Mentioned

• Medium’s Snowflake Growth Tool (original GitHub repo) 
• Stanford Product Design Rubric (Stanford Design Program)
• I, X and T shaped Designers
• Book: Radical Candor by Kim Scott
• Book: The Visual MBA (or Creative MBA — verify the exact title)
• Short Story: The Swimmer by John Cheever
• Newsletter: Good Work by Joe Alterio – goodwork.is

Topics Discussed

•  Growth ladders: how to define and measure designer growth
•  Craft vs. Influence vs. Ownership vs. Communication vs. Engagement
•  Developing fair, non-linear growth frameworks (including a Medium-inspired "Snowflake Tool")
•  Challenges of upper-level design leadership (craft ≠ promotion criteria)
•  Managing biases and subjectivity in design career advancement
•  Importance of presence and communication (even on Slack!)
•  Transitioning from craft-focused design to diplomacy, storytelling, and team leadership
•  Reflection on the potential "end of an era" for traditional product design careers
•  Life reflections: parenting, aging, mortality, and evolving beyond professional identity
• 🎬 Sneak peek: Next season’s theme — Top 10 Design Films exploration!

Pull Quotes

• "At the upper levels, it's not about pixels anymore — it's about affecting change within other human beings." — Joe
• "Presence matters. Even in Slack. It’s visibility, engagement, and political capital." — Brian
• "We’ve reached the end of something... but the beginning of something else." — Brian
• "Growth isn’t just learning new tools — it’s learning how to move people and systems." — Joe

📣 Shout-outs

To everyone who has listened across these 50 episodes — thank you for helping us grow. To our future selves: onward to new creative adventures (and maybe even bagel making).

Connect with Joe & Brian

• Website: designer.fm
• Email: [email protected]
• Please like, subscribe, and give us any feedback!

Outro music: Bridge to Hawaii by Tacocat
 

Got something to say to us, good, bad or ugly? You can always email us at [email protected]