Lots of these discussions are simplifying design to 'making things look pretty'. That's just not true for even the more visual-based design disciplines like graphic design. And the 'regular' product design (ux/ui/ixd) happening in most tech companies has very little of this compared to the rest of the scope of what a designer really does.
Product design isn't a layer that you apply. It's not an output of some prompt. It's a difficult-to-define process of crafting the interface between the user and product's functionality.
I’m a product designer and this is what I’ve noticed:
- When I use AI to vibe-code, it gives me a usable result but I personally have no idea if the output is “correct”. I am not sure if there are security vulnerabilities, I don’t know what is actually happening under the hood to make it work, etc.
- When my engineering friends use AI to vibe-design, I notice the same pattern. It looks “designed” but there are obvious usability issues, pattern mismatches for common user goals, and the UI lacks an overall sense of polish.
Basically, my takeaway is that AI is great for spinning things up quickly but it is not a replacement for fundamentals or craft.
I think it's trivially true that (at present moment) AI can deliver an average result, which makes it useful in domains you are below average but not useful for domains in which you are good at.
Product design isn't a layer that you apply. It's not an output of some prompt. It's a difficult-to-define process of crafting the interface between the user and product's functionality.