Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Nat Cooper

Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Robots

You are here because you are a creative human working in the tech industry, and you may have heard that the robots are coming for your job. You are probably hoping that this article will tell you that your job is “safe” and you don’t have to worry about automations making you obsolete.

That sentiment is half-true — automation is inevitable, but as creative thinkers the role we play in predicting and solving problems will be invaluable. Today, in 2018, many aspects of a designer’s role in tech has already been automated and will continue to be until our roles have evolved into something else entirely.

So how do designers prepare for that evolution, especially since there are so many technological advancements and problems that we have yet to predict?

Understand traditional design theory.

Having strong competencies in visual design is the traditional foundation of a designer in tech. However, trends are showing that over the next few years designers will start focusing less time on visual design tasks.

Colour palettes, web layouts, typography, logos, and even illustrations are responsibilities that are already being taken care of by artificial intelligence. When AI tools are used effectively in a designer’s workflow, they can make the visual design phase of a project that much faster.

The responsibility designers have with these automations is to use their superior understanding of design theory to ensure the quality of the results are maintained and consistently improved. This is especially important in these precious first few years as the tech itself matures, learns, and gets more sophisticated.

Learn more about design thinking and strategy.

It’s a common opinion that some designers should learn how to code, but nowadays designers are also being encouraged to learn business strategy.

Since the traditional role of a designer was equated with art, aesthetics and craft, it can be difficult to think of a designer instead as an integral business strategist. In recent years the industry has seen the rise of “design thinking” and heard success stories about it’s value in business, and it’s no coincidence that this is happening while visual design tasks become rapidly automated.

Become an expert in self-directed learning.

Gone are the days where you learn a select set of tools and only use those tools for the rest of your career. Technology is constantly learning and improving, and designers need to as well.

It’s easy to get complacent with “old faithful” methods, tools and processes. Designers need to challenge themselves to step outside of their comfort zone and learn new things — whether that’s trying a new app, incorporating automations into their workflow, learning a bit of code, dabbling in VR design, reading up on machine learning, or even learning how to design for agentive technology.

If you are a creative in tech at any level, self-directed learning is just part of the job — it’s on you to feed your brain and remain curious. Make time for yourself on a regular basis* and take charge of your education: make a book list, study through online tutorials, watch Ted talks on new topics, connect IRL with other creative people in your community, and set goals on what you want to learn and improve on.

*pace yourself, no pressure, don’t burn out. ❤

Interact with new tech often.

When you engage with new technology on a regular basis, you are more likely to discover interesting design challenges that come up. Instead of getting frustrated, this is your opportunity as a designer to ask why you are frustrated with the challenge, and use your creative analytical skills to design a solution to that problem.

If you haven’t already, interact with a smart speaker like Alexa or Google Home, and see if you identify any behaviour that could be improved. In addition to AI, we’re also seeing tech like VR and augmented reality become part of daily life. Designers need to be early adopters and consume as much new tech as they can in order to improve it with human needs in mind.

Think with your heart.

One of the biggest strengths a designer has is the ability to empathize with the people using their product. Designers have an innate ability to look at a project from different perspectives and predict pitfalls based on human patterns.

It is this strength that creatives have to think with their heart that will be invaluable in the robot revolution.

“Success in creating effective AI, could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization. Or the worst. We just don’t know. I am an optimist and I believe that we can create AI for the good of the world. That it can work in harmony with us. We simply need to be aware of the dangers, identify them, employ the best possible practice and management, and prepare for its consequences well in advance.”
— Stephen Hawking

Instead of rejecting and being afraid of new technology, the world needs curious, adaptable and empathetic designers to embrace new technology, predict problems and solve them before they happen. I truly believe creative people will be the ones that learn to thrive and work with these robots in order to build a brighter future for everyone.

A Designer’s Guide to The Future was originally published in Prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A Designer’s Guide to The Future

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