Dear Luigi,
2025 marks fifty years on this planet. It’s a massive milestone—the moment where the time I’ve spent finally feels heavier than the time I have left. I’m writing this because I spent too many years chasing ghosts, and it’s time to be brutally honest.
Right now, you’re surrounded by noise. Everyone is obsessed with “AI-driven design”, “user-centred” frameworks and “customer obsession.” They’re just buzzwords people throw around to sound like they know what they’re doing.
Let’s be real: most of them are just decorating the void. They’re terrified of being wrong, so they hide behind trends.
“Weniger, aber besser”
— Dieter Rams
Design Career Advice: Don’t be like them!
I wasted so much energy trying to be the “perfect” designer—flawless portfolio, software mastery, the lot. But looking back, genuine design career advice isn’t about the tools. It’s about the courage to tell a stakeholder that their idea is a vanity project that won’t move the needle.
You’ll find that as you grow, the lines between your life and your work will blur. Managing a family and leading a team are the same craft. I’ve learned more about strategy by raising my kids than I ever did in a boardroom.
So, here is my most honest design career advice for you.
Every Monday, before you open your laptop—or whatever tool young designers will open tomorrow—ask yourself if you are actually solving a problem today or just making “visual noise.” Ask yourself if you are designing for the respect of your peers, or to protect the lives of the people you love. Because if your work consumes your time without fueling your soul or your business value, you’ve lost the plot.
If your work consumes your time without fueling your soul or your business value, you’ve lost the plot. Build a legacy, not just a career. Move the needle, don’t just push pixels.
The world doesn’t need another decorator. It needs you to have the soul to care and the strategy to act.
See you in a few decades. You’ve got this.
The stratospheric stuff I should have read or watched a long time ago
Maeda, J. (2006). The Laws of Simplicity
Sinek, S. (2009). Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Lovell, S. (2011). Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible
Steve Jobs‘ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address
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