Benoit
@pixel-one.bsky.social
Designing success for B2B SaaS. Advocate for continuous improvement + elegant design. Posts on design trends + company growth
I only hired 1 person per year for 4 years
As soon as I hired the first person at Pixel One I realized I was terrified of losing control over the quality we deliver.
As soon as I hired the first person at Pixel One I realized I was terrified of losing control over the quality we deliver.
February 16, 2026 at 5:00 PM
I only hired 1 person per year for 4 years
As soon as I hired the first person at Pixel One I realized I was terrified of losing control over the quality we deliver.
As soon as I hired the first person at Pixel One I realized I was terrified of losing control over the quality we deliver.
Our best designers can solve problems I've never seen before.
No, we didn’t just get lucky while hiring, instead I push designers to develop problem-solving skills intentionally.
Here’s how :
When a designer brings me work I ask them questions instead of giving them answers:
No, we didn’t just get lucky while hiring, instead I push designers to develop problem-solving skills intentionally.
Here’s how :
When a designer brings me work I ask them questions instead of giving them answers:
February 13, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Our best designers can solve problems I've never seen before.
No, we didn’t just get lucky while hiring, instead I push designers to develop problem-solving skills intentionally.
Here’s how :
When a designer brings me work I ask them questions instead of giving them answers:
No, we didn’t just get lucky while hiring, instead I push designers to develop problem-solving skills intentionally.
Here’s how :
When a designer brings me work I ask them questions instead of giving them answers:
Every project I touched at Pixel One succeeded and every project I didn't touch failed
That's a death sentence when you're trying to scale.
I knew other agencies were scaling and I wanted to know how.
That's a death sentence when you're trying to scale.
I knew other agencies were scaling and I wanted to know how.
February 11, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Every project I touched at Pixel One succeeded and every project I didn't touch failed
That's a death sentence when you're trying to scale.
I knew other agencies were scaling and I wanted to know how.
That's a death sentence when you're trying to scale.
I knew other agencies were scaling and I wanted to know how.
New designers always hide in DMs, and it's killing their growth.
We've onboarded a ton of designers and noticed a clear pattern that they're scared to post publicly, so they DM everyone instead.
We've onboarded a ton of designers and noticed a clear pattern that they're scared to post publicly, so they DM everyone instead.
February 10, 2026 at 5:00 PM
New designers always hide in DMs, and it's killing their growth.
We've onboarded a ton of designers and noticed a clear pattern that they're scared to post publicly, so they DM everyone instead.
We've onboarded a ton of designers and noticed a clear pattern that they're scared to post publicly, so they DM everyone instead.
Designers with 6-7 years of experience are the worst at fundamentals.
Every designer gets trained on the basics like typography, hierarchy, grids, and color theory, but a lot of them drop those principles the second they feel confident enough to break the rules.
Every designer gets trained on the basics like typography, hierarchy, grids, and color theory, but a lot of them drop those principles the second they feel confident enough to break the rules.
February 9, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Designers with 6-7 years of experience are the worst at fundamentals.
Every designer gets trained on the basics like typography, hierarchy, grids, and color theory, but a lot of them drop those principles the second they feel confident enough to break the rules.
Every designer gets trained on the basics like typography, hierarchy, grids, and color theory, but a lot of them drop those principles the second they feel confident enough to break the rules.
We banned Figma AutoLayout for junior designers at Pixel One
AutoLayout is one of Figma's best features and it's a massive time saver.
(You set spacing rules once and the layout automatically maintains them when you add or remove elements)
AutoLayout is one of Figma's best features and it's a massive time saver.
(You set spacing rules once and the layout automatically maintains them when you add or remove elements)
February 5, 2026 at 4:47 PM
We banned Figma AutoLayout for junior designers at Pixel One
AutoLayout is one of Figma's best features and it's a massive time saver.
(You set spacing rules once and the layout automatically maintains them when you add or remove elements)
AutoLayout is one of Figma's best features and it's a massive time saver.
(You set spacing rules once and the layout automatically maintains them when you add or remove elements)
My team regularly comes up with better solutions than I do.
Usually, I'll start a new design by presenting a concept to get people aligned and show them the vision (especially when I'm art directing) and then they take that concept and run with it.
Usually, I'll start a new design by presenting a concept to get people aligned and show them the vision (especially when I'm art directing) and then they take that concept and run with it.
February 3, 2026 at 4:19 PM
My team regularly comes up with better solutions than I do.
Usually, I'll start a new design by presenting a concept to get people aligned and show them the vision (especially when I'm art directing) and then they take that concept and run with it.
