Design At Crossroads: AI, Adaptation and the Human Touch

As the design community celebrated World Design Day on 27 April, the importance of human creativity has never been more relevant - especially as AI reshapes the design landscape. 

A recent AI Report by Figma reveals the scale of this transformation: 

1. 31% of designers are already using AI in their design phase, while 37% employ it in development processes
2. Design teams who viewed AI as a fundamentally different approach saw an 82% success rate, compared to just 64% for those who didn't adapt their processes. 
3. While 78% of professionals believe AI enhances their efficiency, only 58% feel it improves the actual quality of their work.  

To make sense of this shift, we spoke with three designers at our company who are navigating it daily: Jonas Geest, Milan Vanalderwerelt, and Niels Dewelde. With their combined experience spanning more than 15 years, they offer unique perspectives on how human creativity and AI can work together to shape the future of digital products.

Practical AI Applications

Starting with the obvious topic of AI integration into design workflows, our designers agree on how experiences can vary a lot, mostly because the adoption varies significantly based on context and constraints of client environments. While some organisations allow freedom in selecting and implementing tools, others—particularly in regulated industries like healthcare—maintain strict policies around AI adoption. 

This diverse landscape has pushed our team to develop flexible approaches to AI integration, adapting our methods to align with each client's unique environment while maximizing the technology's potential. The result is a spectrum of innovative applications across our design practice.

For early-stage explorations, Niels likes to work with tools like Lovable, mainly for proof of concepts. “I like working with Lovable, as it provides a quick prototype. This creates an exciting dynamic where we can rapidly explore multiple ideas"

Milan, on the other hand, reveals that text-based AI tools have become surprisingly central to her design process: "I mostly use text-based AI, even though I'm a designer, because it helps me brainstorm or define a style or copy." She notes that while AI requires careful prompting to get useful results, it serves as a collaborative partner, helping to explore possibilities rather than dictating solutions.

Jonas, on the other hand, has found particular value in AI's technical applications: "Creating code from design and making it functional, for example, creating UI that can also be implemented as a code." This reflects a powerful trend. Numbers from the above mentioned Figma report, say it all: 51% of designers and a remarkable 68% of developers now use AI to generate code, making it the most dominant use case in development workflows.

Copy & Paste vs Think & Create

Our designers don't shy away from addressing AI’s limitations. "It's hard to use AI for creative purposes because it only knows things that were created in the past. So it always grabs something that's already been created," explains Jonas. Take AI-generated designs that mirror existing work from companies like Spotify or Apple—they demonstrate AI's current inability to generate truly original concepts.

This limitation becomes particularly evident in trending AI applications. Jonas makes a reference to the AI-generated anime art: "People are generating anime art from their photos, which is a complete rip-off of what those Japanese anime studios have been creating for the last couple of decades." This observation underscores a fundamental challenge: AI's tendency to remix existing work rather than create genuinely novel designs.

The Human Factor

Certain aspects of the design work, such as contextual understanding and user testing, will remain distinctly human. Understanding context and navigating organisational dynamics that require human insight is something that AI cannot replicate. "Getting the client on board, getting it sold internally, getting the budget for it: that’s the real challenge," shares Niels. Milan also chips in stating the ability to read between the lines and identify underlying needs remains (still) a uniquely human skill. "The clients say what they want, but you have to figure out what they need.”

In The Pocket has always put focus on knit-close collaboration with our clients, something that all three designers appreciate. Milan especially praises this unique level of client engagement: "At the Pocket, we really work closely with our clients. Throughout the entire process, we have so much contact and feedback, making communication very transparent.” This transparency and close collaboration represent a shift from traditional agency-client relationships, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of client needs and faster iteration on solutions.

Finding Inspiration

Staying current with design trends and finding fresh ideas involves a multi-channel approach. While social media platforms, particularly Instagram, serve as a common source of inspiration among the designers, each has added other methods in the mix to stay up-to-date. 

Jonas focuses on studying other agencies' work, noting "I always like to look at what other agencies are doing". Niels emphasises the value of design communities and practical learning, explaining how he studies UI patterns through Mobbin and leverages design program communities, such as Figma, Rive, Spline: "You can see projects from other designers, look into their files, how they built up the structure or how they designed it and learn from it." 

Milan takes a practical approach to staying informed, like going to conferences, participating in meetups, subscribing to email newsletters and regularly reading inspiring design articles. "I often enter some competitions or jams with other creatives to build some community and learn from them," she adds, exemplifying how the design community thrives on collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Where Does Design Go From Here?

As with almost every job today, designers are also confronted with the premise: Adapt or die. The future of design might be more of a  "T" specialisation with a broad (generalistic) base and a domain of expertise. Success in this new landscape will require designers to develop expertise beyond traditional design fundamentals, whether in technical implementation or strategic thinking. Jonas suggests a significant shift away from generalist roles: “While we currently own the entire design process from discovery strategy to implementation, specialisation will drive new divisions of expertise.The complexity of modern design means we won't manage the entire process end-to-end anymore."

Niels sees AI accelerating basic design processes, drawing parallels with previous technological transitions: "If you look at how it evolved during the time, we came from Photoshop and Illustrator, which were high-quality tools and as a designer you had to master them. Then we jumped to Figma, which provided new features and the option to reuse the components. I feel like AI is another step in that process where the baseline of what design is will be raised to a new level."

The evolution of design in the AI era isn't about replacement but enhancement. While AI accelerates workflows and handles routine tasks, our designers' experiences highlight that the core of impactful design remains distinctly human—the ability to read between lines, navigate complex client relationships, and transform business challenges into meaningful solutions. As the field continues to specialise, tomorrow's designers won't just be tool masters but strategic partners who can bridge the gap between technological capabilities and human needs. Their success will hinge not on resisting AI's advance, but on leveraging it to amplify what humans do best: create, empathise, and innovate.

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