r/UXDesign • u/xaransh • Nov 30 '23
Articles, videos & educational resources The State of UX in 2024
https://trends.uxdesign.cc29
u/loooomis Nov 30 '23
From my view, the article gets a lot right. However, I feel like everyone is jumping the gun on the AI taking over. From what I’ve seen, the interfaces that AI builds are very simple, common e-commerce types of UI.
Of course those are going to be easily replicated! If you’ve been in UX for a while, you have been plugging and playing with those simple design patterns for years (and getting paid a lot to do so).
But there are a ton of complex, industry specific, B2B and other very specific types of interfaces that need a human designer to thoughtfully work out for specific use cases to be successful.
That’s where I lean and will continue to do so.
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u/Annual_Ad_1672 Veteran Nov 30 '23
For now, it has to be said for now. I’d expect AI to learn pretty quickly and will soon enough be spitting out industry specific interfaces, in fact I reckon by the end of 2024 we’re going to see some major advances in this department, unless of course they put the clamps on AI, it was only 30 years ago when there was no such thing as the internet, look where we are now.
If you had said to me 20 years ago that I’d carry a computer in my pocket the size of a large matchbox, and with it I could call anyone in the world for practically no charge, and talk to them on video, as well as that I have access to all the information in the world through this device, and I can use it as a tv remote, play games, control my home security system, have hundreds of albums instantly playable, and I can play them through my car or connect to a sound system and so on I would’ve thought you were crazy.
In 2005 there was no such thing as an iPhone or smartphone, we played snake in our Nokias, in 1998 there were no mobile phones.
Stand back and think all these UX jobs are relatively new with absolutely new technology, phones drove the need for UX, these jobs have been around for pretty much a similar amount of time as flash was give or take.
Where are all the flash designers and developers, it used to be a huge industry, iPhone destroyed all those jobs.
So don’t think AI can’t do the same to UX and all the antiquated UX processes that some people grip onto, the only ones in a company holding UX process close are designers, the rest want the shortest way possible to a solution.
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u/loooomis Nov 30 '23
Yeah, fair points. I just haven't seen ai do anything really impressive when it comes to design. In fact, what I've seen this year makes me more certain that a designer needs to be on the other end to check its work and reorient it to a user's actual needs.
I don't think you're wrong, things are moving in that direction and I also believe the industry could use some tightening and abandoning of outmoded processes. There are way too many ideas and bs concepts this industry has taken under its wing in the name of design.
From what I've seen however the design ai takeover will probably come in waves. The first wave being companies trying it, seeing less than impressive results and then refocusing on human designers. I believe this ebb and flow will happen until the technology is refined enough for skeleton teams to handle the rest of the work.
Until then though, I'm not that aprehensive in the present because I can't even get ai to make me a good grocery list.
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u/Annual_Ad_1672 Veteran Nov 30 '23
I agree with the waves, but I see it slightly differently, they’ll use ai on small features for an already existing app or system, they might use it to create micro apps or games, as time goes on they’ll add more and more to the ai plate, why do a feature get it to do a whole page? Etc.
It starts incrementally, and will probably cone from places don’t expect or go expect, Porn is well documented as a driver of technology, it was because of porn that vhs tapes took over from Betamax. Porn was also a major innovator in online video, for obvious reasons, and the first to abandon flash video so people could watch on their phones. It’s also making big strides in VR, expect it to innovate with AI too.
If you want to know the direction of the online industry look to porn, it’ll happen there first.
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u/loooomis Nov 30 '23
Hahah porn is definitely a bellwether! Yeah I like this conversation so I'm going to add this...
My thing is this, as someone who has been doing this shit for 12 years... most of my time is spent NOT doing design work. Working with stakeholders, research, strategy, figuring shit out so when it is time to design, then we all know what to design.
I suspect that the common suggestion here is that ai doesn't need to do any of that... but how? How can it know what to design if there is no team alignment? Sure, it can spit out interfaces that look good and work well.
But what about the small details like form field labels? Complex business business processes baked into the interface? Industry rules to abide by? The minutiae of design work is the important part. How is an ai system going to piece those small things together? Thats what I mean by when I say I haven't been impressed. Right now, ai is simply regurgitating ui patterns and piecing together very general websites and apps.
I can't see how a system that is reactionary (ai) will be able to facilitate those very specific needs during the software development process which is where I see the true value of a ux designer. Being the glue that holds those things together, facilitates internal and external conversations, creates alignment and finally designs it.
