I Got Let Go Twice. Here’s How I Still Built a 16-Year Design Career

I Got Let Go Twice. Here’s How I Still Built a 16-Year Design Career

Most product designers want to have the clean career story. First, you go to school. You build a portfolio and get hired. Then you get promoted and become a senior product designer. Post something painfully inspirational on LinkedIn about “the journey” and you're there. Cute, but Tyler’s path was not that. It started with trying to get into animation. He soon realised the job market did not care about his art school confidence, so he had to go back to learn graphic design, web design, and coding landing pages. After, he started mailing resumes like it was the stone age and slowly figuring out how to turn all those skills into an actual product design career. So… how do you build a long-term design career when the industry keeps changing every five minutes? In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Nick interviews Tyler about his 16-year journey in design, from animation school and trade programs to web design, e-commerce, agency work, AI products, design leadership, layoffs, and eventually becoming a principal product designer. Tyler shares what he learned from being a designer who could code before that was cool, asking for raises, leaving jobs when growth stalled, getting let go twice in one year, spotting red flags in companies, and finding a role where mentorship, product strategy, and modern design work finally came together. We also get into AI, vibe coding, designers opening pull requests, why the builder-designer might be making a comeback, and why the core thinking behind product design still matters even when the tools change. This episode is about surviving the messy middle of a design career, staying useful as the industry shifts, and not letting one bad job, one layoff, or one weird CEO turn your career into a smoking pile of career anxiety. In this episode you’ll learn: 🔸 How Tyler accidentally moved from animation into web design 🔸 Why early career confidence can disappear fast in the real job market 🔸 How coding helped Tyler stand out as a designer 🔸 Why staying current matters more than clinging to one process 🔸 How to ask for raises when you can actually back it up 🔸 What layoffs taught Tyler about career risk 🔸 How to spot red flags before joining a company 🔸 Why AI and code are changing the product design role again ⏱ Chapters 00:00 Why the design industry feels unstable right now 02:00 Tyler’s accidental start in design 04:30 When art school confidence meets the job market 06:20 Learning graphic design, web design, and code 08:00 Why old skills still show up later in your career 10:11 Going into monk mode to get better 12:13 Landing the first internship 14:06 Applying for the first real design job 16:15 Negotiating salary before knowing what you’re worth 19:16 Struggling in the first job 21:14 Becoming the only designer 23:44 Designers who code and the builder-designer comeback 25:39 Leaving a job to keep growing 29:38 Taking a pay cut to learn something new 32:18 Spotting company red flags 34:38 Moving from web designer to UI/UX designer 36:23 Agency work, AI, and design leadership 40:30 Asking for a $15,000 raise 43:03 Fighting for user research 44:21 Becoming a solo product designer 47:00 Building trust with engineering 48:30 Getting let go after four years 51:54 Updating the portfolio after a layoff 54:04 Joining a sinking ship 58:21 Getting let go twice in one year 59:19 Finding green flags in the next role 01:01:05 Why designers may need to touch code again 01:03:59 What designers should do to stay relevant 01:06:23 Why your only real competition is your past self Subscribe to The Design Table Podcast https://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe Resources to help you level up your design career: Get your portfolio and career strategy reviewed with a Design Table Audit https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/design-table-audit Download the Product Design Blueprint https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/product-design-blueprint Join our UX and product design community https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/ux-and-product-design-community In need of support? Take a look at our resources https://www.designtablepodcast.com/learn More about Tyler and Nick Tyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-white Nick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

