Why mid-level designers in India often feel stuck

Sometimes, being a mid-level designer in India feels like running on a treadmill. You hustle, you iterate, you keep learning, but the job offer or recognition doesn’t arrive fast enough. Exams, internships, starting salaries all felt like checkpoints. But after a few years, you begin to ask yourself: Am I stuck in the middle rung?

The emotional toll is real. You’re trying to prove design matters in teams that still see it as a nice-to-have. You’ve gained some experience, maybe even a portfolio, and yet, clients or bosses still tell you, “Can’t we just get a cheap UI designer instead?”

What’s really holding us back

1. Design is still under-valued in businesses
In India, design is often seen as decoration, not strategy. I’ve repeatedly heard, “let’s just get this 2 p.m. deadline design logged.” sound familiar?

2. Education wasn’t built for collaboration
Most colleges still focus on solo projects. We graduate with strong figma skills, sure. But not the collaboration, live criticism, or business thinking needed to hit the ground running.

3. Overworked, undersized design teams
Some Indian startups run with just 3–5 designers. That’s not a team. It’s a lean survival league. That means late-night revisions, no ux testing, and no bandwidth to actually build something memorable.

4. We settle too soon
What looks like a “safe job” early can become a comfort trap. Suddenly the dream job turned into check-in-and-check-out daily grind. And the next path forward starts to feel distant.

What you can do to break the cycle

• Lead a small experiment. if nobody calls ux research in your team, run a quick user test. insights spark credibility.

• Push one monthly idea. a tiny brand tweak, a voice shift in copy, even a micro-interaction tweak. prove that design = results.

• Partner with your pm or cx lead. not to ask permission, but to co-design. shared ownership builds muscle.

• Network outside India. talking with global designers shows how much more there is, and builds a sense of what impact design could be.

• Share the story early and often. post snippets of your thinking, not just the pixel-perfect screenshot, and invite discussion.

We’re in this together

You’re not alone if your linkedin feed shows job posts, advice, even industry snark makes you want to scream "yes, but show me permission to practice." It’s not just noise. It’s a signal: people are watching, wondering if design can be a real career here.

Which of these challenges do you feel most? lack of collaboration? overwork? value disconnect? Tell me on [LinkedIn, where we started this conversation]. Let’s support each other with honesty and help one another navigate through.

Quick takeaway

Mid-level designers in India are not lost. They’re under-equipped for systemic gaps. The control we have: showing the strategy in our design, demanding ownership of ideas, and learning to tell stories, not just build deliverables.

Let’s keep climbing. Not alone, but together.