How to Choose a Product Designer to Build Your App

What this article covers

• Common product designer myths

• What skills matter most

• How to evaluate candidates

• Red flags to avoid

I’ve worked with founders at very different stages, from early ideas to products already in the world. Over time, I’ve seen how the right product designer can save months of time, reduce costly missteps, and help a team move with confidence. I’ve also seen how the wrong hire can quietly sink an app, not through obvious failure, but through slow confusion, misalignment, and wasted effort. Hiring a product designer is one of those decisions that feels straightforward on the surface and becomes surprisingly complex once you are in it. Many founders know they need design, but are not always sure what kind of designer they actually need or what to look for beyond visuals. This is not a checklist for perfection. It is a way to think more clearly about the role design plays in building an app and how to recognize someone who can genuinely support that process.

What founders think they need and why it is incomplete

When founders start looking for a product designer, I often hear a few versions of the same request.

• Someone who can make screens.

• Someone who knows Figma.

• Someone who can build an MVP fast.

None of these are wrong. They are just incomplete.

Screens are the visible output of design, but they are not the work itself. Knowing Figma is table stakes at this point, not a differentiator. Speed matters, but moving quickly in the wrong direction is rarely a win.

These expectations usually come from pressure. Founders are trying to get something tangible in front of users or investors, and design feels like the fastest way to make progress. The risk is hiring someone who can produce visuals without helping you make better decisions along the way.

Good product design is not just about making things look right. It is about making sure you are building the right thing in the first place.

What actually matters when building an app

The designers who make the biggest difference are rarely the ones who just move pixels faster. They are the ones who help teams think more clearly.

• The first thing that matters is the ability to define the problem. A strong product designer will ask questions before opening a design file. They will want to understand what you are trying to solve, who it is for, and why it matters. If a designer jumps straight into solutions without clarifying the problem, that is usually a sign of shallow engagement.

• Experience with tradeoffs is another big one. Every app has constraints. Time, budget, technical limitations, team capacity. A good designer does not ignore these. They work within them and help you choose where to invest your energy. This is especially important early on, when everything cannot be done at once.

• Comfort working with engineers also matters more than many founders realize. Product design lives at the intersection of vision and reality. A designer should be able to collaborate closely with engineering, understand what is feasible, and adjust designs without defensiveness when constraints appear.

• Understanding user behavior and how to research it is another core skill. This does not always mean running formal studies. It can be as simple as knowing how to listen, observe patterns, and test assumptions before they turn into features. Designers who stay close to users help teams avoid building based on guesses alone.

• Finally, strong designers design for iteration, not perfection. Apps evolve. What you launch is rarely what you end up with. A good product designer expects this and creates systems and flows that can adapt over time instead of fragile, one-off solutions.

What to look for in a product designer

Portfolios are important, but not for the reasons most people think.

• Look for clear thinking in case studies and past projects. You want to see how someone approached a problem, not just what the final screens looked like. Pay attention to how they describe decisions and whether they can articulate their reasoning.

• The ability to explain why, not just what, is a strong signal of seniority. Designers who understand their work can talk about tradeoffs, constraints, and alternatives. They can explain why one direction was chosen over another without defaulting to vague language.

• Experience shipping real products matters. Concept work can be beautiful, but shipping introduces a different set of challenges. Designers who have worked through launches tend to be more pragmatic and better at balancing ideal outcomes with real-world limitations.

• Comfort with ambiguity is also important, especially in early-stage environments. Building an app often means working with incomplete information. A good designer does not freeze when things are unclear. They help bring structure to uncertainty instead of waiting for perfect direction.

Red flags to watch for

There are a few patterns that tend to signal trouble.

• Portfolios that only show visuals with no explanation of process are one. Without context, it is impossible to know how those designs came to be or what problems they solved.

• A lack of discussion around constraints is another. If every project appears perfectly smooth and polished, that is often a sign that important parts of the story are missing.

• No mention of users or outcomes is also worth paying attention to. Design that never references people or impact is usually disconnected from actual product success.

  These are not automatic disqualifiers, but they are prompts to ask deeper questions.