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A collection of thoughts on design agency in the AI era

2026-09-07T00:00:00Z

430 apps in my phone

The other day, I hit the storage limit on my phone and realized I had 430 apps installed. Like many designers, I'm always looking for inspiration and I like to try new apps and games to see how others are solving similar problems.

There are so many interesting new patterns out there, both in production and in online UI collections. Yet I feel like giant apps pave the way for where design heads.

At the same time AI is changing how we approach UI design and it got me thinking about agency in the AI era.

Every UI era solves a problem

Each era of design had a distinct visual philosophy, often with a purpose of making each new technology easier to understand.

The early desktop metaphors made computers easy to learn and use. Then, skeuomorphic design made digital actions more familiar and played a big role on helping users with touch screens. Later, flat design removed cognitive load and helped apps to be more scalable.

What if the new shift will be about technology designing itself?

With the new generation of technology introducing conversational & agentic UI, it feels like the user inputs are becoming more minimal and fluid than ever before.

AI prompting is changing how people interact with technology. It's a deliberately simple entry point: all you have to do is send a message. It keeps the design minimal, and instead, surprises users by the "magic" behind the output, not the UI.

But technology is also getting more complex, and I love finding designs where the complexity is hidden in well executed simplicity, or when I see a highly polished, yet minimal screen with great visual hierarchy.

These experiences are challenging to get right, and I wonder if the use of AI to generate designs combined with the pressure from businesses to ship faster might give us less time to care.

Homogenization and standardization

In a tech world that seems to be optimized for speed, scale and data, familiarity may be the fastest way for new products to enter a market. This makes products easier to use, but what if too much imitation prevents meaningful exploration?

Repeating patterns is not new, however, with AI being capable of generating UI designs in a matter of seconds, our judgement skills need to come ahead.

I've seen people prompting AI with "make it look like Nike" and maybe there's nothing wrong with that, or... is there?

AI might produce visually competent UI, but without critiquing the generated output it might encourage us to stop questioning when to push the design further. When it's too easy to generate "safe" options, do we really need to spend time exploring?

When I worked at Apple someone told me, sometimes you need to say no to a lot of good ideas, in order to find the best solution.

Craft, taste and intentionality as key differentiators

I asked Claude the other day "Do you know what good taste is and can you create something with good taste?"

Its answer: "Good taste is one of those things that feels obvious until you try to define it" and "honestly — I'd know partly, and fake the rest..."

For me, good design is about craft, taste and intentionality.

I would define craft as the skillset developed by the practice of making the same thing over and over. Taste as the ability to judge what's great, which I think develops through exposure to different levels of quality. And intentionality as the reason behind the choice often achieved with exploration and understanding.

Anyone can prompt AI to generate an interface, what used to take hours to make, now takes only seconds. Suddenly an idea can feel shippable in a matter of hours. But it might also enable shipping something that has not been fully explored.

Good design takes time, and even in a world where we are starting to co-create with AI, it's important to pause and critique the generated outcomes. Designing is more than prompting an idea, it's about exploring and deep thinking.

"What we make stands testament to who we are. What we make describes our values." - Jony Ive

That's a quote from A conversation with Jony Ive with Patrick Collison, the CEO of Stripe, where they talk about the importance of designing products with purpose and intentionality.

Who shapes good design?

Where you grow up shapes what you find beautiful and intuitive, but where you work might shape the lives of others. So all the more reason we must always critique what we are designing.

While taste might not be universal, it seems like only a handful of companies are influencing on what 'good' design is, they own the interfaces used by millions of users.

"Just copy what xyz company is doing" it's a line I've heard many times in my career and many designer friends have shared the same challenge at one point in their careers.

I think this is why learning to critique is important. Just because something works for xyz, doesn't mean it will work for abc. Or what about spending time trying to find something better instead?

