Designers! Designers! Designers!
The design market is bifurcated: execution work is collapsing while strategic hybrid designers are in massive demand. AI hollowed out production roles, but the hard part about apps isn't making the app—it's understanding users and solving real problems.
tl;dr
Design Twitter is confused: half panic about AI killing jobs, half see founders desperate for design talent. The truth? Execution work (junior/mid-level production) has collapsed. But strategic 'Super ICs'—designers who own outcomes end-to-end, prototype in Cursor, push to production, speak product strategy, and measure business impact—are in massive demand. AI made execution abundant. Strategic hybrid execution is rare. Once everyone can make an app, we'll remember the hard part isn't making the app.
My Thoughts
It’s great to read this now that I see designers in different companies fighting against AI and starting to be pushed to produce PRs.
This article highlights two key things:
1. “Once everyone can make an app, we will remember that the hard part about apps isn’t making the app.”
This is bringing back the power and differentiation value of UX/UI. When all apps are produced automatically using one of the most popular AIs for design/prototyping (which use the same set of colors/design frameworks…), the value of having someone that really cares about users, that spends time understanding the problems and how creativity can defeat that of “out-of-the-box” creations, will skyrocket.
2. “For years, designers have asked for earlier influence, a seat at the table, and more ownership. This is what that looks like: hybrid designers who can prototype in Cursor, push to production, speak product strategy, and measure business impact. This is the new bar for design hiring.”
Sadly, pushing back to this kind of innovation is just adding one level of abstraction/production/approval to something that design wanted to own from the beginning. Becoming closer with these tools will set you free.
The irony is perfect: designers fought for years to have more ownership and strategic influence. Now that the tools exist to give them exactly that—to prototype, ship, and measure—some are resisting. But this is the opportunity. When AI makes execution commodity, the humans who understand users and frame the right problems become irreplaceable.
Eager to see how the market for UI/UX will be shapeshifting in the next years.
This is my personal commentary on the original article. Please read the original article for the full context.