🚀 NEW WORK FOR COWBOY SPACE CORP 🚀
@cowboyspacecorp is getting ahead of the impending AI energy crisis by sending solar panel saddled rockets into low Earth orbit.
They needed a wild brand to pair with this wild idea. And we had the time of our lives.
Case study link below
This is really neat but it’s not a design tool as much as it’s a design _production_ tool.
The practice of design is mostly about what comes before production.
There’s no doubt in my mind that all parts of software production will become automated very soon. Writing code, making web pages, putting pieces of a design system together etc.
And that’s fine. I think few people actually enjoy this kind of production work. Wouldn’t it be better if we spent our precious time in life on what is more meaningful?!
At the core, the practice of design is methodical; like architecture, not like art. In a nutshell: We find constraints, form comprehension of the whole and propose solutions that honor those constraints. First after that do we enter some form of production phase, usually prototypes first, learn about some constraints that were hidden before, loop back, prototype and then build the production-grade “final” artifact.
These last few tasks are quickly losing value because AI tools can do it much faster (not yet better though) than humans. It’s simply just what has the best RoI for a business.
Some companies and individuals will continue to spend human time on certain parts of the “production line” as a market differentiator, but it will cost them a relatively high price compared to competitors.
Anyhow, I still haven’t seen a tool better than Figma that supports the actually-interesting part of the design process.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Figma focused their products on that, maybe separating “products for production” of “products for ideation & exploration.” The latter would obviously still leverage AI, but not to do the work for me but rather to support my efforts the way a therapist helps me live a better life (not living my life for me.)
2024 - “craft”
2025 - “taste”
I’m calling it now -
2026 - “soul”
Design that is lifeless, void of character, and lacks soul will be easily identified as AI slop: and will be rejected.
My WHOLE career co-workers (and even designers on here) made fun of me for giving too much of a shit about design. Called me corny said my case studies were a waste of time. Didn’t matter to me, all I ever wanted was this. To be doing exactly what I’m doing right now.