📰 3 THINGS TO CHECK OUT
Wait, Who Made This? The Rise of Creative Provenance
- Allie Paschal, a UX/UI designer, design systems expert, and accessibility specialist, explores why AI is changing not just how creative work is made, but how audiences evaluate and trust it.
- Paschal suggests we're entering an era of creative provenance, where creative work is beginning to include evidence of its process to help establish credibility. She also argues that provenance matters less in functional products, where users care more about whether something works than how it was made.
- "But with this spectrum, there’s a growing middle ground for UX UI design. Interfaces are not purely functional since they carry tone, personality, and decision-making power. When AI is embedded into the experience, users begin to care about how it works and what role AI is playing."
What Design Engineering Is, How It's Changed, and Where It's Going
- Marcelo Chaman Mallqui, founder of AI automation platform Gumloop, explains how AI is reshaping design engineering, a powerful discipline that's evolving beyond a bridge between two roles to owning more of the product pipeline.
- As intent passes between product managers, designers, and engineers, it inevitably changes. Design engineering compresses that process by giving one person ownership across more of the journey, preserving the original vision all the way to what ships.
- "Once someone can understand users, make product decisions, design interfaces, write production code, and ship independently, their title matters a lot less than their capabilities."
Why I Left the UX Comfort Zone After 20 Years to Lead Product
- Amy Offenberger, a longtime UX leader who recently became a Senior Manager of Product, reflects on why AI is blurring traditional boundaries between design, product, and engineering, and why she saw it as an opportunity to broaden her impact rather than leave UX behind.
- Offenberger points out that while roles are becoming more fluid and designers are building new capabilities, the most valuable skills remain consistent. Customer understanding, navigating ambiguity, creating alignment, and leading designers are UX leadership skills that transfer.
- "Growth doesn't mean walking away from what made you successful. It means building on it."
💜 STUDENT PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Lead AI Designer for marketing agency Kinship, Djeimys (James) Souza recently took AI for Visual Design, where he created a playful spec campaign for Crocs. Through the course, he learned to direct AI with intention, build repeatable image and video workflows, and develop complete visual campaigns from concept to execution. The next cohort of AI for Visual Design launches July 24, and we're hosting a live webinar on Tuesday, July 21 at 12pm ET where you can learn more.
💡 INTERESTING STUFF...
- We Taught AI to Judge Design Like a Designer
- Lessons From Vibe Coding With AI
- Predicting the AI Interface 30 Years Ago: I Was 71% Right
- Evals are the New PRD
Pursuing purpose in your product works out a lot better than pursuing features for your product. — Luke Wroblewski, Head of Product, speaker, and author
🧪 FROM THE LAB
Learn More About Upcoming Courses
The next cohort of AI for UX Design starts August 7, helping experienced designers integrate AI across research, ideation, prototyping, testing, and validation. Join our live webinar on Wednesday, July 22 at 12pm ET to learn more and ask questions.
If you're interested in broadening your AI design expertise even further, AI for UX Design is one of the courses included in the AI Product Design Certification.
Master the nuances of Figma — from variables and components to scalable systems — and learn the strategies and workflows used by top product designers. The next cohort launches August 7. Join our webinar on Thursday, July 23 at 1pm ET for a course preview and live Q&A.
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