I automated my design job (And became more valuable)

Most designers fight AI. This one turned it into their advantage.

Editor's Note: If you're new here, I'm Mindaugas. I talk to designers of all levels every single day and have done so for over a decade. Often designers share complex career situations with me and sometimes allow me to write about them edited for clarity and confidentiality.

This interview is with a designer I met a few months ago. They’ve been quietly shifting their approach in response to AI tools while most of their peers were still debating whether to use them at all. What started as a frank discussion about AI anxiety turned into something much more revealing about identity, adaptation, and what design might actually mean going forward. This conversation has been edited for clarity.

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"I was terrified, then I got curious."

Me:
So last time we talked, you were just starting to experiment with AI tools in your design process. How's that been going?

Them:
Yeah, so, that experiment kind of took over my entire career. I didn't see that coming.

Me:
What do you mean?

Them:
I started like everyone else. First I was terrified. I saw Midjourney and all these text-to-image tools and had this gut-level reaction like, "Well, I'm fucked. Game over." But something weird happened after that initial panic. I got curious.

Me:
Curious how?

Them:
I wanted to see exactly what these tools could and couldn't do. So I started feeding them real design problems. Like, could they actually build a functional checkout flow? Could they handle edge cases? Could they think about accessibility? And the results were... revealing.

Me:
In what way?

Them:
They sucked at the nuanced stuff, but they were scarily good at producing volume. They could generate 50 versions of a checkout form in minutes. Most were garbage, but a few had ideas I'd never have thought of.

That's when it hit me – what if I stopped fighting the tools and changed my role instead? What if I became the person who could harness this properly?

Me:
And how did that look in practice?

Them:
I stopped thinking of myself as the person who makes interfaces. I started seeing myself as the person who builds systems that make interfaces.

Me:
That's a pretty big shift.

Them:
Fucking massive shift. Honestly, it felt like an identity crisis at first. I'd spent many years perfecting my craft – typography, color theory, interaction patterns. All that stuff that used to make me valuable. And suddenly I'm looking at AI spitting out work in seconds that would have taken me weeks.

Me:
That must have been hard to accept.

Them:
It was horrible. I went through this phase of trying to prove the AI was wrong, that it couldn't replace "real design thinking." I'd generate something and then spend hours finding all the flaws.

Me:
Like you were defending your territory.

Them:
Exactly. But after a couple months of that, I realised I was wasting time and energy on the wrong battle. The question wasn't whether AI could replace me. It was whether I could become something different.

"I had to kill my old job before someone else did."

Me:
So what happened next?

Them:
I made a decision that felt crazy at the time. I basically killed my old job before someone else could do it for me.

Me:
What does that mean exactly?

Them:
I went to my manager and said, "I think I can 10x our design output, but I need to completely change how I work." I showed them how we could use AI to generate and test dozens of variations, while I focused on the system that would guide that generation.

Me:
And they went for it?

Them:
Yeah, because I framed it around outcomes, not process. I didn't say "I want to play with AI." I said "I can help us ship faster with fewer resources." This was right after a round of layoffs, so that message landed.

Me:
Were you worried about essentially automating part of your own role?

Them:
Of course. But I figured if I wasn't the one doing it, someone else would be. At least this way I was steering the ship.

Me:
So what did this new way of working actually look like?

Them:
Instead of designing UI directly, I started building what I call "design scaffolding" – design systems, component libraries, and prompt frameworks that could guide AI tools to produce work within our brand and UX guidelines.

Me:
Prompt frameworks?

Them:
Yeah, like meticulously crafted templates that tell AI exactly how to approach different design challenges. What constraints to consider, what patterns to follow, what questions to ask. Basically, I encoded my design thinking into formats the AI could apply at scale.

Me:
Did that feel like you were giving away your secret sauce?

Them:
100%. It felt like I was documenting everything that made me valuable as a designer and turning it into a fucking instruction manual anyone could follow. Terrifying. But also very freeing, in a weird way.

"The real job was becoming the gap between capabilities."

Me:
Freeing how?

Them:
It forced me to get honest about what parts of my job were actually strategic and what parts were just execution labor. Things I did because that's what designers have always done, not because it was the highest value work.

Me:
Can you give an example?

Them:
Sure. Like spending three hours adjusting the padding on a modal across different screen sizes. That's not strategic work. That's just labor. Labor that AI can now do in seconds if you give it the right guidelines.

Me:
So what became your focus instead?

Them:
I realised my real value was in becoming the gap between capabilities. Between what AI tools can do, what developers need, and what the business wants to achieve. I became less of a craftsperson and more of a translator and orchestrator.

Me:
That sounds like you basically became a manager.

Them:
[Laughs] I mean, kind of, yes. But not of people – of systems. I went from being a designer to being a design industrialist. Instead of making individual products by hand, I was building factories that could produce at scale.

Me:
Design industrialist. I kinda like that term.

