This article is adapted from an original post in UX Collective on September 22, 2020.
The gap in growth paths
Many organizations default to management as the only clear path forward. But not all designers want to be managers. Many thrive as individual contributors (ICs), focusing on craft, problem-solving, and strategic influence, while avoiding people-management duties. Companies that build intentional IC growth paths, with well-documented career progression frameworks, tend to retain top talent longer and avoid losing senior designers to avoidable churn.
Common missteps include assuming “leading one big project” equals growth, or offering sporadic training without tying it to role evolution. Real growth for ICs requires a structured approach, an expanding scope, and increased influence.
A 3-part framework for IC growth
- Skill mastery – Deepening expertise in areas like design systems, accessibility, motion design, or service design.
- Cross-functional influence – Driving strategic decisions, shaping product vision, and earning influence across teams.
- Thought leadership – Mentoring peers, publishing industry insights, or creating internal frameworks that improve practice.
Making growth tangible
Leading companies make IC advancement visible and measurable. For example, companies like Intercom or Shopify have a transparent IC career framework that maps IC career stages with defined impact expectations, moving from delivering high-quality work to shaping the work of others, influencing roadmaps, and championing design vision at the executive level. Contrast that with companies where IC progression is undefined; designers plateau, disengage, and often leave.
Integrating learning into everyday work
Designers crave novelty, new experiences, challenges, and opportunities for personal growth. Learning opportunities are most effective when embedded in live projects, rather than being treated as extra work. Practical approaches include:
- Rotating designers across product areas every 6–12 months to broaden problem-solving skills and expose them to new contexts.
- Pairing ICs with researchers to co-lead usability studies, user interviews, and data analysis to deepen understanding of user needs and behavior.
- Assigning stretch projects that require new tools or methods, like introducing animation principles into a web app, experimenting with new testing methodologies, or designing for a new platform entirely.
A scrappy growth playbook for start-ups
Start-ups often face unique challenges when providing growth opportunities for designers. With their primary focus on achieving profitability and stability, they may struggle to allocate resources for formal development programs. However, neglecting growth can quickly lead to disengagement and high turnover. Even in resource-constrained environments, growth is still possible through creative approaches such as:
- Informal mentorship between junior and senior designers.
- Monthly skill-sharing sessions or design critiques.
- Side experiments that align with company goals but give designers creative freedom.
- Cross-role exposure, such as having designers shadow engineers or marketers, to build a broader product sense.
The role of mentorship and feedback
Mentorship and feedback play crucial roles in a designer’s growth and development, regardless of their level of experience. Even senior ICs benefit from having a sounding board and receiving constructive input on both their work and career direction. Companies can support this by pairing experienced designers with less experienced ones through formal programs that set clear guidelines around meeting cadence, discussion topics, goal-setting, and progress tracking. They can also encourage organic mentorship by creating spaces for collaboration and knowledge sharing, such as workshops, lunch-and-learns, or regular design critiques. Feedback should be frequent, specific, and safe—some teams schedule recurring “design feedback hours” to ensure it becomes a consistent and valued habit.
Personalized growth plans
Companies need to take a personalized approach to truly support designers’ growth. This means working closely with each IC to identify their desired growth direction, the new skills they want to acquire, and how their role can evolve to accommodate these aspirations. To make this successful, managers may need to adapt the designer’s existing role or create new opportunities within the current position. One-size-fits-all career ladders rarely meet everyone’s needs. Managers and ICs should collaborate to define growth goals, skill focus areas, and opportunities for expanded influence, whether by adjusting responsibilities, shaping new projects, or creating hybrid roles that allow ICs to lead in new ways.
Retention health check
Ask:
- Can ICs grow without becoming managers?
- Are the growth criteria clear and measurable?
- Do designers get regular, actionable feedback?
- Is learning integrated into project work?
- Are there influential opportunities beyond the immediate team?
Why it matters
Investing in IC growth isn’t just a retention tactic; it’s a product quality strategy. Designers who keep evolving bring sharper execution, richer problem-solving, and the ability to shape product direction. Companies that make space for this don’t just keep talent; they raise the standard of the entire customer experience.
