The Unicorn is Dead. Long live the Augmented Designer!
8 actions to unlock your full potential with AI starting right now.
🇪🇸 Este artículo también está disponible en Español
Unicorn, Full-stack Designer, UX-Team-of-One… The design industry has coined various terms to describe professionals with extraordinary skills, capable of mastering every facet of user experience. This multidisciplinary profile, elevated almost to the level of myth, has for years been the holy grail for many designers and the dream of countless companies.
However, the pursuit of this ideal has proven to be as demanding as it is unrealistic in such a competitive and ever-evolving field. Today, the rapid technological advances present us with a more realistic and achievable alternative: the Augmented Designer.
The Augmented Designer is the natural evolution of the UX professional in the age of artificial intelligence.
Rather than attempting to master every discipline, this profile leverages AI to optimize their work and enhance their competencies, achieving greater impact and adding more value at various stages of the design process.
While AI doesn’t replace the expert judgment of a designer, it makes a notable difference between those who take advantage of it and those who don’t.
That’s why I want to share 8 actions that, in my opinion, will help you integrate AI into your workflow and make the most of your capabilities as a designer:
- Analize
- Practice
- Get Inspired
- Optimize
- Refine
- Verify
- Decide
- Take Action
Let’s take a closer look at them:
1 — Analyze 🔍
Identify Use Cases
Figure out how, when, and where AI support could enhance your skills and results.
Think about tasks where it could bring an extra layer of efficiency or areas where you’re less proficient.
Look into how others are using AI’s potential to tackle similar challenges.
2 – Practice 🏋️♂️
Master the Art of Prompts
Experiment until you master the craft of creating effective prompts.
Your results will mostly depend on how well you can ask the AI for answers. There is no magic.
Start small and improve by experimenting and learning through trial and error.
3 – Get Inspired 💡
Ignite the spark
Use AI to unlock ideas and overcome writer’s block.
If you’re feeling stuck, AI can help you generate initial concepts, explore different approaches, or find new directions.
Use it as a source of inspiration to break through creative paralysis.
4 — Optimize ⚙️
Delegate the boring work
Free up your time to focus on higher-value tasks and boost your productivity.
Let AI handle tedious tasks such as drafting emails, user stories, or documentation. This way, you can devote more energy to the strategic and creative phases of your projects.
5 — Refine 💬
Ask for expert feedback
AI can act as an expert on any subject, helping you refine your work.
It’s like having an advisor available to give you a quick, objective evaluation whenever you need it.
Use AI to gather insights that can help you spot areas for improvement in your ideas and designs.
6 — Verify ✔️
Supervise and fine-tune
AI is a powerful tool, but it makes mistakes.
Even if the results seem convincing, always review them and make manual adjustments to maintain quality and consistency.
Remember, the final responsibility is still yours.
7 — Decide 🧠
Be ethical and responsible
AI should never replace your judgment.
Use it while respecting privacy, and be aware of its limitations and potential biases.
Key decisions should come from you, not an algorithm.
8 — Take Action 🚀
Stop overthinking and start acting
Don’t wait until you have everything under control to start using AI.
It can be overwhelming with so much information available, but while you continue learning, try integrating it into small, everyday tasks.
Test, experiment, and adjust along the way. What matters is taking the first step.
The transition to the role of Augmented Designer involves more than adopting new tools; it requires a shift in mindset about the design process. It means embracing collaboration with AI while keeping critical thinking and professional ethics as your guiding principles.
“Artificial intelligence won’t take your job, but someone using it will.”
- Richard Baldwin
This quote underscores the importance of adapting to this new paradigm. The Augmented Designer sees AI as an ally to improve their work and stay competitive in an increasingly demanding market.
In conclusion, the concept of the Augmented Designer represents a necessary evolution in the UX field, inviting us to move past the pursuit of the unattainable “unicorn.” By combining our experience and creativity with AI’s capabilities, we not only improve our efficiency but also expand our creative skills and overcome our limitations.
The future of UX design belongs to those who can intelligently leverage the tools at their disposal. The Augmented Designer is not just a concept; it’s the path to a future where the synergy between human talent and artificial intelligence defines excellence in design.
R.I.P. Unicorn.
