More labels, more complexity

Core Product Designer. Growth Designer. The titles keep multiplying, and I think they are getting in the way. The job underneath them is simple to state. Make products that are clear, that solve a real problem, that line up with what the business is trying to do. That is true whether you are building a first feature or squeezing more out of an existing one.

Splitting design into core and growth does not help us do that. It just adds a layer of complexity and splits our attention. Why would I want to narrow my own role? The work is to deliver something that works, for the person using it and for the business paying for it.

What the labels actually mean

Core design is usually the foundation. The essential features, the main flows, the structure a product stands on. Growth design usually means taking those features and tuning them for acquisition, retention, conversion.

The trouble starts when the labels take over, because both are doing the same thing. Core is not only about building functionality. Growth is not only about moving a number up. When you forget that, you lose the actual point, which is that product design is problem-solving, and it should be driven by evidence at every stage, whatever you happen to call it.

The goal has not changed

Instead of sorting designers into core or growth, I would rather stay on the goal. Deliver something simple, functional, and effective. Solve a real problem, whether that means shipping the first version or refining the tenth.

Work across enough industries and it becomes obvious that both need the same thing from you. Understand the user. Line up with the business. Iterate on what the data tells you. User feedback, analytics, a test that settles an argument. The tools are the same. The purpose is the same.

Why it should always be data-driven

Core feature or growth experiment, the process should not change. Let the data lead. Ground the decision in how people actually behave, not how you hope they will.

In core work, watching how people move through onboarding often exposes the exact spot where they struggle, and that tells you what to fix. In growth work, a set of A/B results shows you which change earned the engagement and which one you only assumed would. Both are the same habit. Look, learn, adjust.

Drop the labels

At the end of it, product design is not about calling yourself core or growth. Both are the same journey, pointed at the same thing. Understand people, use what the data tells you, keep refining. Stop labeling the work, and you are freer to actually do it well.