# Design Mentoring

> Mentoring junior designers, giving growth feedback, and developing design talent.

- Skill: `dragoon0x/design-mentoring` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add dragoon0x/design-mentoring`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/dragoon0x/design-mentoring/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- Author: dragoon0x (https://skillmd.com/u/dragoon0x)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/dragoon0x/design-mentoring

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# Design Mentoring

## Mentoring Structure
1. **Weekly 1:1** (30 min): Current work, blockers, growth
2. **Portfolio review** (monthly): Review recent work deeply
3. **Skill development** (quarterly): Identify growth areas, set goals

## Giving Growth Feedback
- **Be specific:** 'The spacing between these sections creates unclear grouping' not 'The layout needs work'
- **Explain why:** Connect the feedback to a principle
- **Show alternatives:** Don't just criticize, demonstrate
- **Acknowledge progress:** Note improvements from previous feedback
- **Separate craft from taste:** Craft is learnable (spacing, hierarchy). Taste develops with exposure.

## Growth Path
| Level | Focus | Key Skills |
|-------|-------|------------|
| Junior | Execution | Craft, tools, following direction |
| Mid | Problem-solving | Research, strategy, self-direction |
| Senior | Leadership | Vision, mentoring, stakeholder influence |
| Lead | Multiplication | Team building, culture, business impact |

## Common Junior Mistakes (address kindly)
- Skipping research and jumping to solutions
- Designing for themselves, not users
- Pixel perfection before direction is right
- Not presenting work well (just sharing screenshots)
- Taking feedback personally