Campfire #43: Design jobs that AI won’t be able to replace
Designers can remain ahead of the curve and produce even more incredible work by embracing AI technology and using it to complement their talents.
I see why designers worry about AI's impact on their job.
However, it's essential to remember that AI technology is not intended to replace human creativity and intuition but to supplement and enhance it.
AI may help designers by automating tedious activities, producing design options, and providing insights into consumer preferences and behavior. Designers can use these talents to focus on more creative and strategic parts of their work, allowing them to generate higher-quality work more efficiently.
Furthermore, while AI can be trained to execute specific jobs, it lacks human-like creative thinking and problem-solving ability. Designers may use their human skills and perspectives to develop innovative, impactful designs that AI cannot match.
In short, artificial intelligence is not a replacement for human designers but rather a technology that can assist them in working more successfully and efficiently. Designers can remain ahead of the curve and produce even more incredible work by embracing AI technology and using it to complement their talents.
Last week Dan Saffer wrote this thread where he described the jobs of a designer that AI won't be able to replace.
Design Jobs that AI won't be able to do for a while 🧵
— Dan Saffer (@odannyboy) March 24, 2023
I thought it might be helpful for you to collect some of the resources to learn or advance your skills and make better use of AI instead of being afraid of it replacing your job.
Reframe a problem so it can be thought about differently
Many designers might be familiar with reframing from the famous Slow Elevator Problem. Essentially, reframing begins with asking this question:
Is this the right Problem to Solve?
Problem Reframing is a method of finding better problem that is valuable to solve with different practices and tools. It's is a way to solve problems by looking at the problem with a new outlook or from a different point of view.
Further reading
A very Powerful Tool for Problem Solving— Reframing
Understand the context (physical, emotional, organizational, political, technical) to see what solutions will actually work
In design, context refers to the conditions, background, or environment in which a person, thing, or concept exists or occurs.
Context clarifies concepts and helps consumers understand where your product/service fits in the universe. It is critical to develop a picture of the contextual environment while designing and expressing ideas to non-designers to avoid unwanted concerns.
Further reading
Context in design: A keystone to understanding users
Importance of Context in Design - UX Design World
Create insights about observed user behavior
Observing user behavior is vital for understanding how users engage with your product. At the same time, all the user research in the world will be useless if it does not result in insights that businesses can apply.
Further reading
What are user behaviour insights?
Understand the “Why” of User Behavior to Design Better
How to Write Compelling User Research Insights in 6 Steps
Empathize with users to understand what their motivations, expectations, frustrations, and goals are
Developing empathy for the people is the first stage of the design thinking process. It helps designers gain insights into what users needs and want are, how they behave, feel, and think, and why they demonstrate such behaviors, feelings, and thoughts when interacting with products in the real world.
Further reading
How To Empathize With Your Users - Usability Geek
Stage 1 in the Design Thinking Process: Empathise with Your Users
Empathize with users | UX Process | uxspot.io
The role of empathy in user research and interaction design
Manage other designers and stakeholders
Managing designers brings a distinct number of challenges. If you have experience in the subject, you will most likely be able to relate to your workers more easily.
Regardless of whether you have prior experience working as a designer, it is crucial to realize that designers have distinct demands than other employees and have their own objectives, both inside and outside of the workplace.
Further reading
How to lead designers — 18 practical tips
How to manage other designers: 10 expert tips
From designer to manager — the trickiest transition
Evangelize a design solution in an organization/to a client
Excellent design assists businesses in developing the most relevant products and services for their customers while also ensuring that they are enjoyable to use.
If you want your design work to have an impact, you must ensure that you and the companies you collaborate with have a thorough understanding of your users' needs, motivations, and daily activities.
One of the primary skills a UX professional must have is the power of persuasion. You need to understand where your peers in other disciplines are coming from and communicate the message of UX to them in terms they can understand.
— Pabini Gabriel-Petit
Further reading
5 Proven Tactics for Evangelizing UX
How to Evangelize Research in Your Organization | Maze
Evangelizing UX Across an Entire Organization :: UXmatters
Design conceptual models about the problem space from research findings
Conceptual models are abstract, psychological representations of how tasks should be carried out. Designers utilize conceptual models to systematize processes implicitly and intuitively.
For example, calendars are frequent mental models for scheduling appointments. Understanding the power of conceptual models helps designers create software that matches the conceptual models of their customers.
Further reading
Understanding and Conceptualizing Interaction
Understand user journeys
Nielsen Norman Group defines a user journey as a "map is a visualization of the process that a person goes through in order to accomplish a goal."
They are used to map the relationship between a customer and an business over a timeline and across all channels on which they interact with.
Designers use customer journey maps to see how customer experiences meet customers’ expectations and find areas where they need to improve designs.
Further reading
User Journey Map: Understanding and Improving Interactions
User Journeys: the complete guide
Help find a product-market fit
According to Marc Andressen: “Product/market fit means being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.”
It is a temporary state in which your product solves a large enough issue with the appropriate solution for your customers.
Further reading
How To Find Product Market Fit
What Is Product Market Fit? How To Find It in 6 Steps
A Playbook for Achieving Product-Market Fit the Lean Way
Make informed aesthetic choices. That is, have taste. Know what UI looks elegant and is still usable.
Design aesthetics are extremely important in product design. Stakeholders anticipate the development of highly valued premium products by improving product design aesthetics. Nonetheless, the issue of determining the worth of design aesthetics has not been completely addressed.
Further reading
Effects of Design Aesthetics on the Perceived Value of a Product