Them:
It captures the mindset shift. The old way was like being an artisan making bespoke furniture. The new way is like designing the machinery and processes for IKEA. Different skillset entirely.

"Companies don't want designers anymore. They want design."

Me:
How did this change how you positioned yourself professionally?

Them:
That's where things got really interesting. When I decided to move on from my company recently, I stopped applying for traditional design roles entirely.

Me:
What kind of roles did you go after instead?

Them:
I started looking for companies with huge design output needs but limited resources. Places where the gap between what they needed to create and what their team could manually produce was largest.

Me:
And what did you offer them?

Them:
I'd reach out directly and tell them, "You don't need more designers. You need systems that scale your design capabilities." I'd show them how my approach could help them create 10x the design collateral with the same headcount.

Me:
How did that land?

Them:
Mixed results at first. Some companies got it immediately. Others were suspicious like I was trying to sell them snake oil. But the ones who understood became incredible opportunities.

Me:
What was different about the companies that got it?

Them:
They had already accepted that design isn't precious. It's a business function that needs to scale like any other. They didn't romanticise the design process. They just wanted results.

Me:
That feels like a pretty uncommon perspective in the design world.

Them:
It is. Most designers are still fighting to be seen as special and different from other business functions. They're protective of their craft. Meanwhile, these companies were like, "We don't care how the design gets done as long as it's good and it's fast."

Me:
And that aligned with your new approach.

Them:
Exactly. I could say, "I'm not going to personally craft everything for you. I'm going to build systems that let us generate and test hundreds of interfaces." Some places weren't ready for that. But the ones who were? Those conversations were electric.

"The hard part wasn't learning the tools. It was unlearning my identity."

Me:
What was the biggest challenge in making this transition?

Them:
Honestly? It wasn't learning the tools. Generating decent ideas with AI can be easy if you put the work in. The hard part was unlearning my identity.

Me:
What do you mean by that?

Them:
I had spent years building this identity around being "a designer." I took pride in my craft, in my eye for detail, in the fact that I could spot a misaligned pixel from across the room. Letting go of that was painful.

Me:
How did you work through that?

Them:
I had to get honest about what was actually valuable about my skills and what was just ego. Was I really adding value by manually adjusting button states for the 50th time, or was I just attached to the feeling of being the person who did that work?

Me:
That's a tough question to ask yourself.

Them:
It was hard, I won’t lie. And I think it's why so many designers are still resisting this shift. It's not actually about the tools. It's about the identity crisis that comes with them.

Me:
Identity crisis?

Them:
Yeah. For years, we've defined ourselves by what we make and how we make it. "I'm a UI designer. I create interfaces in Figma." But what happens when AI can do 70% of that? What are you then?

Me:
So what's the answer? What are you then?

Them:
That's what I had to figure out. And I realised that my value wasn't in the execution – it was in my understanding of the problem space. My ability to see connections between business goals, user needs, and technical constraints. AI couldn't do that.

"I'm not a designer anymore. I'm an augmented designer."

Me:
So how do you describe what you do now?

Them:
I tell people I'm an augmented designer. My job isn't to create design artifacts personally – it's to create the conditions and systems where good design can happen at scale.

Me:
And that's been working for you?

Them:
Better than I expected. I'm getting brought into conversations that traditional designers don't get invited to. Strategic planning. Product roadmapping. Even investment decisions.

Me:
Why do you think that is?

Them:
Because I'm not positioning myself as an executor. I'm positioning myself as a multiplier. Someone who can take limited resources and turn them into outsized design output. That's a different conversation from "I can make your app look pretty."

Me:
How has compensation changed with this shift?

Them:
[Laughs] Well, I probably shouldn't share specific numbers, but let's say it's significantly better. When you position yourself as someone who can deliver 10x quality output rather than just another pair of hands, you can charge accordingly.

Me:
And what about the actual day-to-day work? Is it still satisfying?

Them:
It's different. I miss getting into the flow state of craft sometimes. But there's a new kind of satisfaction in seeing the systems I've built produce great work without my direct involvement. It's more like being a composer than a musician, if that makes sense.

"The design community is having the wrong conversation."

Me:
How has the broader design community reacted to your approach?

Them:
Mixed. Some people get it and are excited. Others think I'm selling out or cheapening the profession. I've lost some friends over it, honestly.

Me:
That must be tough.

Them:
It is, but I also think the design community is having the wrong conversation right now. They're debating whether AI will replace designers. That ship has sailed. Parts of the job are already being replaced.

Me:
So what should the conversation be instead?

Them:
We should be discussing how to elevate the role of design by embracing these tools. How to move from being pixel-pushers to system-thinkers. How to encode our expertise in ways that can scale beyond our individual capacity.

Me:
That's a pretty radical perspective.

Them:
Maybe. But I also think it's inevitable. Look at how other professions have evolved with technology. Architects don't draw every blueprint by hand anymore. They use CAD systems and building information modeling. Did that destroy architecture? No, it elevated it.

