David Olusegun

Hi 👋🏿

I’m David. I’m driven by faith and committed to purpose. My work is simple: build and invest in consumer brands that make lives better and leave a positive legacy.

For over a decade, I’ve worked across CPG, entertainment, and media with global players.

I'm also privileged to advise founders and corporations on building products that truly serve people and I speak on faith, entrepreneurship and brand leadership with a focus on real-world impact and integrity.

Honoured to be recognised by Powerful Media, Music Week, KPMG Entrepreneur of the Year, HSBC x Black Business Week Top Entrepreneur and the UK’s Top 100 African Business Leaders, but the mission stays the same: help brands serve people, do good with excellence and integrity and honour God.

Reach My Team👇🏾

📧 Speaking & Commercial: adam@howtobeiconic.co
📧 Press Enquiries: press@howtobeiconic.co

Co-Founder & Co-CEO

CCV is a venture builder that partners with purpose-driven creators to launch global CPG brands. We are a creative-led team with strong end-to-end commercial expertise that provides the complete infrastructure to launch, build and scale these pioneering brands.

Our goal is to give our clients the opportunity to build something bigger than their personal brand, receive ownership rather than just another endorsement deal and leverage their following into a long-term future through building impactful businesses.

Our operating model is to work together with the creator as a co-founding team and enable them with the right infrastructure, tools, support, and capital. We love working with creators to change the world, one brand at a time. We believe it’s time we build businesses that shift the power paradigm to the hands of the creators. It’s what gets us up in the morning, it’s in our DNA and we are irretrievably obsessed with collective success by working with CCV you’ll be working with vested partners committed to global success!

This is your reminder that Jesus loves you.
 
Not someday. Not when you’re perfect. Not when you surrender your life to Him.

He always has, and He always will.

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” — Romans 5:8

No throne is higher. No name is greater. No power is stronger.

Jesus is King forever.

“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” ~ Philippians 2:10–11

The name of Jesus is more than a name; it’s salvation, it’s power, it’s life.

At the name of Jesus, chains break, sickness flees, and hope rises. There is no other name that saves like His.

Call on Him and find life, peace, and victory.

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” – Acts 4:12

I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but God will never walk away from you. 

Even in the moments when things feel quiet, confusing, or heavy, His presence has never left your side. 

When I was mourning my brother, there were moments I thought God was distant.

But remember what Jesus said in John 16:33 — “In this world you will have trouble.” Even in the middle of that pain, God carried me through that phase.

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Hebrews 13:5

Building and Investing in Purpose-Driven Consumer Brands | Angel Investor | Keynote Speaker

I wrote my own obituary yesterday, and it made my skin crawl. 

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." - Psalm 90:12

I wrote it, not because I'm morbid and not because I'm planning to go anywhere. 

But because I needed to see what my life would look like if I died today, and what I want it to look like when I actually do.

Reading it made me feel sick. But it was honest.

Then I wrote the obituary I want. 
The one that reflects who I'm becoming, not who I've been. 
The one that makes my time on earth matter.

Today, you're going to do the same.

Your obituary is the ultimate business plan. It's the clearest possible statement of what actually matters. 

It's impossible to read without confronting the gap between who you are and who you could be.

When you truly accept that you're going to die, not someday, but definitely, you start making different decisions. 

Urgent decisions. Meaningful decisions.
You stop waiting for permission and start taking action.

Let me show you two obituaries. 

Both for the same person. Both are completely accurate. Both written by someone who knew them intimately themselves.

Click here to find it in the full issue of this week's newsletter: https://lnkd.in/edWMUN65

“African Designers are Greedy”
 
 I saw a viral video a few weeks ago where a lady called out the industry, claiming that designers living on the continent have no business charging $10,000 and above.

But here’s the reality: We are witnessing the birth of the African Luxury Renaissance. 

For too long, the world (and even our own) expected African craftsmanship to be cheap because it was "local." 

We celebrated European houses charging $50k for couture while expecting African artisans to work for peanuts.

The idea that African excellence should be "affordable" by default is a mindset we need to outgrow. 

African fashion is an investment in art, heritage, and a thriving economy. 

Swipe through to see the real numbers behind the African fashion industry and why the "greedy" narrative just doesn't hold up statistically.