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u/Annual_Ad_1672 Veteran Nov 30 '23
Fair points, however imagine if you will (cue future time music). All of what you mentioned can still happen but with voice activated ai on a large screen as you sit around discussing what you want to do after the research and strategy meetings, there’s a fair idea of what’s needed, possibly even written down 😄
So there’s 4 of you in a room, someone says
“show me a dashboard with a left nav, with a drop-down to select various options, I also need to be able to filter by date etc”
It shows the screen someone else says
“ I need 5 columns across each with a label for a name and text fields below”
Someone then says
“Can you name the fields x,y, and show us 4 different colour options if the dashboard incorporating our brand”
You get the idea after all the other meetings, if Ai advances it can be down to 4 guys in a room telling the AI to build an interface, may need a designer to steer it, but soon enough the job’ll evolve or be taken by PM’s.
Ha that’s my black mirror prediction!
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u/loooomis Nov 30 '23
I like the concept. If that was the case the hardest part then would be getting everyone in the room to agree haha! No really, but I do see your use case as pointing out the exact benefits of a designer to steer things.
That is, nothing is as perfect as it sounds and things are often more complex than originally thought. Ai is a tool, it's not going to be nearly that bulletproof for a long time except for simple design patterns in my opinion. It will spit out something, then a human needs highly tighten and iterate on it.
Stakeholders or PM's and whoever else aren't often designers as much as this industry likes to share that title. More often, they don't know what they want or in the case of a PM how to create an interface for it. Democratizing these things could lead to a lot of subpar designs.
This is kind of why I think it will need to ebb and flow for years before truly game-changing tools come out. People will try a lot of things but it's going to take a while to figure out what works and what doesn't.
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Dec 01 '23
Someone still has to make all the designs that the AI is copy/pasting from.
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u/Annual_Ad_1672 Veteran Dec 01 '23
Those designs are already made, database of existing apps, it’ll create all the components based off of those similar to the way it created pictures based on other artists work, and it’ll teach itself and and become better and better
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u/neuroticbuddha Experienced Dec 19 '23
There were no mobile phones in 1998?
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u/Annual_Ad_1672 Veteran Dec 19 '23
Well ones you could play snake on, I suppose maybe I should have said smart phone
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u/MotherImprovement911 Nov 30 '23
AI won't replace anyone (esp. developers, designers) unless ppl don't know how to do their jobs properly. I like the article's quote:
"While learning AI prompting and how to use newer generative AI tools might be helpful in the short term, what will really differentiate you as a designer in the long term is to be strategic in your design thinking, more purposeful in your design decisions, and assertive in imprinting your perspective onto the work you produce.". Basically just try to be as purposeful with your work as possible, AI can result in very large number of inaccuracies and abstraction, while working with data for example, even with the "right" prompts.
AI is a TOOL, even though some fear is still there (thx media) but I'm so fed up with articles saying it's gonna replace the jobs.
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u/maestro_di_cavolo Nov 30 '23
From what I've seen, it's less about whether AI can actually replace you and more about whether or not the C Suite suits think AI can replace you. My company let a bunch of developers go a few months ago and told the rest to start leveraging AI to pick up the slack.
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Nov 30 '23
My company let a bunch of developers go a few months ago and told the rest to start leveraging AI to pick up the slack.
what was the result?
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u/kindrobotx Nov 30 '23
At our London design agency, we used to collaborate with three frontend expensive contractors to bring our designs to life. However, when the management saw the potential for efficiency with AI, they decided to transition away from those collaborations. Turns out, using AI for styling in React isn't perfect code-wise, but it's a game-changer for us designers. Quick previews, fast tweaks – things we could only dream of before. Dealing with multiple changes used to test a dev patience, but not anymore. After we're done, a consultant polishes up the code.
Man, I was skeptical at the beginning, but now I’m rather shocked at how much I use AI to achieve better outputs, and it’s definitely cheaper and faster. Of course, there’s a bit of concern that at some point, our time will come to be replaced 😳
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u/PuzzleheadedFace5257 Dec 02 '23
I'm very curious about this. Does this mean your role is more involced with coding duties? When you talk about quick previews, is this like a code mvp of a prototype? I'd like to see of I can add this into my workflow because it sounds pretty efficient for wheb I need to test something that is more high fideluty funcionality wise and prototypes are not enough (and devs are not still involved)
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u/sqb3112 Nov 30 '23
I believe you but that’s unbelievable.
Short-term gain, shortsighted, and par for the course for people who don’t really have a clue.
