In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick become the "Design Mythbusters" and tackle the biggest misconceptions about UX design that both designers and non-designers believe.

From the idea that UX is just about making things pretty to the pressure of getting everything right the first time, they bust (or confirm) myths that hold you back in your design career.

Tyler shares his perspective as a senior product designer in-house, while Nick brings his freelance experience to debunk these widespread beliefs.

They explore myths from both sides; what stakeholders wrongly believe about designers, but also what designers tell themselves that creates unnecessary stress and limitations.

Here's what's on the table in this episode:

🔸 Why "UX is just about making things pretty" isn't wrong
🔸 The myth that UX designers create "delightful" experiences
🔸 Why you don't need to get everything right the first time
🔸 The accessibility myth of "we haven't heard any complaints"
🔸 How to balance pretty AND useful design
🔸 Why UX designers don't hold all the keys to user experience
🔸 The pressure to shoulder all responsibility for design decisions
🔸 Case study number inflation and why 2% improvements are impressive
🔸 The "it depends" answer and when it's actually helpful
🔸 Whether you need a traditional art background to be a UX designer
🔸 How AI myths are creating unnecessary fear in the design community

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In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick are trying to untangle the confusing world of design job titles and their many, many variations. From UX designer to product designer to the emerging UX engineer role and everything inbetween.

They share what each title actually means, their differences, and how to survive the ever-changing landscape of design careers today.

Also, Tyler shares his experience as a senior product designer in-house, while Nick explains his approach as a freelancer who uses "UX and Product Designer" to catch different types of clients. They discuss the evolution from web designer to the current product design trend, and upcomgin roles like UX engineer that challenge the lines between design and development.

Here's what's on the table in this episode:

🔸 Why Nick uses both "UX" and "Product" designer in his title (it's an SEO play)
🔸 How design titles evolved from web designer to today's product designer
🔸 The difference between UI, UX, and product design roles
🔸 Why larger companies need more specialized design roles
🔸 What service design and customer experience (CX) roles actually do
🔸 The rise of UX engineer and what it means for designers who code
🔸 How AI is helping designers learn development skills
🔸 Why "user" vs "customer" language matters more than you think
🔸 The Pokemon evolution of design careers (and what comes next)
🔸 Senior vs junior titles and how they affect your career progression

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In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick talk about the actual day-to-day of being a product designer and how it is very different from what social media tells you.

One's an in-house designer while the other is a freelancer. Both have over a decade of on-the-job design experience. Together, they discuss how AI creates overlap between design, product, and engineering, and why good design often looks like you're doing nothing at all.

They also share what real design-client collaboration looks like, how to stay strategic without losing your momentum, and what to do when your best design work gets shelved by stakeholders.

Here's what's on the table in the rest of the episode.

🔸 What your job actually is as a product designer
🔸 The hidden work behind design decisions
🔸 How to collaborate across product, design, and engineering
🔸 Why most “bad design” is just the result of unclear priorities
🔸 The myth of pixel-perfect design in real teams
🔸 How to handle feedback from non-design stakeholders
🔸 What separates strategic designers from execution-only roles
🔸 How to protect your energy and sanity as a designer

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In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick discuss the real answer to the question that’s been haunting LinkedIn threads, Reddit posts, and bootcamp Slack groups:

Is it still worth becoming a UX or product designer in 2025 and beyond?

They look back on their own (non-)traditional paths into product design, the current state of the industry, and how AI is changing design roles differently than what most people say on social media.

They also share what separates the top 10% of designers from the rest, how you can make it to be within that top 10%, and why most bootcamp portfolios are outdated from the start.

This episode's super useful for new designers, career-switchers, and anyone wondering if it’s still worth it to invest time, money, and energy into a formal design education when it feels like AI is going to replace it all.

