According to Malcolm Gladwell, becoming brilliant at something isn't necessarily to do with talent. It's more to do with the time you dedicate to it. The Beatles became brilliant through their hours of playing in the clubs of Hamburg. Hokusai spent decades filling sketchbooks before he made anything worth keeping.
The problem for anyone starting out in design in 2026 is that the entry-level work that used to supply those hours is much harder to come by. A recent analysis by one of Creative Bloq's contributors found that 87% of design job listings are for senior roles, with only 13% entry-level. The door at the bottom is simply not opening, which means you have to manufacture the conditions yourself. That is a more uncomfortable answer than 'learn more tools', but it is the honest one.