Designers might still have a level of ownership as we go up the ladder, but the decisions we make are influenced by the agenda of the companies we work for. When you treat design as a decoration, whether you are a designer being told to repeat something, or a non-designer asking AI to create something that looks like "x company", you're accepting that design is only execution, not thinking. It's cheaper to ship with proven patterns than to take the time to explore a better solution.

Where is design going?

The future of design may be defined by AI or by minimal interfaces that adapt, speak or appear magical. In that world, the designer's contribution becomes harder to see, but it also might become more important than ever.

If AI can produce great interfaces, designers can still be responsible about intention. That responsibility only takes place with the authority to explore alternatives. Otherwise we let the systems around us decide what good design is.

When progress meets meaning: art, technology, and the quiet making of design

2026-02-07T00:00:00Z

This article was published on Bootcamp/UX Collective first.

I’ve always seen Technology and Art like the Sun and the Moon. Working together to make sure the world works. One provides power, the other balance.

This relationship matters because it shapes not only what we build, but how we understand ourselves within the systems we create.

They’ve been working in parallel since humans discovered how to extract natural pigments, a simple ritual that drove curiosity for new discoveries, and a simple resource that provided a means of communication for humans.

Technology is about progress, and while its purpose is to improve, it sometimes has the opposite effect. On the other hand, Art started by telling stories and portraying the world at a particular point in time, but since the late 19th century, Art has shifted to questioning where we are going as a species.

Production and evolution are for Technology what meaning and statement are for Art. However, both stem from the same value: curiosity. Curiosity drives the search for meaning; the answer to the questions of what, when, where, and why.

Artists, much like scientists, decide how their product is intended to be experienced, but not everything can be experienced the same way. Additionally, there are big access barriers.

First, there is the Technology that the general public doesn’t have access to, the kind that splits an atom. Then there is the one for the masses, which drives the economy and enables access to information, such as the Internet. The latter allows us to be and become at the same time: we can learn, create, and share, we consume and produce, we become prosumers.

Art has similar qualities; it encourages participation through observing, contemplating, touching, listening, and sharing. It also creates prosumers. While Technology’s barriers are more infrastructural, Art relates to cultural and institutional barriers.

Both aim to experiment, interact with people, and facilitate the exchange of different kinds of knowledge. They provide information and inspire, and through their intersection, Design was born.

Formed by the sensitivity of Art and the problem-solving of Technology. Design makes Technology more humane, and it makes Art more grounded.

Design brings Technology into the hands of humans, and it provokes emotional connections. It’s the mediator between the three: Art, Technology and Humans. It helps us make decisions, reinforces our sense of belonging and builds trust.

To better contemplate the future of Design, we must look at the new technological mediums and contexts that are changing our world, and examine Art’s perception of our collective experience in today’s world.

A key subject that must be considered is Geopolitics, and how it influences the progression of Technology, Art and Design.

Geopolitics helps shape subcultures, trust, influence and power in the world. It’s at the core of the technological race between countries. Design is still young, and must learn to reflect on the balance between acceleration and control, and how its outcome shapes minds in this world.

miData All Around: a new relationship with data part two

2019-10-01T00:00:00Z

This article was published on Medium first.

miOwn Interpretation

It's been four months since I wrote miData Experience story where I talked about one of my accounts being hacked and how that led me to do some research about data privacy.

During this time, I've been on a quest to find out how data collection works and why it's such a buzzword lately.

When I was writing miData Experience, I was reading a book by Hannah Fry called Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms, which I found fascinating. If you are interested in algorithms and how they are shaping different aspects of our lives, I recommend you give it a read.

What is the miData Series all about?

I am talking about data collection and the ethical questions to be considered.
How Internet giants shape the law and economics of the digital world.
How interfaces and interaction design are being used to attract and keep users.
What actions have been taken so far. And how all this has a big impact in our lives.

Why is this important to know?

In her book, Hannah Fry explains how data is used to predict people's behaviours, consumer psychology and health problems. Most importantly, how algorithms are used in the justice system, in advertising and in health care. In addition, she also talks about the implications of building algorithms with human biases, and what happens when algorithms make decisions for us.