Usually, I'll start a new design by presenting a concept to get people aligned and show them the vision (especially when I'm art directing) and then they take that concept and run with it.
A new hire joined us skeptical about everything we do and now they run the team.
When they first joined Pixel One they questioned everything and I mean everything.
(why we do mood boards this way, why we structure client calls like that, why we have these specific handoff processes)
When they first joined Pixel One they questioned everything and I mean everything.
(why we do mood boards this way, why we structure client calls like that, why we have these specific handoff processes)
February 2, 2026 at 3:17 PM
A new hire joined us skeptical about everything we do and now they run the team.
When they first joined Pixel One they questioned everything and I mean everything.
(why we do mood boards this way, why we structure client calls like that, why we have these specific handoff processes)
When they first joined Pixel One they questioned everything and I mean everything.
(why we do mood boards this way, why we structure client calls like that, why we have these specific handoff processes)
4 weeks' deadline to design in an industry we'd never worked in.
A client came to us with a challenge where they work in pre-construction risk management, which is a complex and unfamiliar territory for us.
A client came to us with a challenge where they work in pre-construction risk management, which is a complex and unfamiliar territory for us.
January 28, 2026 at 3:41 PM
4 weeks' deadline to design in an industry we'd never worked in.
A client came to us with a challenge where they work in pre-construction risk management, which is a complex and unfamiliar territory for us.
A client came to us with a challenge where they work in pre-construction risk management, which is a complex and unfamiliar territory for us.
Our secret to sustaining each client for 5+ years
I work backwards from excellence, and everything else is noise (our secret to sustaining clients for 5+ years)
Here's how we operate at Pixel One:
I work backwards from excellence, and everything else is noise (our secret to sustaining clients for 5+ years)
Here's how we operate at Pixel One:
January 26, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Our secret to sustaining each client for 5+ years
I work backwards from excellence, and everything else is noise (our secret to sustaining clients for 5+ years)
Here's how we operate at Pixel One:
I work backwards from excellence, and everything else is noise (our secret to sustaining clients for 5+ years)
Here's how we operate at Pixel One:
I can tell in the first 5 minutes if someone will work out at Pixel One.
At the beginning, I was terrible at hiring.
The biggest thing I used to ignore was the signals my gut and intuition were telling me.
At the beginning, I was terrible at hiring.
The biggest thing I used to ignore was the signals my gut and intuition were telling me.
January 23, 2026 at 3:17 PM
I can tell in the first 5 minutes if someone will work out at Pixel One.
At the beginning, I was terrible at hiring.
The biggest thing I used to ignore was the signals my gut and intuition were telling me.
At the beginning, I was terrible at hiring.
The biggest thing I used to ignore was the signals my gut and intuition were telling me.
The fastest way to filter out red flag clients
After working with a lot of companies, we can tell who is a good fit and who would drain the team.
So, we worked backwards from those patterns and turned them into hard qualifying criteria.
After working with a lot of companies, we can tell who is a good fit and who would drain the team.
So, we worked backwards from those patterns and turned them into hard qualifying criteria.
January 21, 2026 at 2:52 PM
The fastest way to filter out red flag clients
After working with a lot of companies, we can tell who is a good fit and who would drain the team.
So, we worked backwards from those patterns and turned them into hard qualifying criteria.
After working with a lot of companies, we can tell who is a good fit and who would drain the team.
So, we worked backwards from those patterns and turned them into hard qualifying criteria.
Your design system might be the reason your product feels boring
Everyone treats a design system as the answer to everything,
But when you are early and still trying to validate ideas, convert customers and bring in revenue, a design system can choke your ideation.
Everyone treats a design system as the answer to everything,
But when you are early and still trying to validate ideas, convert customers and bring in revenue, a design system can choke your ideation.
January 20, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Your design system might be the reason your product feels boring
Everyone treats a design system as the answer to everything,
But when you are early and still trying to validate ideas, convert customers and bring in revenue, a design system can choke your ideation.
Everyone treats a design system as the answer to everything,
But when you are early and still trying to validate ideas, convert customers and bring in revenue, a design system can choke your ideation.
I fired a client to protect my team ( and the client came back & stayed with us 3 years)
I met one of the co-founders and had a great call.
We conducted follow-up interviews and design exercises, and everything felt aligned, so we kicked off the work excited and optimistic.
I met one of the co-founders and had a great call.
We conducted follow-up interviews and design exercises, and everything felt aligned, so we kicked off the work excited and optimistic.