How Nick Became a Freelance Product Designer Making Six Figures

Lots of product designers dream about going freelance. No boss. No performance reviews. And you decide where and when you work. And then reality shows up. No guaranteed paycheck. No HR department. No sales team. No legal department. No one magically handing you clients because you updated your LinkedIn headline to “freelance product designer.” So… how do you actually become a fully booked freelance product designer making six figures without setting your career on fire? In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler interviews Nick about his full journey into product design. From discovering UX by accident during an internship, to losing early jobs, to slowly building enough confidence, visibility, and client demand to go freelance full time. Nick shares that he is now a full-time freelance product designer in the Netherlands and has been fully booked with design projects for as long as he can remember. We talk about design education, internships, getting your first job, startup chaos, consultancy life, salary negotiation, writing online, building a network, and the uncomfortable moment when you realize your employer is charging a lot more for your work than you are actually taking home. Nick also shares why freelancing is not just “doing design without a boss.” It is sales, visibility, taxes, client relationships, risk management, delivery, and learning how to stay useful in rooms where your future clients already hang out. This episode is about the messy, non-linear path into product design and what it actually takes to build a freelance design career with more control, more ownership, and slightly fewer surprise layoffs. In this episode you’ll learn: 🔸 How Nick accidentally discovered UX through an internship 🔸 Why real design work moves faster than school projects 🔸 What losing early jobs taught him about control 🔸 Why freelancing started as a small side income 🔸 How writing online helped Nick build visibility 🔸 Why joining non-design communities can help you find clients 🔸 What designers should know before going freelance 🔸 Why luck matters more than most career advice admits ⏱ Chapters 00:00 Nick’s 11-year journey in product design 01:44 Discovering UX by accident 03:13 Landing the first design internship 06:30 Learning more in two weeks than two years of school 08:18 The shock of real-world project timelines 10:43 Design thinking versus real-world design work 12:00 Getting the first in-house design job 16:46 Losing a job and realizing how little control you have 20:02 Joining a startup as the first designer 23:44 Losing confidence after two jobs ended 24:19 Writing online and helping other designers 27:49 Moving into consultancy 32:00 Discovering the business side of design 34:46 Making the jump toward freelance 38:19 Building visibility and finding clients 41:40 The smartest way to get freelance work 46:08 The role of luck in a design career 49:05 Why freelancing worked out for Nick Subscribe to The Design Table Podcast https://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe Resources to help you level up your design career: Get your portfolio and career strategy reviewed with a Design Table Audit https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/design-table-audit Download the Product Design Blueprint https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/product-design-blueprint Join our UX and product design community https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/ux-and-product-design-community In need of support? Take a look at our resources https://www.designtablepodcast.com/learn More about Tyler and Nick Tyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-white Nick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

Why The Best Product Designers SAY LESS In Interviews

Most product designers spend weeks (or even months) polishing their portfolio website. And then they get into the actual interview, open their mouth, and suddenly their clean case study turns into a 14-minute hostage situation. Awkward questions and most likely no follow-up after the interview. Back to square one. So… how do you actually present your design work without rambling, panicking, or over-explaining every single pixel? In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, we talk about the portfolio presentation stage of the product design interview process. The part where you’re no longer just showing your work, but proving how you think, communicate, handle questions, and tell a clear story. Nick shares what he teaches product designers he mentors, including why you should say less at the beginning, how to let hiring teams choose the project they care about, and why you should keep a few cards close to your chest instead of explaining every single detail upfront. We also get into slide decks, Loom videos, roleplay interviews, talking about failed launches, what to do when you don’t know the answer, and why portfolio presentations are really a two-way filter. This episode is about helping product designers present their work with more clarity, confidence, and control, without turning the interview into a sweaty design TED Talk nobody asked for. In this episode you’ll learn: 🔸 Why designers talk too much during portfolio presentations 🔸 How to structure your portfolio review like a story 🔸 Why you should let hiring teams choose which project to see 🔸 How to talk about results without killing the curiosity 🔸 What to do when you don’t know the answer to a question 🔸 Why failed projects can make your portfolio stronger 🔸 How to use slide decks and Loom videos to stand out 🔸 Why interviews are a two-way filter, not just a performance ⏱ Chapters 00:00 Why portfolio presentations feel so awkward 01:00 The biggest mistake designers make when presenting 03:00 How to turn interviews into conversations 05:00 Why roleplay interviews help designers improve 07:00 What to do before the portfolio interview 08:45 Let the hiring team choose the project 10:45 Why you should not explain everything upfront 12:00 Where to place results in your case study 14:30 Don’t repeat what is already on your portfolio 17:30 What to do when you don’t know the answer 20:30 Handling weird interview questions 23:00 Why you should talk about what went wrong 25:45 Portfolio presentations are storytelling 28:15 How to use slide decks as visual aids 30:00 Sending Loom videos before interviews 32:30 Interviews are a two-way filter Subscribe to The Design Table Podcast https://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe Resources to help you level up your design career: Get your portfolio and career strategy reviewed with a Design Table Audit https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/design-table-audit Download the Product Design Blueprint https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/product-design-blueprint Join our UX and product design community https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/ux-and-product-design-community In need of support? Take a look at our resources https://www.designtablepodcast.com/learn More about Tyler and Nick Tyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-white Nick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

