What I look for in designers

I've hired dozens of designers and have noticed that the ones that have made the most significant impact tend to display a good mix of the following behaviours consistently.

It's not an exhaustive list; I'm just scratching the surface.

1. They leave their egos at the door (easy to say). Learning to decouple your personal preferences and think objectively about your work and how it creates positive customer experiences and impactful business outcomes is a powerful mindset shift.

2. They think beyond screens, hi-fidelity mockups, and slick interactions (there's plenty of time for that)—they think about systems. They explore the underlying factors influencing user behaviour, which, among other things, involves understanding how businesses operate and how real people behave.

3. They tend to lead with questions and actively listen to understand—not just respond. They think like children and use "why?" as their secret weapon–operating with curiosity, happy to challenge convention.

4. They focus on outcomes—thinking beyond fixating on deliverables and focusing on impact. They also know perfection is the enemy of done and advocate for continuous improvement.

5. They think like product owners. They don't wait for instructions and requests. They proactively identify opportunities and work to co-create the roadmap.

6. They get that it's not all about them. They skillfully advocate for their ideas but develop a mindset that's open to change and will actively invite opposing views (see point 1).

7. They are great communicators and influencers—communication is the often overlooked turbocharger of a designer's ability.

8. They know there's much more to being a designer than cobbling components together in Figma.