Most designers think there's only one way up.
Become a manager. Lead the team. Get the title. Cash the check.
That's the script.
It's also a trap.
Last week I sat down with Darshan Gajara to break it apart. Darshan has spent the past decade designing at startups and scaleups, led design at hi.health, and now lives in Berlin building things that actually ship. His latest project, Beanpresso, started as a way to stop buying coffee beans he didn't like twice. His longest-running, Product Disrupt, is on issue 200+ of a free design newsletter he's been writing for nine years straight.
We touched on 3 main topics:
1. IC vs. Management, which one?
Old-school thinking: if you want more impact, become a manager.
That logic is dying.
Being great at the craft doesn't automatically make you great at managing people.
Different job.
Different brain.
Different skills.
ICs now have their own ladder: senior, staff, principal. Same money. Same level. Without the calendar full of 1:1s.
AI accelerated this. ICs with the right tools ship what teams of five used to. Even managers are expected to do real IC work now.
If your company still treats management as the only way up, talk to your manager. Show them how staying close to the craft creates more value than leading a team would.
The companies that won't budge? You already have your answer.
2. What's the career path for ICs?
Inside a company, you'll hit a ceiling. Staff or principal. That's it.
That's also fine. You're doing the highest level of work, getting paid for it, and not stuck in performance review hell.
Outside a company, the ceiling disappears. Indie hacker. Founder. Studio owner. Consultant. Your craft is the leverage.
The real shift from senior to staff is ownership. Staff designers don't wait to be told what to do.
They run toward problems.
They spend more time with engineers, PMs, and BD than they do with other designers.
They zoom into the corner radius AND zoom out to question whether the button should exist at all.
Work doesn't come to them. They go find the work.
3. Why build side projects?
Your day job has a fence around it. The fence is fine. Your creativity probably isn't.
Side projects are the outlet.
Darshan's coffee app started as a personal itch. His friends asked for the link. Now it's a product with users.
His newsletter started as a list of free design resources he was already saving for himself. Nine years later, 200+ issues, plus a job board.
The trick: start small. Don't aim for a unicorn. Aim for something that solves your own problem this week.
Side projects also teach you faster than any course.
Want to learn video editing? Start a YouTube channel.
Want to learn sales? Sell newsletter sponsorships.
The accountability of shipping forces the learning.
Those skills don't stay in the side project. They show up in your day job, where you're suddenly the designer who can sell ideas, ship fast, and think about business.
Darshan said something that stuck with me:
"Consistency outplays talent. Talent gives you a head start. Consistency unlocks real meaning."
Worth taping above your monitor.
More from Darshan:
- Product Disrupt → a free design + builder newsletter, 9 years deep, 200+ issues strong.
- Beanpresso → track your coffee beans, build a taste profile, find new ones worth trying.
We also went deep on system-level thinking for staff designers, how Darshan uses AI as a thought partner, and how to land freelance work without cold outreach.
Watch the full livestream ↓
