How the industry has shaped me to embrace data-driven design.Ive been working as an interaction designer and PM for years. When I first came to the US a decade ago, I wasnt sure how Id fit into the job market. I wasnt from here and didnt know the playbook. Through trial and error, I eventually found myself in the then-booming role of UX designera job that felt relatable, in demand, and easy to explain to others at thetime.Like many in the field, I leaned heavily into the mantra of data-driven design. Every choice had to be backed by numbers, validated by user tests, or confirmed by analytics. For a while, that approach was powerful. But Ive come to believe its no longer the true advantage of a designer. In fact, its becoming obsolete.Over the last decade, the digital product industry has centered itself on process: templates, frameworks, and ways to integrate design into business efficiently with data. But in doing so, designers, myself included, have slowly boxed ourselves in. Much of what designers produce todaystructured iterations, data-driven optimizationsare exactly the kinds of tasks that AI can do faster, or lower-cost labor can docheaper.My observations with data-driven designData-driven design is easily replicable, especially with AI. Its a great tool for an operator, but that has risked some designjobs.It flattens experiences. Optimizing for numbers alone converges toward sameness: endless scroll feeds, grid layouts, the samefunnels.Its reactive. Most available data reflects only the past. Leading indicators are often hard to identify or measure. As a result, we tend to focus on lagging data, making iterations reactive rather than inventive or preventive. When KPIs miss badly, debates over what to tweak can become paralyzing.The uncomfortable truth is this: by clinging to the data-driven process as our identity, weve made ourselves replaceable. You can see it in the job marketroles shrinking, tasks offloaded, design increasingly treated as a commodity.But Ive also noticed recent signs of a shift. After the euphoric rush of AI, some teams are realizing the limits of automation. AI improves productivity, yesbut when it comes to fine-tuning, to the subtle judgment calls that make an experience feel rightit falls flat. And thats exactly where designlives.Looking back at history, the pattern is clear: many of the most important products werent born from data at all, but from ambiguous, even irrational designchoices.Creative AmbiguityFeels right!iPods clickwheelThe click wheel was born less from data and more from a designers hunch about rhythm. Controlling thousands of songs with a tiny screen seemed impossibleuntil someone spun their thumb around a wheel and realized it could feel like scratching vinyl, a gesture with cadence and playfulness.Sometimes stupid things only seem stupid at first, but if you break through, it actually becomes smart.TonyFadellThe 3rd generation replaced the mechanical buttons with touch buttons, placing them in a separate location. The issue was that the wheel and the controls were no longer together, making the interaction less seamless. The 4th generation solved it by integrating the navigation and the control into a seamless single touch button. (Image source: KenSegall)Satisfying to see it working!Dysons transparent vacuumWhen James Dyson proposed a clear canister that displayed all the dirt being sucked up, designers told him: nobody wants to see their dust. Dyson flipped the logic: the visibility wasnt disgusting, it was satisfying.I persisted, because I found it really fascinating that you could see exactly what was happening I wouldnt have got that from researchId have gotten the exact opposite.JamesDysonThe DC01 vacuum cleaner, a bagless design, was inspired by how sawdust was removed from the air by large industrial cyclones at a local sawmill. Using clear plastic for the dust collector was a provocative choice, but it directly represented its functionshowing how the suction worked more effectively without the traditional use of a bag. (Image source: The Guardian)More living, more fluid!Snapchats ephemeral messagesOne of the defining traits of digital products is the effortless access to past content. Snapchat inverted that logic. Instead of permanence as the source of value, what if the value was in disappearance? Evan Spiegel described it as removing the pressure associated with permanence. The result was messaging that felt playful, intimate, and aliveless like an archive, more like a conversation. Most importantly, ephemerality nudged users to return frequently, knowing messages and stories would vanish if theydidnt.Snapchat isnt about capturing the traditional Kodak moment. Its about communicating with the full range of human emotionnot just what appears to be pretty or perfect.SpiegelBy 20152016, many users were already screenshotting snaps they wanted to keep or using third-party apps to save them. Snap saw this behavior and recognized people wanted a way to preserve certain moments rather than lose them forever, which lead to the release of Memories. (Image source: Gadgets360)The Emergence of the Walkman EffectSonyWalkmanSonys market research was clear: nobody wanted a tape player without a record button. Akio Morita, Sonys co-founder, ignored the data and pushed ahead with the Walkman (1979). He believed people didnt yet realize they wanted private, mobile music. He was right. The Walkman redefined how people consumed music, introducing the Walkman Effectgiving listeners control over their environment.The public does not know what is possible, but we do. Instead of doing a lot of market research, we refine our thinking on a product and its use and try to create a market for it by educating and communicating with the public.AkioMoritaThe Walkman, designed to enhance the listening experience in public spaces, was initially released with two earphone jacks for sharing music, but the feature was later removed as it wasnt widely used. (Image source: Bibliore)Iconic and Abstract: Absolut Vodka Campaign(1980s)In the 1980s, Absolut Vodka took a bold approach to advertising. Instead of describing the vodkas taste or craftsmanship, the team fixated on the bottle itself and treated its silhouette as a cultural canvas. No focus group or market data suggested this would workit looked risky, even puzzling. Yet the playful, surreal representations of the bottleas a halo, a snow globe, a stageresonated, and more importantly, made people curious about this mysterious foreign-born vodka. The campaign became one of the longest-running and most recognizable in advertising history, proving that imagination and ambiguity could break through traditional advertising templates.Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.ScottAdamsAbsoluts advertisements initially sparked curiosity among American consumers, highlighting the mystique of this foreign brand. Over time, using the iconic bottle silhouette, the campaign incorporated more cultural references to stay relevant and engaging. Eventually, print ads reached their limits, and the campaign expanded into broader advertising channels. (Image source: ReferralCandy)Its about the positioningI apologize for titling the article Data-driven is deadI admit I wanted it to sound a little more controversial. In fact, I love working with data, and the examples I mentioned above also evolved based on consumer reactions. More importantly, they were fundamentally functional. But Ive also found that relying on it too much can narrow the scope of the conversation and doesnt always help steer the direction when were far off course. I simply think its somewhat outdated to present data-driven design as your core role. Yes, as a professional, you should pay attention to business performance and client behavior. However, we should also feel confident talking about feeling, intuition, and creative ambiguity. That positioning makes me feel more optimistic as a product designertoday.References:Tony Fadell tells us the story of the iPod-based iPhone prototype | TheVergeA Conversation with James Dyson In Three Parts | TheCore77SNAPCHATS FAILED EPHEMERALITY |AMODERNCaseThe Sony Walkman | Commoncog CaseLibraryData-driven is dead was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.