Me:
Do you think most designers will make this shift?

Them:
No. Many won't. They'll keep fighting to preserve the old way of working until they get pushed out of the industry. And I get it because there's something beautiful about the craft. But the market doesn't pay for our beautiful processes. It pays for outcomes.

"Everyone's worrying about AI stealing their job. I gave it part of my job on purpose."

Me:
What advice would you give to designers who are feeling threatened by AI right now?

Them:
Stop thinking of AI as competition and start thinking of it as a team member with a very specific skillset. Figure out what it's good at and what you're good at, then redesign your role to leverage both.

Me:
Can you break that down more specifically?

Them:
Sure. AI is good at generating volume, following patterns, and working without fatigue. You're good at strategic thinking, contextual understanding, and navigating ambiguity. So offload the first category to AI and double down on the second.

Me:
How exactly does someone start that transition?

Them:
I'd suggest identifying the most repetitive parts of your workflow first. The tasks that follow clear patterns. Then experiment with using AI to handle those while you focus on the higher-level decisions.

Me:
Deliberately giving away parts of your job sounds scary.

Them:
It is scary! But everyone's worrying about AI stealing their job. I gave AI part of my job on purpose, and it made me more valuable, not less. Because I controlled which parts I gave away.

"What holds most people back isn't lack of opportunity."

Me:
You seem remarkably adaptable. Not everyone finds change this easy.

Them:
Oh, it wasn't easy. It was fucking painful. I had moments of serious doubt. And plenty of designers I know are still fighting this change.

Me:
What do you think is the difference between those who adapt and those who don't?

Them:
Honestly? It's about how tightly you grip your professional identity. I had to let go of being "a designer" in the traditional sense.

Me:
What do you mean by that?

Them:
When your whole career and sense of value is wrapped up in a specific way of working, you'll resist anything that threatens it. I know senior designers who'd rather be unemployed than admit their pixel-perfect mockups aren't the most valuable thing they could be doing.

Me:
That's a tough position to be in.

Them:
It is. I went through it too. But when I stopped fighting to preserve my old job and started looking for what was actually needed now, everything changed. The people who figure this out first aren't necessarily the most talented designers – they're just the ones who aren't stuck defending territory that's already lost.

"I'm building the pickaxes for the AI gold rush."

Me:
Where do you see this all going? What's the future for designers?

Them:
I think we're going to see a split. Some designers will double down on the areas AI can't touch – strategic thinking, emotional design, ethical considerations. Others will become what I'm calling design industrialists – people who build the systems that allow design to happen at scale.

Me:
And which path do you think will be more valuable?

Them:
Both can work, but I'm betting on the second one. In any technological revolution, there's usually more money in building the tools than in direct production. I'm essentially building the pickaxes for the AI gold rush.

Me:
Pickaxes for the gold rush. Nice analogy.

Them:
Yeah, during the actual gold rush, the people who made sustainable fortunes weren't usually the miners. They were the ones selling supplies to the miners. I see a parallel here.

Me:
So, basically, you're not adapting to change – instead, you're positioning yourself to profit from it.

Them:
Exactly. And I think that's the mindset shift designers need to make. Stop asking "How do I compete with AI?" and start asking "How do I leverage AI to create new value that wasn't possible before?"

"Design isn't dying. It's being unbundled and rebundled."

Me:
Any final thoughts or predictions about where all this is heading?

Them:
I think what we're seeing isn't the death of design. It's the unbundling and rebundling of design. The tasks and responsibilities that used to be packaged together under the title "designer" are being separated, with some going to AI and others being elevated.

Me:
Unbundling and rebundling. That makes a lot of sense actually from what I’m seeing too.

Them:
Look at what happened with development. When I started, everyone wanted to be a full-stack dev. Now that's getting rarer as the specialised knowledge needed in each layer grows. Design is fragmenting the same way, but most people don't see it yet.

Me:
If you had to give one piece of advice to designers feeling lost right now, what would it be?

Them:
Quit fighting so hard to stay in your comfort zone. The worst career choices I see are designers desperately trying to prove they're still relevant by just working harder at the old ways. It's sad, watching someone perfect skills nobody's willing to pay for anymore.

Look at what AI sucks at like understanding context, making strategic calls, handling ambiguity. That's where I put my energy now. The rest? I build systems to handle it.

Me:
That's a huge ask for people who've spent years honing their craft.

Them:
It is. Change is hard. But the alternative is becoming obsolete. And honestly, there's something genuinely exciting about what becomes possible when you embrace these tools. The scale and impact you can have is unlike anything we've seen before in design.

Me:
You sound genuinely optimistic.

Them:
I am. Sure, there are days when I miss the pure craft of the old way of working. But most days? I'm excited about what's possible now that wasn't before. Design has always been about solving problems. The tools change, but that fundamental purpose doesn't.

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