For the first time in history and with the advance in digital media, we have the technology to collect massive amounts of data about humans and the world we live in, which in turn has brought new ethical questions and legal considerations.

Data is being collected everywhere, and algorithms are using this data to predict usability, costs, risks, personality, etc.

Data companies are keeping track of our race, level of education, habits, social circles, social status, whether you pay your bills on time, whether you stay at home, how often you travel, or whether you are in a complicated relationship. These data points help companies make a very accurate assumption of who you are and how valuable you are for them.

Fifteen years ago we didn't question whether or not to put our emails, our names or our photos online. Who would have thought that cyberbullying would be a thing? That one tweet could ruin your life or that years later, Facebook was going to be the platform to influence the opinion of millions of voters during the US elections.

Just as we didn't think of the consequences of the digital tools that were being created decades ago, it's hard to think how the current and future technologies are going to impact our lives in the next 10 years.

Why is this important to me?

I work in technology, I design digital products and I believe it's my duty to help shape the world we live in and think ethically about the consequences of new technologies that have and continue to shape our world. It is my responsibility as a product designer to be part of a positive change.

I am not the only one talking about this. The misuse of big data and lack of regulation in privacy has been questioned many times before. By Edward Snowden when he outed the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013. By the works of Ann Cavoukian in developing Privacy by Design in 1995. By the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) created in 1978 focusing on the protection of personal data. By the enforcement of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018. By the Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) community which promotes privacy and security by offering transparency about how the code works. And even by TV shows like Black Mirror, with episodes like Nosedive that talks about a scoring system where everything we do online and offline rewards you with points. If you don't think this is a reality, take a look at the current Social Credit System in China.

In 2014 and after Snowden disclosed the extent of the NSA with regards to U.S. intelligence collection, the Director of National Intelligence asked the National Academy of Sciences to assess the feasibility of creating alternative technologies to conduct targeted collection as opposed to bulk collection, that could still assist intelligence agencies with national security.

The research concluded that there is no software technique that will fully substitute bulk collection.

As Nsikan Akpan digital science producer for PBS NewsHour wrote in his article on metadata:

"...It's difficult to know in advance who you should and shouldn't be collecting data on, for the very reason that if you knew already, then you wouldn't need any data in the first place."

Why am I sharing this to the online community?

Because it's happening right now and it's forming our future. With the Internet of Things (IoT) still in development, it's important to know how and why things are going in the direction they are. Billions of people are connected right now.

As a product designer, it's my responsibility to educate about the interfaces and digital products that are shaping and changing our world and our perception of it.

Digital tracking is still a developing technology and the ethical questions are yet to be sorted out.

If our data is now part of our economy, then the law needs to adapt around it; data privacy is not just about personal information, it's about individuality. People write their thoughts, ideas and feelings somewhere digitally, anything online can be misinterpreted and used against you.

If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them to have him hanged — Cardinal Richelieu

In addition, digital fingerprinting is very accurate "cross-browser fingerprinting, is a technique capable of successfully identifying users 99% of the time." Even when using a VPN, recent development of these technologies makes it possible to track you and re-identify your device.

The development of new technologies that analyze and implement data algorithms have the potential to influence our behaviour. Big questions are being asked about how predictability will affect our options in the future to get loans at a bank or the cost of health insurance.

What can we do?

What we do now has an impact on the future of technology, law and the economy. We can request control and transparency, we can check what data is out there about us and decide whether or not we consent to the use of it.

The difficult part is to know where the right line is; to define right and wrong is difficult. The collection and analysis of big data helps predict, improve, innovate and prevent, but also removes individuality and has the potential to influence people's behaviour. Where is the balance?

Here are some questions to keep in mind

Do you trust a company that can access your data, what you do and where you've been? Do you trust a company that can make accurate assumptions about you without ever talking to you? Do you know where the company is located? Do you know what the jurisdiction's regulations are? How do you think this will have an impact on your future?