Is African Fashion Too Expensive?

A husband-and-wife team's brand just got acquired by Henkel for $693M 

➡️ The brand: Not Your Mother's Haircare 
➡️ The founders: Rocky and Bethany Pagliarulo
➡️ The journey: 2010 launch → 2019 PE investment → 2025 exit at $693M
➡️ The revenue: $210M (growing 40% annually)

They spotted a gap most legacy brands ignored: Young women wanted products that felt cool and modern, but still affordable.

Not clinical. Not luxury. Not boring.

So they built directly into that white space.

They leaned early into categories like dry shampoo, long before it became mainstream, and packaged it with bold branding that stood out on crowded shelves like Walmart and Target.

While legacy players were busy protecting their premium lines, Not Your Mother's Haircare quietly became the brand that younger consumers actually reached for.

Now here’s what makes this fascinating: the acquisition price was never disclosed. 

Barclays estimated $927M at 4.4x revenue. Industry sources said that was wrong.

Check my newsletter to see how I reverse-engineered the actual deal value.

Because buried in the math is a masterclass in how to build a mass-market consumer brand that trades at premium multiples whilst selling at Walmart for $5.99.

Link: https://lnkd.in/ezXf-D42

4 out of the 5 fastest-growing economies in the world right now are in Africa.

Yet Africa receives less than 3% of global private equity flow.

Why the disconnect?

Most global capital is still deployed based on 20th-century perceptions of volatility. 

But look closer at the "Value Drivers" behind these numbers:

✅ Resource Monetisation: Guinea isn't just growing; it's unlocking the Simandou iron ore deposit—the world's largest untapped high-grade reserve.

✅ Infrastructure Catalysts: In Uganda, growth is anchored by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), creating a massive regional multiplier effect.

✅ The "Base Effect" Rebound: While countries like South Sudan and Sudan are recovering from deep contractions, the speed of their return signals a resilient underlying economic pulse.

The Africa Risk Premium is often more about a lack of data and local expertise than it is about actual default probability.

The real alpha in the next decade won't be found in saturated Western markets. It will be found in the delta between perceived risk and actual expansion.

The engine of global growth has moved.

Follow me on X to see more African business and investment insights: https://lnkd.in/emaBdY_4

You need to hear this...Comfort Will Steal Your Greatness!!

At 5 AM, I was scrolling through my phone (bad habit, I know) when I came across a post by Victor Osimhen.

It started with four words that made my chest tight: "Nobody should know my name."

Then he told his story. 

Here's a man who grew up next to the biggest landfill in Africa. 

Who searched through toxic waste to find mismatched football boots. 

Who sold water bottles in Lagos traffic to help his family eat. 

Who slept in churches because his roof was caving in.

And he said nobody should know his name.

But I know his name. You know his name. Millions know his name because he refused to let his circumstances define his ceiling.

"But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first." - Matthew 19:30

Click on this link to read of how Victor Osimhen came from the bottom to the top: https://lnkd.in/ecTuFfHa

The Business Idea You Dismissed as "Too Simple" Is Making Someone else Millions
 
"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." - 1 Corinthians 1:27

Three years ago, my friend had an idea.

"What if I just helped people clean their Airbnbs between guests? Like, that's it. Show up, clean, restock, leave."

I told him it was too simple. Too basic. 

"Anyone can clean. Where's the innovation? Where's the disruption? Where's the intellectual property?"

He shrugged and started anyway.

Last month, James sold his Airbnb cleaning business for £2.3 million.

You've been brainwashed into thinking business ideas need to be complicated to be valuable. 

That they need to involve AI, blockchain, or some revolutionary technology nobody's thought of yet.

So you dismiss the simple ideas.

Click on the link in my comments to read the full newsletter where I show you some "too simple" businesses that are making their owners wealthy.

Most celebrity brands fail within 18 months. Here's why.

Last week Masibu Manima and I hosted an event for talent managers on how celebrities and influencers should be structuring their brand deals, and how to build a celeb-led CPG brand with a long-term view, not just a quick launch.

We broke down what I call the 18-month cliff, the point where most celeb brands quietly die because the infrastructure, team, and deal structure weren't built to last.

