The Solo Designer's Reality Check
What no one tells you about working alone
I've been the solo designer on teams for most of my career. I've carried user experiences on my shoulders, made decisions that affected entire user bases, and learned to navigate the unique challenges that come with being the only design voice in the room. What I've discovered is that most of what we're told about working solo is either outdated advice or well-meaning fiction.
Here are the three biggest myths I believed and the realities that actually matter.
Myth #1: "You Need to Be a Generalist"
This advice sounds practical: learn UX research, visual design, prototyping, user testing, information architecture, and interaction design. Be mediocre at everything rather than excellent at something specific.
The Reality: You need to be competent across domains, but absolutely should lean into your strengths. The key isn't knowing everything; it's building systems that help you make good decisions in your weaker areas.
I'm stronger at systematic thinking and accessibility than I am at visual design. Instead of trying to become a visual design expert, I built frameworks for evaluating visual choices, created templates that work across contexts, and used ideas from amazing visual designers I've found on sites like Dribbble. My systematic approach became my competitive advantage, not my limitation.
The most successful solo designers I know have deep expertise in 1-2 areas and reliable systems for everything else. They're not trying to be Renaissance artists. They're building sustainable practices that scale their impact.
Myth #2: "You Have to Work Twice as Hard"
The assumption here is that being solo puts you at a disadvantage. You're outnumbered, outgunned, and overwhelmed. You need to compensate by working longer hours and taking on more responsibility.
The Reality: Being the only designer often gives you more influence over UX decisions, not less. You don't need to work harder; you need to work more systematically and communicate the reasoning behind your decisions clearly to stakeholders.
When you're solo, you're not fighting for a seat at the table—you're already there. Every design decision flows through you, and every user experience choice is yours to make. The challenge isn't getting heard; it's making sure your decisions are sound and your stakeholders understand why they matter.
I've found that solo designers who struggle are usually trying to match the output of design teams rather than leveraging their unique position. Instead of working harder, focus on working with more intention. Build decision-making frameworks. Document your reasoning. Teach stakeholders to think about user experience the way you do.
Myth #3: "You Have to Say Yes to Everything"
This one nearly broke me early in my career. The logic seems sound: you're one person serving an entire organization's design needs, so you need to be responsive to every request, available for every project, helpful with every stakeholder need.
The Reality: Saying yes to everything leads to burnout and mediocre work. It's better to be known for solving specific types of problems exceptionally well than being mediocre at solving everything.
I learned to say no to projects that didn't build toward something larger. I started asking: "Does this align with our users' most important needs? Does it build on systems we've already created? Will it teach me something that makes me better at serving this organization?"
The projects I declined weren't necessarily bad—they just weren't the right projects for me to take on. By being more selective, I could dedicate more attention to the work that actually moved the needle for users and the business.
The Realities No One Mentions
But here's what I wish someone had told me about the actual day-to-day experience of working solo:
Imposter syndrome hits differently. When you're solo, there's no one to validate your approach in real-time. You'll second-guess solid design choices simply because no one else confirmed they were right. You develop internal confidence that feels harder-earned because it's not externally reinforced. This isn't a weakness; it's the price of independent judgment. The confidence you build is yours alone, which makes it more resilient.
Decision fatigue is your biggest enemy. You won't burn out from design work. You'll burn out from making 50 micro-decisions that design teams would normally distribute. Should this button be primary or secondary? How much spacing feels right here? What happens on mobile? Each decision seems small, but they compound into mental exhaustion. The solution is creating decision frameworks that turn these micro-choices into systematic responses.
"Quick design changes" are never quick. Stakeholders will think visual tweaks take five minutes of work. In reality, changing a button means considering responsive behavior, accessibility implications, user flow impact, and how it affects three other screens. You'll spend more time explaining why changes aren't simple than actually making the changes. Learning to communicate the invisible complexity of design decisions becomes a core skill.
Success is measured by invisible work. Your best outcomes happen when users don't notice the design at all and just accomplish their goals smoothly. Stakeholders notice visual changes but miss interaction improvements. You'll get praise for redesigning a header but not for the accessibility fixes that actually helped users complete tasks. This can feel thankless until you realize that invisible success is the highest form of design mastery.
What I Know Now
The solo design path isn't harder or easier than working on teams. It's just different. Once you build systems for decision-making, frameworks for stakeholder communication, and clarity about what success looks like, you realize you're not disadvantaged. You're strategically positioned.
You get to shape entire user experiences. Your decisions have immediate impact. You're building systems that serve real people solving real problems. You're not just designing interfaces; you're designing the structure that makes good design decisions possible.
The work is challenging, but it's the kind of challenge that builds the exact skills the industry needs most: systematic thinking, clear communication, and the ability to bridge user needs with business goals.
To the designer about to take that first solo role or the one already in the thick of it: trust your instincts, build your systems, and remember that the best design work often happens when someone cares enough to get the details right. When you're solo, that someone is you.
What's been your experience working as a solo designer? What realities surprised you most? I'd love to hear your perspective in the comments.