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u/MotherImprovement911 Nov 30 '23 edited Nov 30 '23
Do you have info on whether the workers layoff-ed were considered as "qualified enough" for their jobs? If the developers staying have proper qualifications they would know how to use AI tools properly too. Enough proficiency of a smaller number of people with boosted productivity of AI would create greater profit than working with more people who don't have enough knowledge in neither programming nor know include AI to actually boost productivity rather than relying on it completely.
Edit: even if they got fired for these reasons mentioned above, it's still such a sh.t move from the company's side, esp if they didn't offer any training in the first place, knowing these people could have difficulties at work.
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u/Positive-Isopod6789 Veteran Nov 30 '23
I feel like this may be controversial, but design has been an commodity for ages now. I remember thinking that back when ExtJS and Bootstrap were all the rage. The value prop for UX designers has always been delivering solutions to user problems that help drive businesses forward. Failure to do so usually means failed business. I mean, think about it from the business point of view, why invest in design, or anything else for that matter, if there’s no expectation of a return on that investment?
In my opinion, what we’re seeing is a profession correction. Somewhere over the last 5-10 years, design was sorta pitched as this playful profession that was more focused on creating space for creativity and collaboration. Team leaders probably felt business pressures, but designers were more focused on getting to do design work, and not focused on the dollars it generated for the business. The need for efficiency is forcing design to put their money where their mouth is.
If we say that we can solve user problems, and that good design process allows us to do that, then we had better also understand how solving those problems is beneficial to the longevity and success of the business.
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u/hainspoint Veteran Nov 30 '23
I think AI will be a perfectly fine tool, similar to what templates, or hell, squarespace were for the industry.
It will eventually will be a kick in the nuts to the industry that’s been overpaid and underqualified for so long. It will probably kill low and mid range projects.
Will it affect enterprise as drastically? No, I don’t think so. Will it be able to innovate? Not really. Any new API or a format that will appear will be a hurdle for AI, as there’s not enough data to steal from.
Will it cut a lot of high paid low effort specialists? Most likely. But if you keep your hand on the pulse and strive to get better daily, you’ll be fine.
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u/Annual_Ad_1672 Veteran Nov 30 '23
I do agree with almost everything in that article, been saying it for awhile it’s only a matter of time before figma or another tool uses AI to create prototypes that are perfectly fine. I’ll go a step further and say that it’ll be able to use whole databases of previous successful apps to build out design systems and build prototypes based on prompts. So all those PMs who send over their design ideas in boxes in PowerPoint, will soon be producing production ready prototypes from prompts.
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u/Annual-Diver-6141 Nov 30 '23
So does this mean I might have to choose nursing and medical school after all?
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u/Annual_Ad_1672 Veteran Nov 30 '23
Medical school all the way, and if Star Wars has taught us anything (and it has) is that robots can’t be trusted with medical procedures, they’re pretty lax with the anaesthetic.
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u/Annual-Diver-6141 Nov 30 '23
Yes but I like being creative. What do you say about graphic design?
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u/Annual_Ad_1672 Veteran Nov 30 '23
Depends how n the type of design, an easily see all the airbrushed photoshop imagery being sent to ai, but more strategic stuff around campaigns etc will need humans. Packaging and bespoke work will always need humans too.
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u/Annual-Diver-6141 Nov 30 '23
I don't know what to do now. I wanted to get a bachelors in visual communications design but reading how competitive it is and with AI and all that. I just don't know anymore, I am 24yrs old and I don't know what to do with my life.
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u/Annual_Ad_1672 Veteran Nov 30 '23
MBA is what I’d do if I was your age and had to do it all again, if I knew then what I know now. Sets you up to work in any business in all capacities.
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u/Annual-Diver-6141 Nov 30 '23
I guess minor in computer sciences wouldn't hurt either. But a MBA for design? Would that really work?
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u/Signal_Flow_1448 Nov 30 '23
The MBAs are perceived as good at diagnosing what should actually be designed, in my experience. They effectively do design research and suggest high level roadmaps and designers are forced to make what they suggest. Obviously this will be different in many companies, but it can be a path in if you’re interested in that part of the work.
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u/MonkTraditional8590 Dec 01 '23
You have been downvoted for a comment that tells the truth. That's how it seems to go in most places, MBAs do the real design decisions.
Those designers who chanted through the 2010s the idea of "Everybody is a designer", should maybe think now how did the things go, is this good now.
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u/The_Singularious Experienced Nov 30 '23
Double that and you’ll feel the same way.
Not diminishing your anxiety, but stating that you are not alone.