January 19, 2026 at 4:07 PM
I fired a client to protect my team ( and the client came back & stayed with us 3 years)
I met one of the co-founders and had a great call.
We conducted follow-up interviews and design exercises, and everything felt aligned, so we kicked off the work excited and optimistic.
I met one of the co-founders and had a great call.
We conducted follow-up interviews and design exercises, and everything felt aligned, so we kicked off the work excited and optimistic.
3 days in, the client lost faith in the project.
We were 3 days into a 4-week sprint to build an entirely new product from scratch.
It was a complex niche with a new tool we'd never used, and even the client didn't have full clarity on what they wanted.
We were 3 days into a 4-week sprint to build an entirely new product from scratch.
It was a complex niche with a new tool we'd never used, and even the client didn't have full clarity on what they wanted.
December 23, 2025 at 4:17 PM
3 days in, the client lost faith in the project.
We were 3 days into a 4-week sprint to build an entirely new product from scratch.
It was a complex niche with a new tool we'd never used, and even the client didn't have full clarity on what they wanted.
We were 3 days into a 4-week sprint to build an entirely new product from scratch.
It was a complex niche with a new tool we'd never used, and even the client didn't have full clarity on what they wanted.
We rejected 2 paid projects this month
And that's where we get our 3+ year retention rate.
Here's how we operate at Pixel One:
We look at what was successful and work backwards to figure out what made it work.
And that's where we get our 3+ year retention rate.
Here's how we operate at Pixel One:
We look at what was successful and work backwards to figure out what made it work.
December 22, 2025 at 2:34 PM
We rejected 2 paid projects this month
And that's where we get our 3+ year retention rate.
Here's how we operate at Pixel One:
We look at what was successful and work backwards to figure out what made it work.
And that's where we get our 3+ year retention rate.
Here's how we operate at Pixel One:
We look at what was successful and work backwards to figure out what made it work.
My wife said she’d never work for me.
This is someone who loves me and knows me better than anyone.
She said she would never work for me (that stung more than I expected)
I always thought of myself as someone who wasn't overly harsh (I didn't want to be that kind of leader)
This is someone who loves me and knows me better than anyone.
She said she would never work for me (that stung more than I expected)
I always thought of myself as someone who wasn't overly harsh (I didn't want to be that kind of leader)
December 19, 2025 at 4:17 PM
My wife said she’d never work for me.
This is someone who loves me and knows me better than anyone.
She said she would never work for me (that stung more than I expected)
I always thought of myself as someone who wasn't overly harsh (I didn't want to be that kind of leader)
This is someone who loves me and knows me better than anyone.
She said she would never work for me (that stung more than I expected)
I always thought of myself as someone who wasn't overly harsh (I didn't want to be that kind of leader)
You don't need great design to build a $9,999,999 company.
Here's what most designers won't admit: billions of dollars have been created by companies that don't take design seriously.
Now, before you think I'm saying design doesn't matter, let me be clear:
Here's what most designers won't admit: billions of dollars have been created by companies that don't take design seriously.
Now, before you think I'm saying design doesn't matter, let me be clear:
December 18, 2025 at 3:08 PM
You don't need great design to build a $9,999,999 company.
Here's what most designers won't admit: billions of dollars have been created by companies that don't take design seriously.
Now, before you think I'm saying design doesn't matter, let me be clear:
Here's what most designers won't admit: billions of dollars have been created by companies that don't take design seriously.
Now, before you think I'm saying design doesn't matter, let me be clear:
AI rewards speed but hides the lack of taste
A lot of designers are offloading their work to AI,
They're using ChatGPT, Cursor, and Lovable to prototype instead of opening Figma.
I get the appeal, and the speed is undeniable.
A lot of designers are offloading their work to AI,
They're using ChatGPT, Cursor, and Lovable to prototype instead of opening Figma.
I get the appeal, and the speed is undeniable.
December 17, 2025 at 4:17 PM
AI rewards speed but hides the lack of taste
A lot of designers are offloading their work to AI,
They're using ChatGPT, Cursor, and Lovable to prototype instead of opening Figma.
I get the appeal, and the speed is undeniable.
A lot of designers are offloading their work to AI,
They're using ChatGPT, Cursor, and Lovable to prototype instead of opening Figma.
I get the appeal, and the speed is undeniable.
I run Pixel One like it’s a company 10X bigger
In my head, I'm constantly thinking about the company as if we're bigger than we actually are.
I have the skills and vision to operate at a much larger scale than where we currently are.
