"I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." ― Stephen Jay Gould

The best designer in the world right now is probably not someone you know. In fact, the best of almost everything is probably someone you've never heard of.

Outside of professional sports, very few things are meritocracies. And even there merit is determined by access. It's likely that the person who is most gifted for any endeavour has never pursued it because they never had the chance.

The people we consider the best are the ones we here about most often.

They're the ones who are out there posting. The ones who know how to sell on socials. The ones posting videos and reels. The ones who are winning the awards.

But what about the ones quietly making great work in a room somewhere? The ones delivering for clients and users without paying attention to who's paying them attention? The ones moving the needle for companies without the fanfare? The great designers that are struggling to make the rent?

We all know of great designers that are struggling to get work.

Why?

The Paradox of Expertise.

In any service that requires a high degree of skill and experience — from designers to doctors — the people who are doing the hiring often don't know how to do the hiring.

We simply aren't qualified enough to determine who's qualified.

For designers this means a difficult reality. Winning work isn't about being a great designer as much as it is about being a great self-promoter.

If people are hiring designers based on things other than experience and skill then a lot of not-so-good designers might get hired. This has led, for example, to the poisoning of the well for models like design subscriptions. If had client has hired a couple of subscription agencies and it didn't work out, the likelihood of them hiring another one is low.

It's also confusing for designers. We can lose site of the market. After all, if we believe that people are hiring for skillset, then aren't those getting hired the ones with the most skills? Should we be following the work of well known designers, or setting the bar using other sources?

Design is not the main skill that gets people hired. They're getting hired because they're good at social media. Because they're good at content. Because they have soft skills, and emotional intelligence, and an instinct for sales.

Unfortunately these are not skills taught in design school. But if you want to succeed as a designer, they are skills you have to develop.