Is Product Design a Good Career Path in 2024? An Expert‘s Perspective
Product design has emerged as an exciting and in-demand career path in recent years as companies recognize the importance of creating user-friendly, visually appealing, and innovative products to stay competitive. But is becoming a product designer the right move for you? As a programming full stack expert who has worked closely with product designers for over a decade, I‘ll share my honest take on the current state of product design and what you can expect if you pursue this creative yet challenging career path.
What Does a Product Designer Actually Do?
First, let‘s clarify what product design entails. Product designers are responsible for the entire design process of a product, from initial conceptualization to final execution. This involves:
- Conducting user research through interviews, surveys, usability testing to understand user needs and pain points
- Competitive analysis to identify market opportunities and differentiate the product
- Collaborating with product managers, engineers, and stakeholders to define product strategy and requirements
- Translating abstract ideas into concrete design solutions through sketches, wireframes, prototypes
- Creating high-fidelity mockups and detailed design specifications for development
- Presenting and defending design decisions to stakeholders
- Partnering with engineering teams to ensure proper implementation and identify technical constraints
- Analyzing product metrics and user feedback to continuously iterate and improve the product
A product designer‘s typical deliverables might include:
- User personas and journey maps
- Wireframes and prototypes
- High-fidelity mockups and visual designs
- Design systems and pattern libraries
- Interaction specifications and redlines
- Usability test reports
The day-to-day can vary greatly depending on the stage of the product development cycle and the designer‘s specific role and level. But in general, product designers use their skills in research, ideation, interaction design, and visual design to create product experiences that delight users and drive business results.
Product Design Roles and Skill Sets
Within product design, there are a variety of specialized roles and career paths one can take. While some designers are generalists and cover the full range of design skills, others focus on a particular area of expertise:
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UX Designer: Focuses on the overall user experience and flow of the product. Conducts user research, defines information architecture, and creates wireframes and prototypes. Key skills: User empathy, research, information architecture, interaction design, rapid prototyping.
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UI Designer: Responsible for the visual design and branding of the product. Translates wireframes into high-fidelity mockups and ensures visual consistency. Key skills: Visual design, typography, color theory, branding, design tools like Sketch or Figma.
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Interaction Designer: Defines how users interact with the product, including navigation, animations, and micro-interactions. Key skills: Interaction design principles, prototyping, animation, familiarity with front-end development.
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UX Researcher: Conducts various types of user research, from interviews to usability testing, to inform design decisions. Key skills: Research methodologies, synthesis and analysis, communication of insights.
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UX Writer: Crafts the words in the product interface to guide and engage users. Key skills: Copywriting, microcopy, content strategy, user empathy.
While some companies look for specialists, many product designer roles span multiple areas. T-shaped skills, with deep knowledge in one area and broad understanding of other areas, can be extremely valuable. For example, a visual designer who understands interaction design principles or a UX designer who can write effective copy will have an edge in the job market.
Additionally, in my experience working on software products, product designers with some technical knowledge, like basic front-end coding skills or familiarity with APIs, are able to collaborate more effectively with developers and better understand technical constraints and possibilities. As a full stack engineer, I‘ve seen how designers who can "speak the language" of development earn the respect of their engineering counterparts and are able to push for better design decisions.
The Current Job Market for Product Designers
The demand for product designers has been consistently high and shows no signs of slowing down. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of industrial and product designers will grow 3% from 2021 to 2031, on pace with the average for all occupations. However, this likely understates the demand, as many product design jobs fall under other occupational categories like software development.
A search for "product designer" on LinkedIn in April 2024 yields over 20,000 open positions in the United States alone. These roles span a range of industries, from technology to healthcare to finance to consumer goods. Companies of all sizes, from startups to Fortune 500s, are hiring product designers.
While major tech hubs like San Francisco, New York, and Seattle have the highest concentration of product design jobs, there are opportunities across the country and even remote roles, a trend accelerated by the pandemic.
The rise of digital transformation across industries means that more and more companies are investing in design as a competitive advantage. As Li Wang, Head of Product Design at Asana, put it in an interview with InVision: "Companies are starting to see that having a well-designed product is really important to business success. It‘s not just about making something look pretty, but having a holistic understanding of the user and creating an end-to-end experience that solves their problems."
Product Design Salaries
Product design salaries vary based on factors like location, experience level, and company type, but overall are quite competitive. According to data from Glassdoor, the national average base salary for a product designer in the United States is $103,637 as of April 2024.
However, salaries can range widely. An entry-level product designer might earn around $70,000, while a senior product designer at a top tech company could earn upwards of $200,000 in total compensation. The highest paying cities for product designers are unsurprisingly San Francisco, New York, and Seattle, where average salaries are 20-25% higher than the national average.
Here‘s a breakdown of average product designer salaries by level:
| Level | 25th Percentile | Average | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associate / Junior | $72,000 | $84,000 | $96,000 |
| Mid-level | $96,000 | $112,000 | $130,000 |
| Senior | $125,000 | $144,000 | $165,000 |
| Lead / Manager | $145,000 | $175,000 | $200,000+ |
*Data from Glassdoor and Payscale
Specialist roles like UX researcher or UX writer often command higher salaries than generalist product designer roles. For example, the average base salary for a UX researcher is $115,939 according to Glassdoor.
It‘s worth noting that these figures are base salaries and don‘t include bonuses, stock options, or other benefits that can significantly boost total compensation, especially at larger tech companies. In a 2020 survey by Blind of tech workers in major hubs, the average total compensation for product designers exceeded $200,000.
