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"Design is a young person's game."
I've been thinking about this a lot lately.
At 20, it seemed like a confirmation.
Today, at 33, the words make me feel a little anxious.
Not because I'm old, but because we work in an industry obsessed with innovation: new tools, new trends, new frameworks every week.
I see designers mastering software released yesterday morning.
Fast, hungry, and technically formidable.
Honestly, a little intimidating.
So I find myself wondering if I'll actually be able to keep up, or if I'll quietly become 'obsolete'.
But then I look at the real work.
The work of clients and their requests and needs.
The work they pay me for.
Clients don't hire me to open the latest Figma plugin and produce 10 variations overnight.
They need someone who already knows which 9 to discard and saves them time and weeks of indecision.
This doesn't mean you stop learning.
Curiosity still matters, and it's what keeps you in the game.
I'm saying that knowing what to cut is part of the job.
And it usually takes years to get there.
33 is old? Damn, then I'm from the Cretaceous period 😂
I literally wrote “Not because I’m old”
For some reason, I read it differently. It felt like it had a different connotation.
This really hit home. Knowing what to remove and what actually matters comes with experience, and I think that’s something no new tool can replace.
totally agree
Knowing what to cut is probably the most underrated skill in this job, clients rarely ask for it by name but it's what they're actually paying for. Do you think that judgment can be taught faster to juniors, or does it just take the reps?
Practice and experience.
Making mistakes is part of the process.
The line about clients paying you to already know which 9 variations to discard is the whole job in one sentence. That kind of judgment doesn't show up in a portfolio though, how do you even signal it to someone who's never worked with you before?
I think it's all about how you communicate, what you show online and the relationship you build with him
Ciao Antonio! I think the design field evolves incredibly fast, and new plugins and software create a lot of noise when they're released or suddenly go viral. I think it's important to stay steady, ignore the noise, and only start exploring new tools when they seem to have real...
You made me think of that bookmark folder on social media, full of tutorials, shortcuts, and saved tools that we all have. We keep adding things to it, but we never actually go back and look at them, so it just sits there, quietly forgotten.
Knowing which 9 to cut is the skill clients actually pay for, and 19 years in I have never seen a plugin replace it.
all true !
Do agree. Younger designers bring incredible speed and fresh energy but experienced designers bring clarity and risk management.
Thank you for this honest post Antonio🙌
I agreed with that
I can agree. 😃 But at 33 you are still young! It's not about how old are you, it's about the time we live in.
I'm 42, but I remember that the 3 main design applications that I've used back in 2005-2015 din't changed the design industry so fast as now every tool that appears...
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Really inspiring work!