Discoveries #5 | How Designers Will (Actually) Be Impacted by AI
Welcome to Edition 05 of Discoveries. Each week, I share inspiration on design, product building, and what's next.
How Designers Will (Actually) Be Impacted by AI
The conversation around AI and design has never been louder. Every week, a new AI tool drops with the subtlety of a wrecking ball, promising to “redefine” how we work—and quietly threatening to steal our jobs in the process.
But here’s the twist—I’m more excited than ever to be a designer. We’re not heading for the design apocalypse. We’re entering a golden age. Possibly the most creatively explosive era in the history of design.
Here’s what’s changing—and how to thrive in it:
A New Wave of AI-Native Designers
I recently taught a graduate interaction design course, and the shift is already here. Most students used AI tools not as a novelty, but as the default. AI wasn’t some add-on. It was core to their creative process.
This new generation isn’t scared of AI—they’re fluent in it. And guess what? They’re going to be the most in-demand creatives in the next decade.
Vision > Tools
If your job is to follow a brief and push pixels with no personal perspective, AI might eat your lunch.
But if you’ve got a vision—if you’re a designer who’s tool-agnostic and idea-rich—you’re about to be superpowered.
AI is a creative amplifier. Designers with good taste, curiosity, and clarity will unlock entirely new dimensions of expression. Those without… will drown in a sea of mediocre outputs.
Think about what Photoshop did for creatives. It didn’t replace designers. It supercharged the good ones. Same story, bigger scale.
One designer = a full-stack team
Soon, a single designer using AI could rival the output of an entire creative team from 10 years ago. This creates opportunity—but also pressure.
Designers are going to be expected to do more, faster, and at higher fidelity. Fast iteration will become the default. This will change how designers brainstorm, test, and ship.
Taste is the Ultimate Edge
AI makes it easier to create. But easier ≠ better. Taste is the filter between “meh” and magic.
And taste isn’t mystical. It’s built through repetition and curiosity.
Pay close attention to the world around you. Ask why someone chose that font or those shoes or this layout. Critique the everyday. Develop a point of view.
Because with AI generating endless possibilities, your ability to curate—to say this not that—becomes your superpower.
Creativity Has a New Engine—Use It
Yes, prompt-driven design can feel like cheating. Yes, a lot of AI-generated stuff is soulless garbage. But dismissing AI entirely because the early outputs look like knockoff sci-fi covers? That’s shortsighted.
In the future, not using AI will be like trying to win a Formula 1 race on a bicycle. Noble effort, but you're not crossing that finish line.
—
AI isn’t the end of design—it’s the beginning of something bigger. It unlocks 1,000x the creative surface area, reduces the cost of exploration, and lets us take risks we couldn’t afford before.
AI won’t replace great designers—it will spotlight them.
Product Inspiration
I’m a mega fan of Zypsy. They’ve become the design firm of choice for so many founders I know. They're also one of the few design firms that does their own early-stage investing.
S/O Kaz, Matt, Evin and team!
What I'm Reading
Some takeaways:
- True fans are intensely loyal and will go out of their way to support you, buying your work, attending your events, and spreading the word.
- You don’t need to go viral or appeal to the masses—a niche audience that deeply cares about your work can be far more valuable.
- The long tail economy benefits small creators, since even niche interests can find viable markets at scale online.
Other Finds
Can confirm — quadrant 4 FTW.
See you next week,
Blake
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