I thought maybe it was a glitch, but I was surprised by the 50-plus rebels that showed up to protect La Gringa from Santa Blanca. Is this normal, or did I just luck out? Or does it depend on difficulty level?
Mods, I saw no “discussion” flair, so if I marked it wrong, that’s on y’all, not me. 😉
I’ve been seeing an overwhelming number of posts on generally the same topic, that being over-zealous CEOs and PMs using AI tools to surpass the design process and cut us out of the loop. I’ve shared my recent experiences in the comments of other posts, but I’ll recap here.
I was hired as a Senior UX/UI designer for a cybersecurity company that was looking in their first designer after being in business for around little under 10 years. It’s a very dev-centric shop, which I can understand, but they said they wanted a designer because they knew the product needed a major upgrade in both visual appearance and the UX. So when I got there, one of the major things I noticed was that there was no solid process. Too many stakeholders, and everyone on the team was basically free to debate anything and everything, often depending on nothing more than opinion rather than any facts. The overhaul deadline was arbitrarily set by the CEO with no data other than his drive to beat competitors. Everyone at the company already had an opinion of how design ought to function within the company (the CEO frequently said in meetings that I was there to “make it pretty,” even after I explained that I was there for much more than that), even though they never worked with dedicated designers before, so every decision I made was met with pushback/second-guessed/overridden, even critical ones like WCAG standards or pointing out where the process was broken and suggested ways to fix it. Even though I used Claude to drastically shorten my design process (in good and beneficial ways), I was told constantly that I wasn’t moving fast enough.
When Claude Design came out, the CEO used a few short prompts to create a prototype for a screen I had been working on, and it was radically different than the feedback and direction he’d given me directly. He went over my head and not only socialized it and got approval, but also sent it directly to the developers with instructions to build it as-is. I asked him not to do that again and explained why having design input was important and well-worth the time cost, and he heard me, or said he did. But at the same time, he suggested several times that maybe we didn’t even need Figma. That was a warning bell (one of many I’d had up to that point).
And two weeks later the company eliminated my position. Today I saw the posting for my replacement, which is for a mid-level “Product Analyst,” which they intend to hire as part BA, part designer (they’re even asking for a portfolio) who will use AI tools and write user stories. So this tells me they want someone who will just do what they’re told, not to actually make the product and processes better (and someone they could pay even less than the very low salary I was getting)
So the point of what I’m trying to say is that my story shows that it’s not actually AI that is costing us our jobs; it’s business leaders who don’t understand design and the true value that we bring to the table. Even with a decade’s worth of articles, podcasts, TED Talks, and d YouTube videos that prove otherwise at their disposal, they would still rather cling to their own notions of design as a luxury. The threat to our jobs isn’t technology, it’s ego…still…and it’s important that we understand this.
As far as how to drive this point home, I’m kind of at a loss. I definitely tried to raise important points to the leaders who ignored and second-guessed me, but you can’t make someone see a point they absolutely refuse to see.
So let’s discuss: What can we do, especially when it’s a cultural shift that has to happen in a timeline that isn’t designed to flex?
Hey, everyone. This is primarily for those of you who have done session work and/or use charts regularly.
I decided I wanted to start getting more fluent with charts after spending 35 years playing by ear, and today I wrote my first couple of charts that I’m thinking of bringing to a local jam night: “Jailbreak” by AC/DC and “I’m Talking About You” by Chuck Berry.
I’d love it if you could take a quick look and let me know if the way I’ve laid it out makes sense to you.
Thank you!
I’m a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, drums, and vocals) who moved up from Minneapolis almost two years ago. I’m wanting to get out and play, and am planning on attending some upcoming open jams and stuff like that. I’ve got a lot of experience (35 years) playing different styles, and have thought about trying to get some session work.
How is Winnipeg for that? From the musical friends I’ve made so far I know the community here is pretty tight-knit, so I’m sure it’s a lot of who you know that knows you can play/follow charts, etc. Any other recommendations for getting into it here?