What helped me grow from junior designer to product lead

It took me three years to go from junior graphic designer to product design lead. If you’re starting out, you might be wondering what helped. A lot of it came down to getting curious about the parts of the job I didn’t understand yet, and learning how to work through them with other people.

I talked about that with Dima Hilko for Olim Designers, a community of designers in Israel. We got into my path to leading product design at Comeet, looking for work, and what startup life is like for a designer. A few things from that conversation feel especially useful if you’re figuring out your own next step.

Get curious about what happens beyond your screen

Moving from graphic design into UX/UI and product design means taking on more of the questions around the work. What does the user need? Why does the business care about this feature? What can the team build with the time they have?

Those questions can feel a bit outside your job at first. I’d encourage you to ask them anyway. They help you understand why you’re designing something, and they can change what you decide to make.

Before opening your design file, try asking your team what they hope will improve. Have a chat with a developer about what might be difficult to build. When the work gets to QA, stick around and see how it turned out. You’ll understand the experience much better once you’ve seen what happens to your design after handoff.

You can start small. Take one project and stay involved a little further than you usually would. You don’t need a lead title to do that.

Help people understand why you chose something

Communication came up a lot in our conversation. You can spend ages thinking through a design, but your teammates haven’t been inside your head for all of it. They need a bit of context.

When you show your work, start with the problem you’re trying to solve. Explain what made the choice difficult and which parts you’re still unsure about. That gives people a way to help, even if they’d approach the design differently.

A developer might be thinking about the effort involved. Someone on the business side might care about a particular metric. Ask about those concerns. It’s much easier to have a useful discussion when you understand what the other person is worried about.

One thing you can try: explain a decision to a teammate before showing them the file. See whether your reasoning makes sense on its own. And if there’s something you don’t understand, say so. Asking now can save you both a lot of rework later.

Let the job give you something to learn

Self-study was part of my path, and there’s plenty to read on Medium, Nielsen Norman Group, and the Interaction Design Foundation. Choosing where to start can be the harder part.

I’d start with something that’s bothering you in your current work. Maybe you’re unsure which research method to use. Maybe you keep forgetting an interface state. Find something that helps with that question, then go back to your project and try it.

That gives the reading somewhere to go. You get to see whether you understood it, and what you still need to figure out.

I’d also encourage you to get comfortable learning in English. It gives you access to more material and helps you find the words to discuss design with colleagues. If an entire article feels like too much, read the bit you need first. You can come back to the rest.

You don’t have to feel fully ready before trying something. Give yourself a manageable question and work from there.

When the plan changes, ask why

In an Israeli startup, you can find yourself involved in everything from research to QA and launch. You get to see a lot of the product, and the priorities can move quickly.

That can be stressful. Especially when you’ve already spent time on a direction and now the team wants to change it.

Before jumping into another version, ask what happened. Maybe the team learned something about users, or a developer found a constraint you hadn’t considered. Understanding the reason helps you see which parts of your work are still useful.

You’ll also have to decide where to spend your time. Talk that through with your team. If there isn’t much room for research, explain what you know so far and what you’re still assuming. That helps everyone understand the risk they’re taking.

You can be flexible and still speak up for the user. Explain what the change means for them, then help the team find a next step you can work with.

Give your portfolio a little more of the story

If you’re looking for your first UX/UI role or finding your way into the Israeli market, help the person reviewing your portfolio understand how you work. A screenshot gives them only part of the picture.

Pick a project and walk them through it. What was the problem? What did you personally do? Choose a decision that was difficult and explain how you got there. That’s often more useful than taking someone through every screen.

Be honest about what happened, too. Share the outcome you can support. If it was a study project, say that. You can still explain your thinking without pretending it went into production.

With your CV, read the job description and make the relevant experience easy to find. You’re helping someone see how the work you’ve done connects to the role they’re trying to fill.

I’ve written more about common mistakes in UI/UX job applications and presenting a design home assignment if you’re working on those right now.

Pick something small to try this week

Three years was my timeline. Yours will depend on your circumstances and the opportunities you get. If something here feels useful, choose one thing you can practice in the work you’re already doing:

• Ask your team what a current task should improve for users and why it matters to the business.
• Talk a colleague through one design choice, including what made it difficult. See where they have questions.
• Find an English-language article that helps with something you’re stuck on, and try what you learn.
• Open a portfolio project and add the reasoning behind a choice the screenshots don’t explain.

I’d pick whichever feels most relevant to you right now. Give it a try, then ask someone you work with for feedback. You’ll have something specific to work on next time.