The eighteen-month exit curve.

Senior designers do not leave for money first. They leave when the ceiling is structural.

Across our interviews the exits cluster at month fourteen to twenty. The pattern is consistent: no leadership path, no measurement culture, no advocate at the table.

What moves the curve

A named design owner, a visible growth path, and work tied to business outcomes. Teams with all three retain seniors past three years.

The exit curve is a leadership artefact, not a loyalty problem.

The cost of the curve

Replacing a senior designer costs six to nine months of salary in recruitment, ramp and lost velocity. Retention is the cheapest design investment available.