Growing a design community on Tiktok

As Figma became second nature to me, I felt that I could begin to see the forest for the trees - design as a piece of the puzzle that fulfils user needs and in turn meets business goals. I felt ready to focus on growing as a leader. There was just one problem: I’d always worked in small teams of 1–3 designers, which left little room to develop the kind of soft skills needed to guide others.

So, I took matters into my own hands.

Turning TikTok Into a Design Classroom

In 2023 you couldn’t walk down the street without seeing a kid doing a dance in front of their phone. I questioned whether there were ambitious kids interested in technology who might be willing to pause their choreography research to think about their career. I wanted to take a stab at making a TikTok account to share my experience, advice and tips as a designer. I had some social media experience from a job I did at 19, managing Facebook and Instagram for a fabric company - but TikTok was uncharted territory.

I approached it like anyone with UX training would: by empathising with my users. I asked myself, what kind of guidance would have helped me when I was first getting into UI/UX? I also reached out to a few friends - some design students, others switching careers—and listened to the questions they were asking and resources they needed.

At Deloitte, I’d had the chance to mentor a few designers one-on-one (including a 40-year-old ex-policeman making a bold career change), and I’d given talks on design systems internally. These experiences helped me zero in on what early stage designers really needed.

Treating It Like an Experiment

I tried different hooks, video formats, topics, music, and hashtags- treating each post like a mini self contained test.

After just a month, one of my videos went viral with 1 million views!

Suddenly, my comments and DMs were full of questions, gratitude, and curiosity. I started answering everything I could - and soon, it became too much to handle one message at a time. So, I launched a Discord community for junior designers where I could go deeper: hosting workshops, sharing longer tutorials, and creating space for people to help each other grow.

The Results

In just over a year, the TikTok account grew into something much bigger than I imagined.

I built a thriving, supportive community of junior designers.

I earned over £4,000 through sponsorships with brands like Miro, PlusDocs, Eagle, Massive.com, and others.

I developed a deep understanding of how to grow an audience and build community - skills that directly shape how I think about product design.

This experience taught me something crucial: whether you’re growing a social platform or a B2B product, the secret is the same - build with your users, not just for them.

Where I Am Now

After 1.5 years, I felt like the account had become a self-sustaining resource. There was enough material out there for people to keep learning without me posting daily, so I made the decision to pause the project.

Why? Because I was about to take on something even bigger:
Becoming the founding designer at Scout VC.

I still love social media, and I’m excited to return one day - this time with even more experience, stories, and lessons to share.