In my head, I'm constantly thinking about the company as if we're bigger than we actually are.
I have the skills and vision to operate at a much larger scale than where we currently are.
December 16, 2025 at 3:17 PM
I run Pixel One like it’s a company 10X bigger
In my head, I'm constantly thinking about the company as if we're bigger than we actually are.
I have the skills and vision to operate at a much larger scale than where we currently are.
In my head, I'm constantly thinking about the company as if we're bigger than we actually are.
I have the skills and vision to operate at a much larger scale than where we currently are.
UI is harder to master than UX.
I know that sounds backwards,
UX has a formula:
Listen to users, understand their needs, iterate based on feedback, and show empathy. Follow those steps, and you'll eventually get to good UX.
UI doesn't work that way.
I know that sounds backwards,
UX has a formula:
Listen to users, understand their needs, iterate based on feedback, and show empathy. Follow those steps, and you'll eventually get to good UX.
UI doesn't work that way.
December 15, 2025 at 2:47 PM
UI is harder to master than UX.
I know that sounds backwards,
UX has a formula:
Listen to users, understand their needs, iterate based on feedback, and show empathy. Follow those steps, and you'll eventually get to good UX.
UI doesn't work that way.
I know that sounds backwards,
UX has a formula:
Listen to users, understand their needs, iterate based on feedback, and show empathy. Follow those steps, and you'll eventually get to good UX.
UI doesn't work that way.
I run Pixel One like it’s a company 10X bigger
In my head, I'm constantly thinking about the company as if we're bigger than we actually are.
I have the skills and vision to operate at a much larger scale than where we currently are.
In my head, I'm constantly thinking about the company as if we're bigger than we actually are.
I have the skills and vision to operate at a much larger scale than where we currently are.
December 13, 2025 at 4:17 PM
I run Pixel One like it’s a company 10X bigger
In my head, I'm constantly thinking about the company as if we're bigger than we actually are.
I have the skills and vision to operate at a much larger scale than where we currently are.
In my head, I'm constantly thinking about the company as if we're bigger than we actually are.
I have the skills and vision to operate at a much larger scale than where we currently are.
I worked 16-hour days, 7 days a week, for 3 months.
This was back when I was freelancing, right before I started Pixel One.
I committed to way more retainer work than I could actually handle.
This was back when I was freelancing, right before I started Pixel One.
I committed to way more retainer work than I could actually handle.
December 12, 2025 at 3:17 PM
I worked 16-hour days, 7 days a week, for 3 months.
This was back when I was freelancing, right before I started Pixel One.
I committed to way more retainer work than I could actually handle.
This was back when I was freelancing, right before I started Pixel One.
I committed to way more retainer work than I could actually handle.
A client texted mid-project: "I'm scared this won't work."
We were 3 days into a 4-week sprint to build an entirely new product from scratch.
It was a complex niche with a new tool we'd never used, and even the client didn't have full clarity on what they wanted.
We were 3 days into a 4-week sprint to build an entirely new product from scratch.
It was a complex niche with a new tool we'd never used, and even the client didn't have full clarity on what they wanted.
December 11, 2025 at 4:18 PM
A client texted mid-project: "I'm scared this won't work."
We were 3 days into a 4-week sprint to build an entirely new product from scratch.
It was a complex niche with a new tool we'd never used, and even the client didn't have full clarity on what they wanted.
We were 3 days into a 4-week sprint to build an entirely new product from scratch.
It was a complex niche with a new tool we'd never used, and even the client didn't have full clarity on what they wanted.
🚨🚨🚨 December
We've added capacity but are still fully booked on visual design. February coming sooner than later!
Visual design: Booked until February (1 spot)
Product design: 2 spots
Hiring elite designers → pixel1.notion.site/1aad48e86e1...
We've added capacity but are still fully booked on visual design. February coming sooner than later!
Visual design: Booked until February (1 spot)
Product design: 2 spots
Hiring elite designers → pixel1.notion.site/1aad48e86e1...
Elite Visual Designer Application | Notion
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pixel1.notion.site
December 9, 2025 at 5:01 PM
🚨🚨🚨 December
We've added capacity but are still fully booked on visual design. February coming sooner than later!
Visual design: Booked until February (1 spot)
Product design: 2 spots
Hiring elite designers → pixel1.notion.site/1aad48e86e1...
We've added capacity but are still fully booked on visual design. February coming sooner than later!
Visual design: Booked until February (1 spot)
Product design: 2 spots
Hiring elite designers → pixel1.notion.site/1aad48e86e1...