What junior designers can teach us
A reflection on the lessons experienced designers can learn from those just starting out.
Spending time with junior designers often feels like revisiting my own beginnings. Their questions, their enthusiasm, and their perspective bring me back to what matters in the work.
Seeing problems with fresh eyes
Experience is a gift, but it also narrows your field of view. The longer you work in UX, the more you rely on familiar patterns, frameworks, and mental shortcuts to move quickly (sometimes because you have to). Those are useful, but they can also blind us to possibilities we no longer consider.
Junior designers don’t carry that same filter. They walk into problems without decades of baggage and ask questions others might skip. “What else could this look like?” or “How might a first-time user approach this?” or “Why do I need to do x instead of y?”. Sometimes those questions uncover assumptions the team has been carrying for months without realizing it.
It’s humbling, but also liberating. They remind us that good collaboration doesn’t come from everyone thinking the same way, it comes from allowing each person to see what others no longer can.
The power of curiosity
Curiosity is one of the first qualities to get dulled in fast-moving organizations. Deadlines, backlogs, and stakeholder pressure often push us toward the efficient path. We fall into a rhythm of solving quickly, shipping, and moving on. Too often our P0 features remain unfinished because shifting priorities and unstable roadmaps keep moving the target.
Junior designers often haven’t learned that rhythm yet, and that’s a gift in itself. They’ll spend time exploring, sketching wildly different options, or diving into details others might call “out of scope.” On the surface, it can look inefficient. But their curiosity creates openings: it challenges the team to slow down, to consider alternatives, and to rediscover the joy of exploration.
Collaboration at its best is fueled by that spirit of wonder. Seeing someone genuinely light up about a small design insight is contagious. It pulls the team back to the human side of our work because we should design not just to deliver, but to discover too.
Energy that shifts the team
Every team has a mood. Deadlines, reorgs, and organizational politics weigh on people, and over time, it shows up in the room. The energy of junior designers can reset that balance.
There’s a certain spark when someone celebrates their first shipped feature, experiments with a new prototyping tool, or beams after a usability test goes well. These moments aren’t just individual milestones as they lift the collective spirit. They remind us that design is supposed to feel exciting, that progress is worth celebrating, and that fulfillment is part of doing good work.
Collaboration works best when it’s not only about dividing tasks but also about sharing the spirit of the work. Juniors bring the spark, reminding us to stay enthusiastic, not take ourselves too seriously, and celebrate our wins as a team.
What seniors can take away
For those of us with years in the field, the lesson is simple but powerful: stay open. Junior designers’ questions can push us to revisit assumptions, especially now as AI is reshaping traditional processes and expanding what’s possible in design.
Let their curiosity be a mirror for your own: ask yourself if you’re still exploring, or just executing for the next delivery. Let their energy soften the weight of process and remind you that work can be rewarding.
And if you’re in a leadership role, protect that spark. Create an environment where it’s safe to ask “why,” where new voices are invited to speak, and where exploration is encouraged. Supporting juniors isn’t just about teaching, but it’s about listening, respecting, and learning alongside them.
Takeaways for senior designers and leaders
Stay open to questions: they can surface blind spots you didn’t know were there.
Value curiosity: it’s a powerful antidote to organizational inertia.
Let energy spread: enthusiasm is a team resource, not just an individual trait.
Protect the spark: leadership isn’t about gatekeeping, it’s about creating safety for exploration.
Rethink hiring needs: before defaulting to “we need a senior,” ask whether a junior designer could bring the energy, perspective, and growth potential that the team really needs.
Design isn’t a straight climb from junior to senior to leader. It’s a shared practice, one where everyone has something to give. Junior designers may be new to the industry, but they bring reminders we all need: that curiosity fuels discovery, that fulfillment belongs in the process, and that collaboration is at its best when every voice matters.