While product management roles often earn more than their product designer counterparts due to the additional business responsibilities, product design is still a lucrative path, especially compared to many other design fields like graphic design. And the intangible rewards — creative fulfillment, impact on users, collaborative work environment — make it an attractive career for many.
The Intersection of Product Design and Business
As a product designer, you‘re not just pushing pixels — you‘re shaping the direction of the business. The best product designers understand their company‘s overall strategy, target users, and key metrics, and make design decisions with those factors in mind.
Product designers often work closely with product managers and are a key voice in defining the product roadmap and feature prioritization. They use their user research insights to identify opportunities and make the case for design initiatives. They design not just for the user, but for the business goals — conversion, engagement, retention, revenue.
As Melissa Powel, Director of UX at Grubhub, explained in an interview with Adobe: "Product design is not just about creating a great user experience, but also driving the business forward. We‘re constantly balancing user needs with business objectives, and using data to inform our design decisions and measure the impact."
That‘s not to say that product designers should blindly follow business directives at the expense of user needs. The best product designers are able to find the sweet spot between user desires and business goals, and create elegant solutions that serve both.
Especially for those that rise to leadership positions, an understanding of business strategy and metrics is key. Designers who can translate their work into bottom-line impact and effectively communicate with executives are poised for success.
Getting Started and Advancing in Product Design
So how do you break into product design and move up in your career? A strong portfolio is key — your work samples and case studies are often more important than your pedigree. While a formal design education can be valuable, especially to learn foundational skills, it‘s not always necessary if you can demonstrate your capabilities through your work.
Aspiring product designers can build their portfolios through:
- Design courses and certifications, online or in-person
- Passion projects and unsolicited redesigns
- Freelance work and pro-bono projects for nonprofits
- Internships and apprenticeships
When crafting your portfolio, focus not just on visual polish, but on your process and the impact of your work. Use storytelling to explain your research insights, design iterations, and the outcomes and metrics you moved. Hiring managers want to see not just what you made, but how you think and collaborate.
Once you land that first product design job, make the most of it. Take on stretch projects, seek out mentors, and continuously develop your skills. Stay curious and open to feedback.
Consider specializing in an area like UX research or interaction design. Develop your communication and collaboration skills, and learn the language of business and product management.
With experience and proven results, you can move up to more senior individual contributor roles, or into management and leadership positions. Senior designers often become the go-to experts in their companies for areas like user research or design systems.
Those in leadership roles like Head of Product Design take on additional responsibilities like:
- Developing and evangelizing the overall product design vision and strategy
- Building and managing the product design team and culture
- Communicating the value of design to executives and cross-functional stakeholders
- Driving alignment between design, product, engineering functions
The career ladder in product design is not always a straight line, and progression can depend on the size and type of company. But as you gain experience, take on mentorship of junior designers, and drive impact in your organization, the opportunities for advancement will come.
The Future of Product Design
As technology and user expectations evolve, so too does the practice of product design. Emerging technology like voice interfaces, AI/ML, AR/VR, and wearables are creating new design challenges and opportunities.
We‘re also seeing the rise of specializations like UX writing, content design, and design operations. DesignOps, which focuses on optimizing the processes and tools designers use to create more efficiently and consistently, has become especially prominent in larger organizations.
Collaboration with cross-functional partners is more important than ever. The lines between product design, product management, and engineering are blurring. Designers are embedding with development teams and adopting agile practices.
Tools are also evolving to enable more seamless collaboration and handoff between design and development. Features like interactive components and automatic code generation in design tools like Figma and Adobe XD are closing the gap between design and implementation.
No-code and low-code tools are enabling designers to build functional prototypes and even ship products without relying on engineering resources. As a programming expert, I suspect that we‘ll see more and more designers developing front-end coding skills to take advantage of these capabilities.
Soft skills are just as important as hard skills for future product designers. The ability to communicate, collaborate, and lead is crucial as the role of design expands and becomes more cross-functional.
Whatever the future holds, one thing is certain: the need for skilled product designers who can create intuitive, engaging, and impactful experiences is here to stay. As long as there are digital products, there will be a need for thoughtful design.
Conclusion
Product design can be a highly rewarding career path for those who love solving problems and have a passion for shaping the future of how we interact with technology.
It‘s a field that requires a mix of creative, technical, and interpersonal skills. You‘ll need to balance user advocacy with business goals, big-picture thinking with obsessive attention to detail. You‘ll collaborate closely with a range of partners and continuously learn new skills and tools.
If you‘re energized by the thought of taking an idea from a back-of-the-napkin sketch to a shipped product, iterating based on user feedback and data, and working at the cutting edge of design and technology, product design may be the perfect fit.
The job market is strong, salaries are competitive, and there are ample opportunities for career growth and impact. And you‘ll be in good company — the product design community is filled with inspiring, talented, and supportive folks.
But it‘s not for everyone. The fast pace, ambiguity, and constant context switching can be stressful. You may find your design decisions questioned or overruled by stakeholders. And keeping up with the latest tools and trends takes continuous learning and hustle.
My advice? Start building your skills and portfolio, network with other designers, and seek out opportunities to get hands-on experience. Stay curious and open to feedback. And most importantly, never stop advocating for the user.
As influential designer and author Frank Chimero put it: "People ignore design that ignores people." The magic of product design is turning empathy for users into tangible solutions that make their lives better in ways large and small. It‘s challenging yet endlessly fulfilling work — and the world needs more thoughtful product designers to shape our digital future.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinions and insights of the author, a programming full stack expert, as of April 2024. Salary data and job market information is based on available data at the time of publication and may not reflect the most current figures. The product design field is constantly evolving and individual experiences may vary.