I shared a framework on how to avoid it. How to build a brand that actually survives beyond the hype cycle.

If you want a link to the presentation, drop "CLIFF" in the comments. Must be following for me to send.

Someone HAS to tell you this: Aiming Small Is Keeping You Small.

Last month, I had coffee with two entrepreneurs. 

Both wanted to start businesses. Both had similar skills and resources.

➡️ Entrepreneur A: "I want to build a small consultancy. Maybe make £100K annually. Keep it realistic, you know?"

➡️ Entrepreneur B: "I want to dominate the UK market and expand globally. I'm thinking £10M revenue within five years."

Guess who attracted top talent? 
Guess who got investment meetings? 
Guess who the media wanted to interview?

Entrepreneur B. Every time.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us..." - Ephesians 3:20

The Three Reasons People Choose Small Goals
❌ Reason 1: Fear of Embarrassment
"What if I say I want £10M and only make £1M? People will think I failed."
But £1M is still 10x more than the person who aimed for £100K and hit it perfectly.


❌ Reason 2: Imposter Syndrome
"Who am I to think I can build something massive?"
But who is anyone? Every massive success story started with someone who had no business succeeding at that level.


❌ Reason 3: Lack of Faith
"I don't really believe it's possible."
Then it isn't. Your goals are predictions of your future. If you can't believe it, you can't achieve it.

You think aiming small is safer. It's not. It's more dangerous.

Impossible goals are often easier to achieve than realistic ones.

Read the latest issue of my newsletter to learn the logic behind impossible goals and get the Impossible Goal Framework for yourself. 

Link: https://lnkd.in/ewUyVrNa

African beauty and personal care is currently a $10B+ market, and it is growing at an annual rate of 8%.

For a long time, there was a disconnect.

The market was dominated by global conglomerates that exported products designed for European winters or North American humidity.

Leaving African consumers to "make do" with formulations that didn't account for:
➡️ Melanin-rich skin and its specific relationship with hyperpigmentation and sun protection.
➡️ High-porosity, textured hair that requires intense moisture, not just "cleaning."
➡️ Sub-Saharan climates where dust, heat, and humidity demand entirely different chemistry.

The tide has officially shifted.

We are seeing the rise of A-Beauty: a new generation of African-built brands that aren't just "selling" to Africans, they are solving for them. 

These founders are merging ancestral wisdom with modern clinical science to create a new gold standard:

✅ Tailored Formulations: Brands like Uncover are fusing K-Beauty technology with African botanicals (like baobab and rooibos) to target acne and hyperpigmentation in tropical climates.

✅ Ingredient Sovereignty: We’ve moved past just exporting raw shea butter and marula oil. Brands like Suki Suki Naturals and 54 Thrones are processing these "miracle ingredients" on-soil, keeping the value and the efficacy within the continent.

✅ Inclusive Innovation: Products like "invisible" sunscreens that leave zero white cast on dark skin and scalp-care systems for braided hair are no longer "niche" requests. They are the market drivers.

The whitespace is enormous. The founders are here. The data is undeniable. 

I’m currently writing a whitepaper on this space. 
If you’d like me to send it once it’s out, let me know in the comments.

Why Nestlé just signed the biggest partnership in KitKat Chocolatory’s history. 

If you haven’t seen the news: KitKat is now the Official Chocolate Bar of Formula 1. 

To celebrate, Nestlé is launching a world-first: A chocolate KitKat shaped like an F1 racing car, alongside a new "marbled" Chunky Caramel bar.

At first glance, it’s a fun co-branding exercise for the 2026 season. 

But if you look closer at the UK market, it’s a masterclass in Regulatory Arbitrage. 

The Backdrop: On January 5, 2026, the UK officially banned HFSS (High Fat, Salt, Sugar) ads online and before 9 PM on TV. 

For most CPG brands, this is a crisis. For Nestlé, it is a tactical shift.

1️⃣ The Sponsorship Loophole: By becoming the Official Chocolate Bar of Formula 1, KitKat bypasses the digital ad ban. You can’t "boost" a post of a chocolate bar, but you can put a logo on a car viewed by 800 million people. If you can’t buy the ad slot, you buy the sport.