Disclosure:

This data series is merely a personal journey and research I've done for myself. Let this article allow readers to be more reactive about what they share through digital technologies.

Interesting reads and documentaries:

miData Experience: a new relationship with data part one

2019-05-23T00:00:00Z

This article was published on Medium first.

How many times have we found ourselves on a discovery journey, asking ourselves where we came from, where we are and where we are going.

Well, I've had my share of existential questions, but this time, I am on a digital discovery.

I am interested to know what is my digital fingerprint, where it is, who's seen it and how does it travel.

Have you ever received spam email not knowing where it came from? I used to just swipe full right to delete it, or click the trash icon without even thinking.

Thank God for those smart folders right? Well…not really, because nothing has changed, we just hide the emails but not really deal with them.

I've also tried to unsubscribe from every newsletter. I managed to reduce my inbox from five plus newsletters a week to zero, now my inbox is pretty empty.

And yes, sometimes I've accidentally opened a newsletter and three days later I got new emails from the same company. Yes, companies do track if you opened the email or not, and what you do with it.¹

I understand this is important information to know for businesses. But recently I started feeling like things started to get a little out of control.

Becoming one with technology

So here I am, having bought a Google Pixel phone and deciding to join the whole Google ecosystem, my digital life became more customised. My news was about technology, games, design, and travel. Then, as I was clicking and reading through, my customised reading feed got even more tailored. I was getting news about World of Warcraft, British Airways, TransferWise, and my favourite Netflix shows, to name a few.

My reading selection suddenly turned into advertising, and the same ads were following me around, everywhere I went online. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, etc. It was ok for a while, I discovered a few new interesting tech products, but then those products started following me around.

The targeting was perfect.

At some point, I really became one with technology, using apps for everything, using Google Assistant, Google Home, using my phone to pay, to create, to transfer, to connect, to live.

Later on, I was starting to feel a little ad-overloaded, and whenever I was researching something online, I felt I wasn't getting the best results. I was constantly feeling that I was seeing what the algorithms selected for me and perhaps I was missing out on other things.

The point of no return

Then one day, someone hacked my Deliveroo account and ordered 150 pounds' worth of food and drinks.

Luckily, my phone — being an extension of my hand, as Marshall McLuhan would have said² — immediately notified me of a confirmed order and change of address. Within five minutes of the incident, I was able to reach out to Deliveroo, check-in with my bank, close my Deliveroo account, and change my email password, all whilst searching for clothes at Marks & Spencers!

Anyway, they key point to remember is that someone got access to my email and password, logged in to my Deliveroo account and made a purchase without my consent.

I use that email for everything that's important, i.e. anything that requires my payment details, which nowadays is almost everything we have on our phones, everything we get delivered to our house etc. The idea that some stranger got access to my private information with my email and password freaked me out a bit. Ok maybe a lot.

In a way, I felt as if I had the door of my house closed but unlocked, making it easy for intruders to break in.

I went on to Have I Been Pawned and found several lists of my email address being copied with my password. I also found that my Spotify details were on one of the lists and probably someone else was enjoying my premium subscription somewhere else in the world. The next day I found myself a 4/5 stars, 9/10 for reviews and geek-approved password manager and changed every single password for every single account I have.

It also slightly broke my trust with Deliveroo and Spotify, and it made me question how easily I save my details everywhere, allowing location services, and accepting cookies everywhere. Those silly cookies were driving me crazy as well. I mean before the GDPR I had no control about those tasteless cookies. And now, with the GDPR it feels worse because sometimes I don't even have the option to NOT accept the cookies. I mean it is like your fingers are tied, literally!

This is when you realise ignorance is bliss.

This event triggered a chain of events in my life. I suddenly became very interested in how this happened and how easily it is for someone to get access to real information about me.

