The Next-Gen Designer (1): Time to Cross-skill

I am back on my desk at home from the last 2 days of intense handson workshop on 'ProDaLiDE' - NextGen Prototyping for AI & Data driven Web Application Design Validation at IIT Kanpur.

This workshop was the one of the major milestones in my mission on exploration of design processes for the next get AI powered design teams across various orgs. While on my way back to Bangaluru, I was reflecting back on this journey and was jotting some of the key points on the mission that I had started some years back when exploring about DesOps (DesignOps as a mindset similar to DevOps) . As I go through these reflections and insights, I’m sharing some of these notes here.

So in this series of few articles "The Next-Gen Designer", I will try to highlight my ongoing exploration into how designers can adapt to the changing landscape where technology and creativity intersect. My goal is to highlight key challenges, opportunities, and the evolving role of designers in this tech-driven era.

Technology is always changing, and with it, the way we design, build, and validate products is constantly evolving too. AI is one of the latest game-changers, and just like with any new technology, it brings new challenges for designers. This means we, as designers, need to step up and adapt. It's time to evolve beyond our traditional roles and embrace new, innovative methods to design faster and test smarter.

The future of design demands that we stay agile, think creatively, and continuously evolve our approaches. As part of this journey, I've been exploring various design processes over time to identify the key challenges we face as designers. With each new wave of technology, these challenges evolve, and it’s crucial to keep up. My focus has been on finding practical ways to overcome these hurdles, especially in how we can leverage new tools and approaches to improve our workflows. (You can find some of these very earlier attempts related to design hand-offs, E2E design automation or open-design systems as part of the DesOps , the framework of DesignOps based on the mindset similar to DevOps )

However in recent explorations, I was working with some of the best minds from academics as well as industry to huddle on various ways the designers can bring value to the table while working with cutting edge technologies shaping the next-gen products and services.

As part of these efforts, I’ve divided the design roles into two main categories: Discovery and Delivery. These two phases fit within the broader framework of the Double Diamond, which serves as a guiding structure for many methodologies like design thinking, service design, and design sprints.

• Discovery focuses on understanding the problem, researching user needs, and exploring possibilities.
• Delivery is about taking those insights and turning them into real, validated solutions.

By aligning our roles with these two phases, we can ensure that no matter the approach or tools we use, our design processes are comprehensive and adaptable to the challenges of modern technology.

Breaking down the design process this way made it easier tfor me to group the challenges that come with new technologies like AI.

During the discovery phase, we can better understand how AI can enhance our products and identify potential issues early on. Following this principles, to improve the time-to-market and bring effective innovation to the table, in the previous series of experiments, we were able to conduct First-ever AI Facilitated DesignThinking Session which details become the outcome for this paper for HCII 2023 . When we started, there was hardly a means to carry out these, and acceptance, however when I see some of the new courses/trainings being advertised by IIMs and some IITs on AI enabled Design Thinking, I get the confirmation that the direction we took was right.

Next, for the delivery phase of the design process, it became really important to understand the gaps that as a designer, we face with the advent of new technologies like AI/ ML.

Many designers struggle when it comes to analyzing the technology side of things. This is largely because traditional design education often creates the belief that design is a separate block from the tech space. Designers are taught to focus on creativity and user experience, while the technical aspects are often left for others to handle.

Even today, a lot of designers find it hard to quickly adapt to new technologies. There are a couple of reasons for this. One major challenge is the overwhelming amount of technical jargon. It can be tough to navigate the sea of new terms, tools, and processes without a clear guide.

Another challenge is the mindset itself. Many designers question why they even need to worry about technology. They rely on the belief that the fundamentals of design—things like balance, color theory, and typography—remain the same over time. While this is true to an extent, the reality is that technology is reshaping how products are created and how users interact with them. In today’s world, a designer’s role has to go beyond just the visual and conceptual. We need to understand the technology driving the experiences we're designing, whether it's AI, machine learning, or even the platforms and frameworks products are built on.

The design fundamentals don’t disappear, but they need to be applied within a new context. The challenge is not just learning new tools but adopting a mindset that embraces technology as part of the design process, not something separate from it. This brings us to an important realization: it’s now time for designers to evolve and step out of the cocoon where technology and creativity were seen as separate worlds. The old belief that designers can focus solely on aesthetics while leaving the tech to others no longer holds in today’s landscape.

Technology is shaping the way we design, and creativity now needs to blend with technical understanding. Whether it’s AI, machine learning, or new platforms, designers are increasingly required to grasp the tools and technologies that power their ideas. Holding onto outdated notions can limit creativity and prevent us from fully exploring the possibilities that modern tech offers. By doing so, designers can stay relevant and create solutions that truly work in today’s tech-driven world.

Stay tuned.

Will continue in my next post.