🔸 An important skill no design school teaches: rejection tolerance
🔸 Why “just stand out” is both great advice and terrible advice
🔸 AI isn’t replacing designers (but lazy designers might self-replace)
🔸 How to evaluate design programs without falling for hype
🔸 Portfolio strategy: what actually gets you hired
🔸 Why some hiring managers say “there are hundreds of applicants, but no one good”
🔸 Fundamentals vs. tools: what matters in 2025
🔸 Personal branding, mentorship, and zooming out

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In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick go into the chaotic world of branding. They discuss why it matters more than ever, when it’s completely overhyped, and how to make the most of it as a product designer looking to build a career.

Well-known branding moments include the Jaguar rebrand and Apple’s liquid glass 'feature'. Nick and Tyler talk about how branding decisions influence users and why some branding changes work wonders while others just cause social media uproar.

They also have quite something to say about personal branding for product designers: what it is, how to find your voice, and why soft skills don’t show up in your Figma file.

🔸 Why branding is your biggest moat—or just overpriced vibes
🔸 What the Jaguar rebrand got wrong
🔸 How Apple’s “failures” still drive loyalty
🔸 The emotional psychology behind iconic brands
🔸 Personal branding tips for designers
🔸 The underrated power of testimonials
🔸 Social proof, client trust, and repeat work
🔸 How to niche down (without boxing yourself in)

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In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick discuss the role of animation and motion in modern product design workflows and why it’s not just about looking slick.

From micro-interactions to loading states, they find out where animation improves UX and where it becomes a distraction. They also get into motion for video editing, designing for product marketing, and why most designers need to reconsider the amount of motion they use in their work.

Along the way, they touch on mentorship, design tools, and what junior designers should focus on when learning motion design in today’s world of product design.

🔸 Why subtle motion design is more effective
🔸 The psychology behind informative loading states
🔸 When animation delights users—and when it distracts
🔸 The value of documentation for preserving ideas
🔸 Tools for animation: Figma, Lottie, After Effects, and more
🔸 How animation can elevate product marketing
🔸 Mentorship, design education, and learning by doing
🔸 “Done is better than perfect” when shipping MVPs

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In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick talk about how the lines between designers and product managers are getting more and more blurry.

AI tools speed up our way of working and startups grow using smaller teams than ever. Does that mean we are heading toward a new unicorn role for a designer-product-manager-hybrid?

From working with founders instead of PMs, to shielding teams from company politics, to the rise of fractional roles and hybrid titles, we explore how the designer and PM responsibilities are evolving and whether we’re just overcomplicating the whole thing.

🔸 Why strategy and design are merging
🔸 The slow disappearance of traditional PMs
🔸 What “fractional” actually means (and why it’s not just a buzzword)
🔸 Whether small teams still need dedicated PMs
🔸 The mental toll of context switching
🔸 When meetings are useful — and when they’re just expensive
🔸 The future of the product designer title (or lack thereof)

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In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler White and Nick Groeneveld discuss the fast-evolving world of design tools, AI integration for your tools, and why your current workflow might (or might not) already be outdated.

From tool fatigue to the Figma vs. Framer debate, they explore how designers are adapting (or not) to new tech, what makes or breaks productivity today, and whether a single tool could truly bridge the gap between design and development.

They also discuss the shifting responsibilities of designers and product managers, and why understanding code might soon be part of your job description.

Whether you're curious about the next big thing, feeling overwhelmed by the AI tool race, or wondering if Figma is still the go-to, this conversation is packed with insights that will shape the way you think about design in 2025 and beyond.

🔸 Why AI tool overload is killing designer productivity
🔸 The hidden cost of switching tools
🔸 Can Framer replace Figma for marketing sites?
🔸 What “designing in code” actually looks like today
🔸 How integrated tools could merge design and dev roles
🔸 Why Figma’s future depends on its website builder
🔸 How product management and design are merging
🔸 The tradeoff between speed, craft, and business impact
🔸 What every designer should know about using AI effectively
🔸 A future with multiple tools sharing market dominance

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