design #designrecruitment #designjobs #hiringprocess #ux https://lnkd.in/dsSw9TcR