2️⃣ The Halo Strategy: Notice the rise of Yorkie Crème Desserts? They are HFSS-compliant. This means they can be advertised all day long. They keep the "Yorkie" brand relevant and visible, creating a "Halo Effect" that drives sales for the entire (non-compliant) chocolate range.

The Lesson for 2026: In a world of increasing regulation, the Chief Marketing Officer needs to think like a Chief Legal Officer.

Marketing is no longer just about "who has the best creative." It’s about who understands the rules well enough to play around them.

The FMCG playbook has changed: 
❌ Product Marketing 
✅ Lifestyle Association
✅ Brand Haloing.

Nike and adidas Lost 3% of Global Market Share to "Niche" Specialists (On, HOKA) In Just 5 Years.

Why is Nike struggling while SHEIN and Hermès are winning? 

It’s called the Barbell Economy. 

The "Bell Curve" of the 20th century has snapped in half.

The data is clear:
 ✅ Utility wins on Algorithm: If it’s a commodity, I want it at the floor price, delivered yesterday.
 ✅ Luxury wins on Friction: If it’s a dream, I want the heritage, the scarcity, and the "hard-to-get" factor.

The brands currently "collapsing" are the ones stuck in the centre, the ones that rely on a middle-class disposable income that is being squeezed out of existence.

Average is now the most expensive strategy you can have.

The Collapse of The Middle Brand

Last week, I had the privilege of attending a dinner hosted by the Black British Initiative with Darren Miller and Lord Dr Michael Hastings CBE, and the conversation left a real mark on me.

Hearing more about what they're building with MBA 30 alongside SOAS University of London was truly inspiring. But it also brought a hard truth into sharp focus.

The majority of Black founders in the UK hit a revenue ceiling of just £25k per year. Let that sink in.

Coutts published a study showing that if Black founders had the same access to capital, networks, and opportunities as everyone else, they would contribute an additional £75 billion to the UK economy.

This isn't just a statistic. This is a call to action.

We need to come together. We need to work more intentionally to support one another, building up our community, strengthening our businesses, and creating the conditions for Black founders to not just survive, but thrive.

The potential is there. The talent is there. What's missing is the infrastructure of support, access, and belief.

Let's change that.

#BlackFounders #BlackBritishInitiative #MBA30 #SOAS #UKBusiness #Entrepreneurship #CommunityBuilding #EconomicEmpowerment

The $769M Popcorn Deal: How The Hershey Company Quietly Made One of the Smartest Acquisitions of 2025.

So whilst everyone was obsessing over Mars buying Kellanova for $36 billion and Nestlé snapping up Vital Proteins, The Hershey Company quietly closed a deal that might be the actual sleeper hit of 2025.

➡️ The acquisition: LesserEvil Brand Snack Co. (organic popcorn brand)

➡️ The price: $769 million cash upfront + up to $200 million earnout

➡️ The headline multiple: 3.2x revenue (or 4.0x, if earn-out hits)

For context: This is the 27th largest consumer M&A deal of 2025 according to Iris data.

Hershey bought a $242 million revenue organic snack brand at 3.2x sales in a market where “better-for-you” brands were trading at 5-8x revenue just two years ago.

Hershey structured the deal so brilliantly that they’re only assigning a 25% probability to paying the full earnout—meaning they got premium downside protection whilst giving sellers upside optionality.

Check out my newsletter to see what the SEC filings actually reveal—and why LesserEvil Brand Snack Co. might be the most underrated acquisition of the year.

Link: https://lnkd.in/eaG8zNuq

The Beauty Industry’s Global Growth Is Slowing Down Really Fast But Not the Way You Think.

We’ve moved from the post-pandemic 8% growth spikes to a more sober 4% through 2030. 

But if you look closer, people aren't spending less on their appearance; they are just spending differently.

The shift? 

The Mainstreaming of Aesthetic Treatments.

Non-surgical procedures like Botox, dermal fillers and laser treatments are now becoming a core part of modern beauty routines.

Here is why the $441B beauty market is shifting its weight:

✅ The Trade Down to Trade Up Strategy: Consumers are becoming value-first, not just price-conscious. People are swapping their $80 luxury face creams for $15 drugstore staples. 
Why? To save that "found money" for a $600 skin booster or Polynucleotide treatment.