I love technology and how it improves our lives. I am a huge advocate for sustainable technology and digital tools that help us give back to our environment and our community. And much like we have a carbon footprint in the world, we have a digital footprint that leaves a mark of ourselves in the digital world.

This really made me think about my digital self and the trace I've left behind.

Ethical discoveries

I started researching about alternative digital platforms, data privacy and open source tools. I realised that looking for these kinds of digital tool is like looking for "sugar-free" items in the supermarket. Sometimes the "sugar-free" label is there, but when you look at the ingredients you find there's some type of sugar in it 🤷🏽‍♀️.

During my research, I found other interesting concepts such as, ethical design, open design, ethical laws for UX design and decentralised platforms.

Among these things, I found Brave, a web browser created by Brendan Eich, creator of Java Script and co-founder of Mozilla. This browser is focused on privacy and it's a platform to virtually provide equality between users, publishers and advertisers. They've introduced a business model where users get rewarded with digital tokens for viewing advertisements. They call it the Basic Attention Token³.

Similarly to Brave, a company called Hu-manity.co, supports the decentralisation of data and suggests that by claiming our data as our property we can generate passive income and profit from it when we opt-in to be targeted⁴.

If they are going to use my data to make money, shouldn't I be getting some of that? 🤔

Exactly…

So I went on researching more about data privacy, how it is managed, sold, and accessed. Here are the things that shocked me the most:

The existence of data brokers, companies that have a huge database of probably everyone online.
How easy it is to find real life information about you by going through your search history.
Google and Facebook really, really, really know everything about you.
Web cookies can trigger price rises if you are a returning visitor to a flight broker website.⁵

Accessing the new Internet

With this in mind, I've decided to make some changes in my digital life, more specifically, how I access the Internet. I want to see how this impacts my online experience and perhaps my offline experience too.

Chrome (left) vs Brave (right) using the same URL

I now use Brave as my main browser and I changed my search engine to StartPage. I was going to try the popular DuckDuckGo search engine, but I found out that the founder of DDG, Gabriel Weinberg previously launched a social media platform called Name Database which was later acquired by Classmates.com and it was found to have some controversial legal issues about data. Also DDG is based in the US, whereas StartPage is based in the Netherlands, a much prefer regulated jurisdiction.

Looking for humane digital companies, really makes you dig into your own values and the values of the tool you are about to support, who created it and why they created it.

I now read every single Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies before I sign up to something. I also delete my browsing history and cookies every other week.

A new relationship with data

Don't get me wrong, there are certain aspects of data mining and algorithms that I like, for example I care that Google Maps gives me accurate information about road closures and walking times. I like to know how active I am through the day with my steps' counter, my travel history and my productivity rate by tracking the software I use on my computer and phone.

For me, there are two types of data structure. The informational algorithm that allows me to know what's happening in the world and adapts to help me live a more efficient life. And the intrusive algorithm that follows me around after mining my information and putting it into a category that is sold everywhere without my consent, which allows publishers to target their advertisements at me.

More and more, I feel very passionate about the use of data, ethical algorithms, ethical design, open source platforms, and software that advocates for privacy, while being transparent with their policies.

I want to know how this impacts my life both online and offline and if it has a meaningful change at all.

To be continued…

Footnotes

[1] Fulcrum Tech, The Most Important Data Needed to Drive Email Subscriber Engagement and Conversions

https://fulcrumtech.net/resources/most-important-data-that-drives-email-marketing-success/

[2] Marshal McLuhan, Understanding Media, (1994)

https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/understanding-media

[3] Brave Software, Basic Attention Token (BAT), (March 13, 2018) https://basicattentiontoken.org/BasicAttentionTokenWhitePaper-4.pdf

[4] Hu-manity, Your Personal Data Can Create a Passive Income Stream, (2019)

https://hu-manity.science/white-papers/Your-Personal-Data-Can-Create-a-Passive-Income-Stream-Hu-manity.science.pdf

[5] Hannah Fry, Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine, (Great Britain, Doubleday, 2018), 29–56