Ever since I built www.aiuidesigner.com, an AI SaaS product, people have occasionally asked me: do you think the UI designer profession will disappear?
Yes.
Last year, that’s what I believed.
But since this year, I’ve gradually come to realize that might not be quite right.
AI Will Eliminate Much, and Change Much
AI will eliminate many professions—that’s certain. But it will also create many new ones. Take Product Builder, for example—an entirely new career born from AI. Product managers, developers, and UI designers can all transition into this role.
If you’re a UI designer turned Product Builder, what sets you apart from a programmer with little aesthetic sense who also uses the same AI tools to build products?
All else being equal, I can’t say much for certain, but your product will almost certainly achieve a higher paid conversion rate than theirs.
You heard that right—I’m talking about user payment conversion.
Small Teams vs. Large Teams
For small teams or solo builders, while you can skip having a dedicated UI designer, from my own experience, the UI design step itself is still necessary to build a good product—even when using AI tools end-to-end.
You just may not need a dedicated person to do it anymore.
But for large teams, the UI designer role remains indispensable. AI tools may reduce the number of designers needed, but the role itself isn’t going away.
That’s because in large teams, the designer’s aesthetic sense is something AI simply cannot replicate.
独立产品人日记
Notes on indie products, AI tools, growth, and engineering.
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