✅ The Instagram Face (overfilled, frozen, identical) is officially dead. In 2026, the trend is High-Fidelity Aesthetics.
• The Goal: Undetectability.
• The Tech: Bio-stimulators and exosomes that tell your cells to work harder, rather than just filling a gap with volume. 

✅ Aesthetic clinics aren't just for the 45+ demographic anymore. Gen Z and Millennials are entering the market earlier, but with a different mindset: Prevention. They view skin health as a long-term asset to be managed, not a problem to be fixed once it breaks.

As the hype of celebrity brands and viral TikTok products fades, the winners will be the brands offering proven efficacy.

How David Beckham and a DNA Testing Company Just Disrupted the Entire Wellness Industry

David Beckham and a Hong Kong health-tech company quietly built something that went from zero to $100 million in annualized recurring revenue in 11 months.

Not 11 quarters. Not 11 years. Eleven months.

➡️ The product: IM8 a red octagonal container with 92 ingredients in one powder that replaces your entire supplement cabinet.

➡️ The company: Prenetics, a publicly-traded health sciences company (NASDAQ: PRE) that pivoted from COVID testing to consumer wellness.

➡️ The result: One of the fastest-growing consumer health brands in history, now sold in 30+ countries, with Aryna Sabalenka (world #1 tennis player) as an investor-partner after becoming a fan of the product.

In February 2026, Prenetics sold its remaining non-IM8 assets (including a $70 million stake in Insighta Limited to Tencent) to go all-in on IM8 with $171 million in liquidity and zero debt.

A company that was doing COVID testing 18 months ago just raised more cash than most supplement brands will see in their lifetime and they’re using it to come after AG1, Ritual, and every other premium supplement brand.

Check out my newsletter to see what’s actually happening here because buried in this story is the blueprint for how to launch a premium consumable brand in 2026, and why the supplement industry is about to have its “Netflix vs. Blockbuster” moment.

Link in comments⬇️

What an evening. This week I had the privilege of attending a private Nigerian Diaspora reception at the Institute of Directors (IoD)  hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ahead of President Tinubu's historic state visit to the UK, the first by a Nigerian president in 37 years.

It was an honour to be in the room with the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, alongside diaspora business leaders, diplomats, and community builders shaping the UK-Nigeria corridor.

The Nigerian diaspora isn't just a community. It's a distribution channel. A talent pipeline. A cultural bridge. And increasingly, an economic engine that both Nigeria and the UK must take seriously.

President Tinubu's 4D Doctrine: Demography, Development, Diaspora, and Democracy, puts this front and centre. 

The opportunity for those of us building at this intersection has never been greater.

Grateful for the evening. Energised for what's ahead.

#NigerianDiaspora #UKNigeria #StateVisit #Consumer #Investment #AiyeGrowthVentures

Pavle Lucic

Senior UI/UX Designer @ Toptal | Prototyping, Branding, UI Development

I am a Senior UI/UX Designer at Toptal, a network of the world's top 3% of software engineering, design, and finance talent. With over 10 years of experience in the design industry, I have a proven track record of creating visually engaging and user-friendly interfaces for in-car navigation systems, SaaS apps, and marketing websites.

My background in business and economics gives me a unique perspective on how to design UX and UI that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also functional, efficient, and user-friendly. I am passionate about solving complex problems, collaborating with diverse teams, and learning new skills. I am also Adwords Search Certified, which demonstrates my ability to optimize the online presence and performance of my clients. My goal is to help tech companies increase their revenue by improving the user experience of their products.

Senior UI/UX Desiger

2 tools that will replace entire product teams in 2026

(designers can do the development now)

1/ Claude → Your thinking layer 
↳ Industry analysis in 15 minutes 
↳ Competitive breakdowns in 20 minutes
↳ User journeys mapped instantly
↳ Feature priorities without PMs 
↳ Strategy without strategists

2/ Figma → Your design AND development layer 
↳ Systems, not screens 
↳ Components that scale 
↳ Figma to code pipelines 
↳ AI-assisted building 
↳ Ship without developers

Old model: 

PM + Strategist + Designer + Developer 4 people. 
4 weeks. 4 handoffs.

New model: 

Designer + Claude + Figma 1 person. 
2 days. 0 handoffs.

Strategy. Design. Development. One designer.

The handoff era is over.

Repost this ♻️ if you're building this way.

P.S. Are you still handing off or already shipping?

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Senior UI/UX Designer

Senior UX Designer

UI / UX designer & UI Developer

Visual Designer

UI/UX Designer

Senior UI/UX Product Designer | UX Strategy | Figma

English

Serbian

Every designer should SAVE this Accessibility Checklist: 

1. Images include alt text
2. Buttons have clear labels
3. Body text is 16px or larger
4. Text contrast is at least 4.5:1
5. Click targets are minimum 44px
6. Forms show clear error messages
7. Icons are never used without labels
8. Navigation works with keyboard only
9. Animations can be reduced or disabled
10. Focus states are visible for keyboard users

Follow this checklist, and you'r already ahead of 90% of products online.

Accessible design isn’t complicated.
It’s just intentional.

Save this post for your next UI review.

(Repost for other designers ♻️)

P.S. Which one do you check last before shipping a design?

Most recruiters ask designers:

“Do you have experience in our specific industry?”

I think the better question is:

Can they understand the audience?
Can they define the real problem?
Can they bring a fresh point of view?

They’re hired to:

Think deeper.
Observe better.
Design smarter.

Industry knowledge is useful. Sure.

But if that’s your no. 1 hiring filter...

Chances are: you’ll get familiar ideas, safer choices, and the same patterns your competitors already use.

Sometimes, the best designer for the job is the one who is not stuck inside the industry bubble.

Because fresh eyes catch what insiders stop noticing.
Great design is not about knowing the category best.

It’s about understanding people best.

P.S. What matters more: industry experience or design thinking?

Here's a proven way to stand out as a UX designer in 2026.

(Without adding another certification to your wall)

Stop focusing on "designing screens". 
Focus on "designing outcomes".

When you present work to stakeholders?

Your job is not to show how pretty it looks. 
It's to show why it matters.

This is the main "metric" of everything you design"

1. User pain points → Connect them to cost
2. Redesigns → Show the numbers behind them
3. They need a solution → Be their strategic partner

Stop hiding behind "I'm just the designer".

Share the "why" → Not just the "what"
This builds irrevocable trust.

Don't just push pixels. 
Push thinking. 

Make sure your seat at the table stays. 

When restructuring comes? 
(And it will) You'll still be there.

Pretty? No. → "Impactful". Always.

(Repost this for your network ♻️)

P.S. Do you notice some designers hiding behind Figma files? Avoiding the business conversation entirely?

Every time I share this advice, some designers get mad. 

“Users do judge products visually”
“The UI matters more than ever now”
“Brand perception starts with visuals”

My advice: Stop using UI and UX like they mean the same thing.

Chances are: Your interface matters a lot.
Chances are: Your user experience matters even more.

(Fun fact: A product can look amazing and still frustrate users)

So...

If you want better product discussions
If you want smarter design decisions
If you want to solve the right problems

Separate UI from UX. (Thank me later)

P.S. Don’t get mad. ✌️

UX vs UX

Junior designers add design elements. 

But senior designers remove.

One rule that fixed 80% of my designs:

Take your finished screen.
Start deleting things. One by one.

In practice:

That extra icon? Remove.
That extra border? Remove.
That extra shadow? Remove.

Keep going until something breaks. Stop there.

Everything you deleted before that? Never needed.

Took me years to trust subtraction over addition. 
Now it's the first thing I do on every project.

💾 Save this for your next design review.

P.S. What element do you always overuse?

For years, they told us:

Learn computers. Avoid manual work.

Now?

AI is writing emails.
Designing logos.
Making presentations.
Even coding.

Meanwhile…

The plumber is somewhere chilling like:
“Good luck teaching ChatGPT to fix your bathroom.” 🙂

Funny times, friends.

The “safe” jobs suddenly don’t feel that safe.
And the jobs people looked down on?
They’re looking very… employed.

P.S. Which non-computer job is winning the AI era? 😂

Unpopular opinion: Figma is the last tool you should open.

Not the first.

Here's the process I use for every project:

Phase 1 → Discovery (1 week)
Research. Competitors. Customer Journey.
↳ You can't solve what you don't understand.

Phase 2 → Prototyping (2 weeks)
Architecture. Flows. Wireframes. Testing.
↳ You can't design what you haven't structured.

Phase 3 → Design (5 weeks)
UI Concepts. Final UI. UI Kit. Handoff.
↳ Now you design. Not before.

8 weeks total. 

"But that's too slow."
No. 

Redesigning a product 3 times because you skipped research is slow. 

Arguing with devs because there's no handoff doc is slow. 
Rebuilding flows because nobody tested the wireframe is slow.

Process isn't slow.

Skipping process is slow.

(Save + Repost for others ♻️)

P.S. Do you follow a process or wing it?

Being great at design is not enough.

You can be very skilled...and still lose the project.

What clients remember is not just:

1. Your portfolio
2. Your systems
3. Your creative taste

They also remember:

1. How you handled feedback
2. How easy it was to build with you
3. How safe it felt to disagree with you

Design does not happen in isolation. It happens through conversations.

Through trust.
Through people.
Through uncertainty.

The best designers don’t just push pixels. They move people.

P.S. People don’t just remember the final design. They remember what it felt like to get there. 😊

P.P.S.  Design is not just visual. It’s human ♻️

"Good designers have a natural eye for color."

No they don't.

They have a system.

And most of them use the same one:
60-30-10.

60% of the screen is one neutral 
30% is one supporting tone 
10% is one accent

It's simple a ratio.

You could pick ugly colors and still make a clean UI with this rule.
You could pick beautiful colors and still make a mess without it.

The "eye" people talk about? It's pattern recognition.

And pattern recognition comes from systems.
Not talent.

Start with the system.

♻️ Repost or Save if you're tired of the "natural talent" myth.

P.S. Talent or system what matters more? 👇

I've been studying dark UX patterns for a while now.

Here's everything I see on one Temu product card:

"Deal" badge → urgency without a deadline
"17K+ sold" → social proof replacing analysis
1,180 reviews → volume creating false authority
Fake "original" price → anchoring your perception
Cart icon right next to the price → reducing friction
Product image with dimensions → implying precision
Everything above the fold → no scrolling needed to buy
Percentage shown in orange → framing savings over cost

8 design decisions.

But...0 of them are about helping you choose.
All of them are about helping you click.

Feel free to repost this ♻️ 

But my ask is:
Next time you shop online, count the tricks first. Then decide.

P.S. Which one surprised you (1-8)? Anything I missed? 👇

My non-negotiable rules for writing button copy.

(7 micro-copy rules every junior designer needs to know)

Lead with the outcome e.g. "Get Your Free Guide"
"Sign Up" = vague → "Start for Free" = clear value
Keep it to 2-5 words → Longer than that? Rewrite it.
Never use "Submit" → Nobody wants to "submit" anything
Never write what the system does → Write what the user gets
Kill the # 1 objection inside the button e.g. "Try It, No Credit Card"

Read it out loud → If it sounds like a robot wrote it, it's wrong.

Bonus: 
Never use "Submit" on a button because you ran out of ideas. 

If you can't describe the value in 5 words, you don't understand the feature well enough.

Bad CTAs describe the process. 
Good CTAs describe the outcome = That's the whole game.

(Save + Repost for others ♻️)

P.S. Do you follow UX copy rules?

2 years ago I was handing off Figma files.

Today I push code to GitHub.

Same person. 
Same skills. 

One new tool. AI.

I didn't hire a developer.
I didn't go back to school. 
I didn't learn computer science. 

I just started "building."

Backend? AI. 
Databases? AI. 
The scary stuff? AI.

Design, UX, how it feels?

That's still me.
Always will be.

Turns out, a designer who builds the "whole thing"?
Pretty powerful.

♻️ Repost if you know a designer who needs to hear this.

P.S. Which idea have you been sitting on? Tell me below. 👇

Here's something I never post about.

(it starts with a DM I almost ignored)

Last week someone messaged me on Linkedin.

"Hey, do you do branding?"

My first instinct: no.
My second instinct: why not?
My third instinct: LinkedIn says I'm a product designer.

I replied anyway. "What do you need?"

She said: 
"Logo for pilates studio".

I quoted the project. She said yes.
I sketched directions in Procreate on the couch.
I opened Adobe Illustrator. Not Figma. Illustrator.

My iPad on my lap. Coffee getting cold.

She wrote back 4 words.
"Don't change a thing."

And I just sat there.

Because I almost said no.
Because I convinced myself that product designers don't do this kind of work.

I thought:

That it wasn't my lane. 
That I needed to be a "brand designer" first.

That night I scrolled through my files.

Logos I made and never showed anyone. 
Brand identities sitting in folders named "personal" and "side work."

Years of work that never made it to my portfolio.

Because I thought it didn't count.
It wasn't "product design" so it wasn't real work.

That's the dumbest thing I've ever believed.

It's design. 
It counts.

P.S. The coffee was cold. The logo was good. Fair trade.

Most people think AI builders must be engineers.

But the next generation may be designers.

AI can write code.
But AI cannot design the product.

Someone must decide:

• What problem to solve
• How the flow works
• How the system behaves

That is product thinking.

Designers already do this.

P.S. Agree?

Building a portfolio shouldn't take 6 months.

Here's how to create yours ultra-fast.

1. In Google Docs, write 1 case study
2. Use UX Pilot AI to explore design directions in minutes
3. Export to Figma or Framer, drop in your real projects, and make it yours

Always remember:

Write your case studies before you design.
Focus each one on one problem and one outcome.
Skip the long backstory ( get straight to the project ).
End every case study with results or lessons learned.

Never do this:

Obsess over fonts and colors before you have content.
Cram more than 3–5 projects on your homepage.
Show projects without explaining your process.
Drop in random mockups with no context.
Design more than you write.

Bonus:

If a hiring manager can't find your thinking in 30 seconds… It means your portfolio failed.

Try UX Pilot for free: https://lnkd.in/d3jFWw7x

Hope someone lands an interview this week. Good luck! ❤️

P.S. Repost ♻️ for designers in your network.

P.P.S. What would you add to the list?

Quick UX test:

Where is “Cancel subscription”?

A. Upgrade plan
B. Personalization
C. Settings

Drop your answer below.

P.S. Bonus points if you explain the UX logic behind your choice.

Dark patterns are the biggest scam in tech.

And nobody's talking about it.

Today I tried to buy an CapCut app subscription.
Price on screen: €59.00/month.
Price at checkout: €299.99.

That's 30x markup.

This isn't a bug.
It's a feature.

It's called "bait and switch"one of the most common dark patterns in UX design.

Here's why it keeps working:

1. The purchase screen looks trustworthy
2. The real price only shows at the very last step
3. Most users tap "confirm" without reading

I teach designers to reduce friction.
But some companies use that skill to reduce your attention.

This wasn't some sketchy app.

It was in the App Store.
Processed through Apple.

If you're building products:

- Transparent pricing isn't a "nice to have"
- Transparent pricing is the bare minimum

Dark patterns are a tax on user trust.

And trust, once broken, doesn't come back.

♻️ Share this with someone who builds digital products.

CapCut

Every app free trial plan:

Click "Create" ➝ Upgrade to Pro
Click "Export" ➝ Upgrade to Pro
Click "Share" ➝ Upgrade to Pro

After 13 years of product design, I seen this "kill" good products over and over.

The fix?

One feature. 
Fully unlocked. 
Before the paywall. 

Do → stay → upgrade.

Let users "do" something. Not "see" something.
That's the whole UX strategy. 

Written in 3 words: value before money.

♻️ Repost if a product designer needs this.

P.S. What app "lost" you because the free plan was useless?

How to make any product usable without a single design element

(I've done this 3 times already)

1. Take your highest-traffic page
2. Strip every CSS style from it
3. Remove all images and icons
4. Remove all colors and gradients
5. Keep only the HTML and the words

Then:

Watch if they can still convert.
Watch if users can still navigate.
Watch if they understand the flow.

Measure completion rates

Compare to the designed version

Plain HTML + clear copy should be your baseline test. 

This is not a design hack. It's a clarity hack.

taplio

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}David Olusegun's LinkedIn Performance

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