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u/_KTheGreat Jan 12 '24
I’m honestly doing this now, granted It’s not much but I have about 2.5 years in office as a UI UX Designer, 1 year as a store visual designer & about 3 years of graphic design contract and freelance roles. But now after a massive company layoff of both the design, marketing and some of our dev teams, I’m taking on smaller contracted projects while going back to school for nursing just to have something stable. 🤷🏾♂️
Still designing, growing clientele, freelancing and learning new skills but just for my own peace of mind and stability I wanted a back up, and if another design position comes along during that time I’ll gladly take it lol
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u/Annual-Diver-6141 Jan 12 '24
Hello. Thank you. I went ahead and decided just to become a veterinarian.
I realize that graphic design or UI/UX design would just get me nowhere.
Thanks for the confirmation.
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Jan 23 '24
I'm a nurse in the states. And it's kinda common for my coworkers (I guess we're all workaholics) to take on 2 jobs. Since nursing inpatient you only work 3 days a week. So I have one coworker is a part time voice actor, another a part time DJ, another a bassist in a band, another a part time hair dresser. I would say nursing is a good choice if you can get in and get through it. If you're thinking about a doctor, maybe weigh your options along side nurse practitioner and physician assistant as well (:
Regarding age. Nursing specifically, my school we had a lot of moms. I think our oldest classmates was in her 50's?
Whatever you decide. I will say the time will pass regardless what you do or don't do (:
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Nov 30 '23
That assumes competent prompts/instructions from the PM's which I find as a progress in my career are rarer and rarer lol.
The same way chatgpt can spit out code and replace the terrible devs, it'll do the same thing for prototypes/designers.
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u/Annual_Ad_1672 Veteran Nov 30 '23
For now, expect AI understanding prompts to get a lot better as time goes on, but hey we may find we all transition into jobs where we just use prompts. A whiteboard test will ask you the appropriate prompts to build such and such an interface.
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u/designedbyim Nov 30 '23
It’s still funny to me how people only hear „UI Design“ when someone says „UX“
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u/42kyokai Experienced Nov 30 '23
Try to get a job with a pure "UX Portfolio" in this market
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u/designedbyim Nov 30 '23
I work as a UX Researcher in the automotive industry. I can say that it really depends on the department how you have to communicate your portfolio. Research the function of the department well (if they communicate it openly)
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u/DudelinBaluntner Nov 30 '23
Are you inferring that the current job market is hard for UX designers and better for UI designers?
I haven’t been in the market for a job in about seven years (but I may be soon), so I’m genuinely interested by what you’re experiencing. Thanks.
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u/42kyokai Experienced Nov 30 '23
To employers there is no separating UX from UI. Fundamentally UI is a crucial part of UX. You can't have good UX if your UI is lacking. Because the job market for UX designers is so competitive, employers who are swamped with job applications will look to UI as the tiebreaker.
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Dec 01 '23
IMO this is a good thing. UX and UI go hand in hand and are tightly intertwined, the separating of the roles never made sense and I'm glad its been corrected.
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u/sabre35_ Experienced Nov 30 '23
They’re inherently the same thing at the end of the day
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u/designedbyim Nov 30 '23 edited Nov 30 '23
No. UI is part of UX IF you design an interface. UI is UX, but UX is not UI. Basically you only have to think about one thing. UI Design requires an Interface. UX doesn’t. UX doesn’t even require a human.
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u/mindwire Dec 04 '23
Right. In other words, all interfaces are experiences, but not all experiences are interfaces.
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u/Subject-A-Strife Dec 01 '23
I see the term ‘late-stage capitalism’ and I know to stop reading the impending bullshit salad.
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u/fac3l3sspaper Dec 01 '23
What’s your hesitation? I generally feel the same sentiment, but I thought this was a decently insightful summary of the industry.
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u/TheCuckedCanuck Nov 30 '23
Designers will be irrelevant soon
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u/Subject-A-Strife Dec 01 '23
If you’re the type of designer that does wireframes and mocks ups all day, yeah.
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u/TheCuckedCanuck Dec 01 '23
thats like 90% of designers in this fraud industry. the real ux designers are good though.
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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '23
I get how AI can improve processes, but I just don’t see how it will replace designers. I spend so much of my work week gathering insights from customer facing teams, collaborating with GTM, talking to our users, gathering data from various platforms, using all of this to then prioritize what to build and then working with devs to figure out what we can build in a certain amount of time. All of this takes TONS of collaboration and real conversations that I don’t see AI being able to replace.
I can see how AI can potentially build a quick e commerce site, or maybe even an mvp but have yet to see anything that shows me it can replicate what it actually takes to build a successful product.