How Do You Survive as a UX Team of One?

I’ve been working in design for 5 years now, and throughout my career, I’ve always been a design team of one.

In this article, I’ll share how to survive and grow as a solo designer.

Before we dive in, let’s take a moment to understand the pros and cons of being a team of one.

Cons

• No peer learning
• High workload pressure
• Limited time to upskill
• Difficulty in maintaining a systematic design process

Pros

• Complete ownership of the product
• High team dependability, with lower layoff risk
• Direct collaboration with key team members
• A deeper understanding of the business

Feel free to add more in the comments if I missed anything.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s explore how to tackle these cons with real-life examples.

1. No Peer Learning

One of the biggest downsides of being a solo designer is the lack of peer learning. I briefly worked with a senior designer during my career, and I learned a lot during that time. But how do you overcome this when you’re on your own?