Our diminishing pride as designers
The negative effects UX, UI, and AI have on the design spirit.
I’m unsure if it’s due to my age or the rapidly evolving design and technology landscape, but I find myself more cynical and jaded than ever before. Design-related activities I once enjoyed now lack the fulfillment and reward they once did.
I often reflect on the days when design was fun and engulfed me with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Our responsibilities had a creative, whimsical, and free-spirited nature. We knew the importance of what we did, but we also didn’t take ourselves as seriously as many do now.
Unfortunately, the life of a designer has dramatically changed, and it’s only getting worse.
Over the years, the design industry has become religiously stifled, rigid, and cookie-cutter.
I partially attribute this starchy evolution to the contagious UX/UI movement. We’ve become too strict and uptight about research, methodologies, testing, and design systems.
We now have more in common with the scientific method than the creative and curious design space I once loved.
The irony is these systematic and emotionless strategies seek more empathetic design outcomes. Unfortunately, this noble pursuit has led to a tyrannical and somewhat arrogant nature filling today’s verbose design terrain.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand the logical and “moral” reasons behind these formulaic processes. And I’m sure many people have pride in what they do for the “users.” However, we’ve stripped away the vibrancy and craftsmanship that once defined a more spirited design industry.
With artificial intelligence (AI) on the horizon, ready to integrate into our workflow, I should feel hopeful. It means we can focus more on strategy and high-level design decisions.
But something feels off.
AI is poised to remove us even further from the hands-on approach many of us are fond of. To me, design has always been an intimate and personal craft. Immersing ourselves in a project and becoming one with the design was a rewarding experience. Even as we advanced in our careers, we stayed connected to the design process through others who shared the same immersion.
However, all of this will change in the coming years. With just a few clicks and prompts, automated designs can be generated based on parameter inputs and feedback. It’s a shift that leaves me sad, anxious, and unmotivated about the future. And I’m not sure we can do anything about it other than lay down our creative swords or rebel and suffer the consequences of seeking freedom.
Perhaps everything will turn out fine, and I’m simply becoming a slightly paranoid and cantankerous middle-aged man who has lost touch with the industry and perceives change as a threat.
Only time will tell what the future holds.
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