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Annual industry report

State of design careers.

Community-powered insights on design hiring, compensation, AI adoption, and career sentiment — designers telling each other the truth about the market. No job-board spin.

200
of 500 responses
200+designers have spoken
40% toward goalGoal: 500 responses
Take the survey→
Context & thesis
Traditional design roles are flatlining while PM and engineering hiring surges. As AI reshapes executive expectations, understanding exact demand for specific skills and accurate compensation benchmarks is no longer optional — it is survival.
Data points captured

Hiring trends

Where design roles are opening, closing, and shifting — by region, seniority, and discipline.

Compensation

Salary benchmarks by role, level, geography, and company type.

AI impact

Which tools designers use, which tasks are being replaced, and whether companies are cutting headcount.

Career sentiment

Job security confidence, search timelines, burnout signals, and whether designers are considering leaving.

Who’s in the room
8,000+Members
12Countries
Seed → PublicCompany stage
Junior → VPSeniority range
~8 yrsAvg. experience
Execution timeline
01

Input data

Complete the 8-minute survey covering hiring, pay, AI adoption, and career outlook.

April 2026
02

Analysis & synthesis

We combine your responses with external job market data from other tech companies.

Apr/May 2026
03

Report delivery

Full findings shared with contributors first. Free summary published publicly.

May 2026
Value exchange

Why contribute?

Take the survey→
Early accessReceive the full report before public release.
Comp benchmarksSalary data by specific role, level, and region.
Skill demand dataHard data on which skills and roles command premiums right now.
Voice in narrativeA clear read on whether AI is shrinking design teams or changing them.

Help the room see clearly.

Take the survey→