📰 3 THINGS TO CHECK OUT
I Built a Design Team Out of AI Agents
- Following last week's news that Figma's canvas is now open to AI agents, designer MC Dean takes the concept further—building an open-source system that gives you a team of 10 specialist AI agents who collaborate on a full design process. There's a strategist, a design lead, a content writer, an accessibility reviewer, and more, each agent handing off to the next and showing their reasoning as they go.
- What makes this approach interesting isn't just the technical setup, but the thinking behind it. Building the system forced Dean to make decisions about where one design discipline ends and another begins—and how the friction between them makes the work better. The result is a structured, transparent process where the human designer acts as creative director, steering the agents and weighing in at key moments.
- "This isn’t a replacement for design judgment. It’s an amplifier for it. A solo designer gets a structured process and a team of specialists they couldn’t afford to hire. A design lead gets a faster starting point for the parts of the work that are structurally predictable, freeing up attention for the parts that aren’t."
Are We Sleepwalking Into an Era of Ultra-Processed Creativity?
- In this interview, creative agency founder Andy Harvey draws a parallel between ultra-processed food and what he sees happening to creativity at scale. As agencies race to offer clients higher volumes of AI-generated options, Harvey argues the industry is drifting toward output that fills the feed but leaves you hollow—fast, cheap, and ultimately forgettable.
- His argument isn't anti-AI. It's more specific: using AI to do the same things faster doesn't encourage creativity. The more interesting opportunity is using it to go somewhere genuinely new.
- Creative exploration is what Designlab’s newly revamped AI for Visual Design course is built around. Instead of focusing on one-off generations, you'll learn to combine the strengths of multiple tools into a consistent, scalable creative system that expands what’s possible. The next cohort launches May 1st.
Data-First Product Validation with AI
- Senior Product Designer Victor Churchill discusses the "ticket problem," the painful paradox where you need validation before you build, but traditionally needed to build something to get it. But AI has quietly dissolved that paradox, letting teams test hypotheses, generate value props, spin up prototypes, and simulate user feedback, all before a single engineering ticket is written.
- His framework centers on identifying the one load-bearing assumption most at risk in an idea. From there, teams can use AI to run cheap, fast tests against that assumption before committing any real resources.
- "A combination of LLMs, vibe-coding tools, developer accelerators, image generators, and basic analytics is enough to run meaningful experiments...the constraint is no longer technology, but whether teams are willing to follow the data where it leads."
💜 PORTFOLIO INSPIRATION
UX Academy graduate Taylor "Tay" Shown is a multimedia designer turned UX designer, blending storytelling and strategy to create thoughtful, user-centered experiences. In Wander Portland, an MVP mobile app, Tay creates a platform to reengage locals with their city, using a digital “stamp” system, curated experiences, and incentives to combat overwhelm and motivate discovery. In a mobile-first redesign for Skate Oregon School, Tay focuses on clarity and access, restructuring dense content into a clean, intuitive experience to help both new skaters and busy parents quickly find and book classes. Across her projects, Tay demonstrates a strong ability to translate research into focused, purposeful design decisions that balance usability with enjoyment.
Got a portfolio you love that you’d like to share with our audience? Email your suggestions to hello@designlab.com.
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Effective, meaningful design requires intellectual, rational rigor along with the ability to elicit emotions and beliefs. — Debbie Millman, brand strategist
🧪 FROM THE LAB
A Milwaukee Tool Designer's Journey in Advanced Figma
UX Designer Nghi Pham recently joined Advanced Figma looking to level up her self-taught Figma skills—and left with the knowledge and confidence to lead the rebuild of her team’s web design system.
“Now I'm able to build out the design system [to be] more sophisticated and efficient for all of us...and I feel confident in manning that space." Read Nghi’s story.
If you're interested in learning the strategies and workflows of the most efficient and skilled product designers, the next cohort of Advanced Figma launches April 10. Grab your seat now.
UI Mastery Certification Launches Soon
UI Mastery Certification starts in a week, and applications are still open.
UI Mastery focuses on the fundamentals that enable designers to make a bigger impact. Across 8 weeks, you'll strengthen your design judgment and sharpen your edge through weekly studio sessions, hands-on projects, and personalized guidance from Designlab's most senior mentors.
If you’re ready to move beyond “good enough” and design with precision and intent, UI Mastery Certification will get you there. Apply now.