If Figma Disappeared Tomorrow, Would You Still Have a Job?

Like many product designers, you’ve probably ran into one of the following challenges. One PM shows up with a prototype, an engineer suggests a user flow, or someone who has never opened Figma suddenly has strong opinions about spacing, UX, and “how the screen should work.” So… is everyone a designer now? In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, we talk about why designers feel threatened when other people start doing pieces of design work, why that fear is understandable, and why the real value of a designer is not about the tools they use. We also get into AI, vibe coding, Figma Make, product managers building prototypes, designers jumping into code, and what actually separates a designer from someone who just has an idea and a tool. This episode is about the changing role of product design and why your moat is how you think, validate, challenge, facilitate, and help a team make better decisions. In this episode you’ll learn: 🔸 Why everyone feels like they can “do design” now 🔸 Why Figma is not your real moat as a designer 🔸 How to handle PMs or engineers bringing design ideas 🔸 Why designers need to become better at pushing back 🔸 How AI and vibe coding are changing product design 🔸 Why your value is in judgment, not just execution ⏱ Chapters 00:00 Everyone has an opinion on design 03:00 What actually makes someone a designer 05:00 When PMs bring their own prototypes 08:00 The sanity check layer designers provide 10:00 Why designers need to push back 14:00 If Figma disappeared, what value would you add? 17:00 Why bad ideas can still move the team forward 20:00 Is the designer role actually changing? 23:00 Figma Make, vibe coding, and prototyping in code 27:00 Why code is harder to collaborate on 30:00 The existential crisis happening across tech Subscribe to The Design Table Podcast https://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe In need of support? Take a look at our resources https://www.designtablepodcast.com/learn More about Tyler and Nick Tyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-white Nick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

The AI Skill Most Product Designers Are Sleeping On

Like many product designers, you’re using AI. You get decent results by prompting and copy-pasting. Yet, you're still doing all the work. WHat if you didn't have to? In this episode of the Design Table Podcast, we talk about how designers can move beyond prompting and start using AI to actually execute tasks. Nick walks us through how he’s setting up simple workflows using Claude Skills to (more or less) automate small but meaningful pieces of work, from fixing things on his site to handling repetitive tasks. We also talk about what’s changing, how fast things are evolving, and why the real change is about giving away your work. This episode is about rethinking how you use AI as a product designer. It is a must-listen for anyone trying to stay ahead of how work is changing. In this episode you’ll learn: 🔸 The difference between prompting and delegation 🔸 How to use AI to actually execute tasks 🔸 Simple ways to automate small workflows 🔸 Why AI changes how designers work 🔸 The risks of moving too fast 🔸 What the next bottleneck actually is ⏱ Chapters 00:00 How designers are using AI today 03:00 From prompts to execution 08:00 Automating small tasks 14:00 The speed shift 20:00 The new bottleneck 26:00 What this means for designers Subscribe to The Design Table Podcast https://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe More about Tyler and Nick Tyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-white Nick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld