The future of design in the age of AI
I’m sure we’re all wondering what the future holds for designers.
Currently, AI isn’t advanced enough to replace a UI, UX or Graphic designer. It’s simply a tool that makes our work easier and should be seen as just that: a tool.
But things are moving fast, and we have no idea what the next 5 years have in store for us. Will there be less jobs in the industry? Different jobs? More jobs? What will our lives look like in 5 years?
Option 1 – New roles and functions
The past teaches us that technological advancements often lead to new roles.
There used to be one person accountable for an entire website. A webmaster, they called this, I believe. We could end up with more separate roles. Just like we went from Web Master to UX Designer, UI Designer, Content Manager, Content Strategist, UX Strategist, Art Director, and Creative Director to get a website up and running.
Let’s look at an example of a potential new role. Design systems take a shit-load of time, right? Often too much for what a client can spare. This effort could be easily cut in half in the upcoming year if we’re looking at what Figma is going to offer with its AI features. The person who uses AI to create the perfect design system could be called a Design System Engineer.
Another example: UI designs made by AI feel generic and lack creativity. As a result, creativity becomes more important, creating a need for a Creative UI Designer, who focus on creative layouts and let AI do the mundane work.
Or what about a Prompt Master? Someone who is the king or queen on how to talk to AI and get the sexiest results ever. In my current job, this is definitely something we need. With so many creative idea’s flying around the room, we’re constantly wondering if AI can help us visualize and communicate these ideas to clients. We used to rely on text and an oral explanation to communicate creative concepts. Could a Prompt Master help us out?
Option 2 – Strategy
I saw an interview last week with Brian Collins from the award-winning agency Collins. They made a major shift from solely design to strategy as a service. When AI is able to create pretty pictures and designs, the value also massively decreases. This could shift our focus from creating pretty stuff to thinking more strategically about your clients’ goals and how to achieve them.
As Brian Collins said in an interview, they view design as a tool to realize potential futures. With a strategic shift, they focus a lot on conversations with their clients to talk about these potential futures. Which future fits your company and goals best? Which direction should we take? In other words, it’s all about strategy.
Option 3 – A one-man army
AI suddenly enables us to do so much more, with less knowledge. With a bit of aid from ChatGPT, I can build an app or a website. I recently built a piece of creative code that made arrows follow my mouse on the screen. I know nothing about code… I’m a designer…
We can develop, write, create, design, and come up with strategies, all with a little help from AI. It’s not the best you’ve seen, but it’s something.
Clients often can’t tell apart good from bad. We can’t blame them. They’re not the expert. So they trust us, the experts.
Who is to stop them from going to a single individual who claims to do it all?
Option 4 – Bye-bye interface
With the rise of ChatGPT and Perplexity, the way we communicate has changed a lot. Rather than typing out the essence of a question like on Google, we now communicate in a human fashion using full sentences, much like in real conversations. In Europe, typing is still the way to go, while in other parts of the world, voice has become more mainstream as a type of communication.
Do we still need a UI in the future? If we can simply ask ‘the internet’ the latest news. We can ask ‘it’ to send 10 couches that fit my interior design to my phone. Or to make an investment of 50,- in a certain cryptocurrency.
Option 5 – Back to the past, a counter-movement.
For every movement, there is a counter-movement. That is why the ’70s happened: a counter-movement to societal norms after World War II. There could be a counter-movement to the entire AI hype.
I can imagine a future where we’re craving a human touch again. A future in which we loathe AI and any digital transaction. A future in which we yearn to see a smile again, shake someone’s hand, order in a physical store, and in need of connections and community.
Conclusion
I’m curious to what you think the future has in store for us.
I’m not an authority on this topic, but with 10 years of experience as a UX Designer, UI Designer and Art Director, I feel like I can make a few good guesses.
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