Table of Contents
- Why most UX designers are failing at differentiation
- UX designers stand out for all the wrong reasons
- 1. Fancy illegible portfolios
- 2. Awards that don't matter
- 3. UX certificates that collect dust
- The real playbook: 5 ways to stand out as UX designer
- 1. Be the designer who gets things done
- 2. Be faster than anyone else
- 3. Be unique with a point of view
- 4. Be a super communicator
- 5. Be weird and double down
- The uncomfortable truth about “standing out” in UX design
- Your 90-day action plan
- The long game: From invisible to inevitable
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Why most UX designers are failing at differentiation
In 2025, every UX designer wants to “stand out.”
But instead of standing out for the right reasons, most designers are unintentionally becoming memorable for the wrong ones.
- Ghosted stakeholders harder than your college ex
- Delivered wireframes that looked like a toddler's art project
- Treated deadlines like Netflix subscription cancellations (always "tomorrow")
- Built portfolios so "experimental" that finding their actual work required a treasure map
If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. We've all fallen into the trap of optimizing for the wrong metrics.
The truth? Standing out as a UX designer has become a performance and most of us are acting in the wrong play.
In this blog, we’re pulling back the curtain on the fake differentiation tactics that don’t move the needle, and giving you the real playbook that does.
UX designers stand out for all the wrong reasons
In the quest to stand out, many UX designers accidentally make themselves look less valuable, not more. They over-optimize for aesthetics, prestige, or surface-level credentials… while completely missing what hiring managers, founders, and real teams actually care about.
Let’s break down the 3 biggest traps in the fake differentiation circus:
1. Fancy illegible portfolios
Walk into any design review and you'll see portfolios that belong in MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), not a hiring manager's inbox.
These designers spend months building "interactive experiences" when hiring managers just want to know: Can you solve problems or just make pretty things?
It's like showing up to a job interview in a tuxedo when they asked for work clothes. Impressive? Sure. Missing the point? Absolutely.
Real talk: Your portfolio isn't art therapy. It's a sales document.
2. Awards that don't matter
I know a designer with three Awwwards and zero job prospects.
Why? Because awards are judged by other designers, not the people writing paychecks. It's like being the world's best at a sport nobody watches. Cool story, but who's buying tickets?
Awards are designer circle jerks. Change my mind.
3. UX certificates that collect dust
UX certificates are the participation trophies of the design world. Everyone has them, so nobody cares about them.
Companies don't hire certificates. They hire people who make products that don't suck.
Sad truth: Your Google UX certificate means about as much as my middle school participation award in soccer. (Which is sitting in a box somewhere, doing exactly nothing for my career.)
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The real playbook: 5 ways to stand out as UX designer
The UX designers who actually stand out? They focus on being useful, not just visible. They solve real problems, communicate clearly, move fast, and show up when it counts.
Standing out isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what actually matters.
Here’s your no-fluff playbook to becoming the kind of UX designer no one forgets:
1. Be the designer who gets things done
Reliability beats raw talent 99% of the time. No one’s impressed by your beautifully useless prototype. They remember the designer who shipped the damn thing. Here’s how to be that person:
🔹 Take initiative before being asked
Don't wait for perfect briefs. Perfect briefs don't exist. They're like unicorns, but less magical and more frustrating.
🔹 Show up when others give up
When the project goes sideways (and it will), be the one still pushing forward while others are "recharging”. Everyone remembers who stayed when the ship was sinking.
🔹 Find solutions, not excuses
Bad designers escalate problems. Good designers solve them. Great UX designers solve them before PMs even know they exist.
Pro tip:
- The 24-hour rule: When you get stuck, give yourself exactly 24 hours to find a solution before asking for help. You'll be shocked how resourceful you become when there's a deadline.
- The assumption documentation: Can't get stakeholder feedback? Make assumptions and document them. "I assumed X because Y, moving forward unless told otherwise." This keeps projects moving and makes you look proactive, not pushy.
- The Monday morning test: Every Friday, ask yourself: "If my boss walked in Monday morning, what would I want to show them?" Then make sure you have something worth showing.
2. Be faster than anyone else
Speed is your UX power-up. It's not about hustle culture, it’s about being deliberately efficient.
While everyone else is perfecting their craft, you should be perfecting your speed. Here’s how to do it:
🔹 Learn new tools before others
Master Figma, Framer, Notion… before they're industry standard. Tools don’t make you better, but they do make you faster.
🔹 Anticipate your client needs
Read between the Slack lines. Solve UX problems clients don’t know they have. Psychic? No. Prepared? Absolutely.
🔹 Show work sooner
Stakeholders don’t need perfection. They need proof you’re making progress. Show messy wires > pretty silence.
Pro tip:
- The template arsenal: Build a library of starting points… wireframe templates, component libraries, color palettes. Why start from zero when you can start from 80%?
- The 15-minute rule: If something takes longer than 15 minutes to find or create, build a system so it takes 2 minutes next time. Your future self will thank you.
- The Friday prep: Every Friday, set up for Monday. Open files, prep art boards, and organize assets. Monday, you show up ready to sprint, not warm up.
3. Be unique with a point of view
The safest UX is also the most forgettable.
