What if experience is becoming a disadvantage? Over the past month or so, I’ve been having some pretty gnarly conversations about the state of the design industry, especially when it comes to hiring and firing. Spend just a short amount of time online and you’ll find stories of rising unemployment, teams being culled, and junior designers struggling to find their first job. It’s savage. I recently heard a crazy statistic from a trusted friend that less than 5% of the design industry is made up of people aged between 20 and 25 . . . a frighteningly accurate reflection of the state of panic we currently find ourselves in. And anyone with a bit of foresight can see the knock-on effect. If we stop giving young designers the opportunity to enter our industry, who becomes the future custodians of it? But that’s not what I want to talk about today. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/06\/JamesMartinPromoLogo_1280x720.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/06\/JamesMartinPromoLogo.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cem\u003EMade By James\u003C\/em\u003E","dek":"Want to build a recognizable reputation in your industry? Head to James Martin’s website, sign up for his newsletter, and stay informed about his upcoming events, workshops, and more. For information, go to themadebyjames.com.","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/themadebyjames.com","theme":{"bg":"#000000","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#3b3f46","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91563943,"imageMobileId":91563950,"shareable":false,"slug":"","wpCssClasses":""}} While we are rightly incredibly worried about the people struggling to get into the design industry, I think we’ve been so busy looking at the bottom of the ladder that we haven’t no

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