The wisdom of outliers
4 Lessons I’d Share With Every Designer Right Now
BY SUZI CONNOR
Publishined 08.14.25
The design industry is shifting...
It’s about owning your creativity, protecting your time, and building a future that pays you back.
This is what it looks like to lead a life and business by design.
I’ve been reflecting on what it means to lead, really lead, through change.
Not just through trend cycles or client budgets, but through real tipping points that shift culture, reshape business, and challenge everything we thought we knew about creativity.
I’ve lived through five of those shifts already—from 9/11 to the 2008 recession, from the rise of social media to COVID, and now, the AI era that’s rewriting everything again.
And what I’ve realized is this:
The most powerful designers aren’t just creative.
They’re intelligent. Strategic. Systemic. Resilient.
They're Outliers
It’s about timing, pattern recognition, and the quiet clarity to know:
“I’m not here to keep up. I’m here to tip the scale.”
So here are four core truths I’ve shared recently on LinkedIn, and I believe every design professional deserves to hear them:
1. You’re not just a designer—you’re a curator.
And you always have been. Design Intelligence is your ability to lead with intuition, context, and curation. It’s not just about style. It’s about what lasts.
2. Tipping points will either sharpen you or silence you.
If you’ve lived through 2001, 2008, or 2020, congratulations. You already know how to adapt. The key now is to protect your voice and stay rooted while the world shifts again.
3. The future belongs to designers who lead with systems.
Aesthetics will always matter. But it won’t sustain you. Freedom comes from building structures that support your genius and protect your time.
4. Your voice is your legacy. Use it.
I spent too many years trying to fit in. Trying to be “palatable,” quiet, accommodating. But leadership rarely looks like permission. It looks like conviction.
To the younger version of ourselves, the ones with no roadmap, we were never “too much.” We were just early.
This is just the beginning of what I’ll be unpacking in the coming months.
Because the truth is: we’re at another industry inflection point.
And I believe the ones bold enough to step forward now, to design boldly, lead intentionally, and speak with power, will shape what comes next.
If you’ve ever felt like an Outlier too, stay close. More coming soon!
With clarity, courage, and Design Intelligence,
Suzi