Most UX designers create what’s expected. The great ones design what’s necessary, even if it ruffles feathers. Here’s how to become that person:
🔹 Start (uncomfortable) conversations
Challenge conventions. Ask "Why do all banking apps look like they were designed by the same robot?”
🔹 Create work thats opinionated
Your designs should have a perspective, not just follow best practices. Best practices are training wheels, not the bike.
🔹 Make what YOU wish existed
If something frustrates you, fix it. Chances are it frustrates a thousand other users too.
Pro tip:
- The contrarian test: Pick one design convention you hate and create an alternative. Document why the original sucks and how yours is better. Even if it fails, you'll be remembered for trying.
- The personal pain point method: Keep a list of design experiences that annoy you personally. These are goldmines for portfolio projects that actually matter.
- The "what if" sessions: Once a month, ask "What if we did the opposite? What if checkout was fun? What if error messages were helpful? What if forms didn't suck?”
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4. Be a super communicator
Design doesn’t speak for itself. You do.
Great UX designers don’t just build, they translate: business goals → user needs → design rationale. Here’s how to be a good communicator:
🔹 Share progress
Don't wait for stakeholders to ask for updates. Be the designer who over-communicates rather than under-delivers.
🔹 Follow up before they ask
"Just checking in" is what they say. You? You’re already in their inbox before the thought crosses their mind.
🔹 Get good at explaining decisions
Get scary good at explaining why you made specific choices. Not just what you did, but why it's better than the alternatives.
Pro tip:
- The update template: Create a standard format for progress updates: What's done, what's next, what's blocking you, what you need. Same format every time = less thinking, more updating.
- The decision journal: After every design choice, write one sentence explaining why. "Made the CTA blue because red tested 23% worse in our last A/B test." Future you will look like a genius.
- The stakeholder dictionary: Keep notes on how different stakeholders prefer to receive information. Some want details, others want summaries. Some love Slack, others need email. Adapt your communication style to theirs.
5. Be weird and double down
This is where the great things happen. Your weird combination becomes your competitive moat. Here’s how:
🔹 Mash up your hobbies
Love brewing coffee? Streamlining complex processes.
Into film photography? You probably notice details others miss.
Your hobbies aren't distractions, they're design flavor enhancers. Use them.
🔹 Mix unexpected skills
UX + motion design? UX + psychology? UX + K-pop fan community moderation?
Unexpected combos make you a one-person category.
🔹 Own your quirks
Introverted but write hilarious error messages?
Obsessed with grids but decorate everything with cat stickers?
That’s gold. That’s how you get remembered and recommended.
Real example from the trenches:
I know a designer who combined:
- Psychology degree
- Motion design skills
- Japanese aesthetic obsession
- Skateboarding culture knowledge
- Custom keyboard building hobby
This bizarre mix made him perfect for a gaming hardware company that needed someone who understood youth culture, user psychology, smooth animations, and precision manufacturing. His weirdness became his superpower.
Pro tip:
- The 3-circle method:
Draw three circles:
- Things you're great at
- Things you love doing
- Things people will pay for
Where they overlap = your unfair advantage. That’s your weird niche. Own it.
- The “What makes you irreplaceable” list:
Jot down 5 things you can do outside of design tools — storytelling, languages, community-building, beatboxing, whatever.
This is your designer “X-men power set.” Recruiters eat this up.
- The cross-pollination rule:
Spend 10% of your time learning from outside your bubble.
→ Architecture books
→ Tattoo artists on YouTube
→ Stand-up comedy specials
You’ll bring back ideas no other UX designer even thought of.
The uncomfortable truth about “standing out” in UX design
The designers who actually stand out — the ones clients remember, teams rely on, and hiring managers fight for — aren’t thinking about “standing out” at all.
They’re focused on doing better work, solving real problems, and delivering actual results.
They invest time into:
- Delivering consistent value, fast.
- Building compound skills that create leverage over time.
- Solving user problems more effectively than anyone else.
- Letting their results speak for them (so they don’t have to).
Here’s the uncomfortable truth most people won’t say out loud:
Standing out is a side effect of being damn good — not a goal you can chase directly.
It’s like happiness. If you make it your target, it slips away. But if you focus on being useful, improving, and shipping things that matter? Standing out sneaks up on you when you least expect it.
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Your 90-day action plan
This is not a fluff-and-feel-good list.
This is a real, tactical action plan for UX designers who want to stop blending in and start being indispensable. Let’s break it down.
Days 1-30: The speed overhaul
- Create component libraries
- Set up better file organization
- Time your current design process
- Build templates for repetitive work
- Practice explaining decisions quickly
Days 31-60: The communication upgrade
- Start sending weekly project updates
- Create standard templates for handoffs
- Practice pitching ideas in 2 minutes or less
- Ask for feedback on your communication style
Days 61-90: The uniqueness hunt
- Complete the Weird Mix Worksheet
- Research niches where your combo creates value
- Start positioning yourself in those areas
- Create content that shows your unique perspective
The long game: From invisible to inevitable
Standing out in UX isn’t about likes or follows. It’s about becoming the default person for a specific kind of value.
Most designers reading this will nod along, screenshot a few tips, and change nothing.
Don't be like most designers.
Pick one thing from this playbook and implement it this week. Not next month. Not when you have time. This week. Everyone has the same information. Winners are just better at acting on it.
Your move 🍀
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