uxdesign.cc
The loss AI brings to the design industry could be what clarifies its truepurpose.Photo by Ann onUnsplashWhen my father died a few years ago, it changed me. We had a complicated relationship, but as adults, we did our best to mend the past and build something better. After he passed, I held onto the good memories, but I also regretted the things we never got the chance to do while he wasalive.Thats how grief worksit strips life down, the noise falls away, and whats left is a sharper sense of what truly matters, a new way of seeing the people around you that you never hadbefore.Lately, Ive been looking at design through that same lens. And while much of what I write may sound jaded and cynicaleven doom-and-gloombeneath it all, Im an optimist, always searching for meaning in thechaos.Grief shatters what we thought was stable, forcing us to confront what remains. In a way, AI has created a similar quake. Its unsettled many of us because the design world we once knew has withered, and it isnt comingback.Yet this loss doesnt mean design is gone. If anything, it requires us to find meaning in the turmoil and ask what design truly is, and what it still has the potential tobecome.Heres the differenceAI can generate outputs. It can mimic styles, assemble patterns, and even simulate decisions. But it cant create meaning. Meaning is rooted in memory, context, and emotion. Machines dont live, so they cant feel the depths ofbeing.Thats why our role as designers is more important than ever. The future of design isnt about competing with AIits about doing the one thing AI cannotcreate meaning. Our work will be to take the flood of machine-made material and shape it into something that resonates with human experience. To inject life where the machine only providesform.So while the design industry we knew is gone, like any loss, what remains isnt just absenceits the clarity of what truly mattered.Pre-AI design often obsessed over surface interpretations. We argued skeuomorphism versus flat, minimalism versus maximalism. But in the end, those were arguments about veneer, notpurpose.Even UX design itself fell into this trap of superficiality. A field that was supposed to champion human-centered design sometimes reduced itself to surface buzzwords like user delight, seamlessness, and frictionless flow, while the systems of meaning beneath remained unexamined. In that sense, AI isnt just disrupting the visible layer of designits revealing how much of what we called design was little more thantheater.Now that AI can generate those same facades instantly, the truth is clearersurface was never the point. What mattered was the meaning beneath it. Skeuomorphism worked because it made unfamiliar technology feel approachable. Flat design resonated because it spoke to a cultural hunger for clarity and efficiency. Frictionless flow isnt just about ease of use, its about building trust with the unknown. These werent just stylistic or usability choicesthey were reflections of the human experience.And yet, despite this deeper role, many will still argue design is on the verge of obsolescence. Some, like Greg Nudelman suggests that when it comes to AI-first design, where the boxes are, or what color, or labels, etc., almost doesnt matter. Even Ive written about this topic not long ago, arguing that AI will render traditional design obsolete by bypassing the very processes design was once neededfor.On the surface, these arguments seem rationaluntil you remember that humans are anything but. Take music, for example. From a utilitarian perspectiveor even a purely biological onewe dont need musicat least not to survive. Yet music gives us connection, meaning, and experience. The same is true for design that reaches beyond utility. It may seem impractical, like the ornate details of a historic church, but it generates meaning that transcends a pragmatic approach todesign.One could argue that machines can now generate music or images of beautiful architecture. But have you ever stood in front of a band you love, swept up in the emotional charge as the sound shakes through your body? Or stood at the foot of a historic building, in awe of its presence? Those are experiences no machine can replicateand thats the kind of resonance we as designers should be strivingfor.By this definition, its easy to confuse design with art. However, design has always been, at its core, a form of communication. And communication isnt confined to the transactional or utilitarianit can also be symbolic, emotional, even spiritual. Much like art, yes, but not quite thesame.A beautifully designed object, interface, or space doesnt just functionit says something, it connects, it resonates. Thats what separates design from raw aesthetic expressionit speaks to people in ways that guide understanding, foster connection, and shape experience.Moving forward, our focus has to be understanding the needs and meanings design expresses, not chasing whatever form happens to be popular or usable. Machines can spin out endless variations based on this criteria, but only humans can connect those forms to culture, memory, and lived experience.So yes, design as we once knew it may be gone. But in its absence, weve been handed something invaluableperspective. The reminder that meaningnot surfaceis what endures. And thats the part of design we carryforward.Dont miss out! Join my email list and receive the latestcontent.What grief can teach us about the future of design was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
map
